Introduction of alternative crops as a solution to groundwater and soil salinization in the Laayoune area, South Morocco

Farmers in the Foum El Oued area in the south of Morocco (Province of Laayoune) are facing a number of challenges that hamper their productivity. The main ones are groundwater salinity and their lack of knowledge about salinity problems in their farms and the best land and crop management practices to optimize forage production. The objective of this study was to assess the salinity problem and the cropping systems in the Foum El Oued area and to evaluate the yield of alternative forage crops tolerant of salinity. Both soil and groundwater salinity in Foum Eloued were evaluated using the classical sampling method, and farmers were interviewed to assess the performance of their current cropping system under high-salinity conditions. Several on-farm trials were conducted to test several alternative forage crops such as blue panicum, sesbania, and pearl millet in comparison to traditional forage crops such as alfalfa and forage corn under low- and high-salinity conditions while following the farmer's usual cropping practices. The generated salinity maps and a survey of farmers showed that most of the soils and groundwaters in the study area are saline. Under such conditions, significant yield losses of traditional crops occurred. This investigation supports the introduction of salt-tolerant forages in farms where the water and soil salinity do not favor the cultivation of traditional crops. Agronomic results clearly indicate that alternative crop productivity was much higher than traditional crop productivity. For instance, the fresh biomass yields of blue panicum and sesbania exceeded 100 t.ha(-1) per year, while the yield of pearl millet was 36% higher than that of forage corn. The high yield of blue panicum and sesbania highlights the huge potential of these crops to replace forage corn and alfalfa and thus improve local farmer income and food security in the region.