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Pakistan Scientists Find Ways to Live With Salinity
http://www.asiawaterwire.net/node/260
Because Pakistan lacks good quality surface water, its scientists at the Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) are now using salty water for irrigation.
FAISALABAD, Pakistan (Asia Water Wire) After more than a decade of research and experimentation, Pakistan is now learning to live with salinity.
Almost 11 million hectares of land in Pakistan has salt deposits, making the land unsuitable for normal agriculture.
Roughly 16 million of Pakistans 160 million people live in regions with salty water or saline soils and scientists estimate that finding a way to cultivate on this land can contribute up to 2 billion U.S. dollars to the economy annually.
We have to learn to live with salinity as there is no other way, says Riaz A. Waheed, principal scientist at the Pakka Anna Biosaline Research Station.
Along with different species of trees and grasses, we are also growing plants like barley and wheat, and fruits like pomegranates using the under ground saline water on what used to be wasteland, he adds.
Pakistan began research to address soil salinity in 1972 when it set up the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) in Faisalabad.
The Bio-saline Agriculture Technology developed at NIAB is now being demonstrated at two research stations.
The research station at Rakh Dera Chahl near Lahore has demonstration plots that spread across 60 hectares and the other at Pacca Anna some 60 kilometres from Faisalabad is trying out cropping on another 400 hectares.
Adequate supply of good quality surface water is scarce in Pakistan and therefore the it is vital to use salty water for irrigation.
One way is to grow salt-resistant crop varieties.
Our challenge was how to use brackish water for irrigation, says Waheed.
"We now have evidence that the vast saline areas or the so-called wastelands can be used for growing fodder, fuel and other raw materials by using salt-tolerant plant species", he adds.
The residents of Paka Anna village are but forced to believe what has been as good as a miracle.
This land was completely barren about two decades ago but now it has turned completely green using water that is otherwise useless, says Muhammad Ali, a 60-year-old resident of the village.
Soil salinity is caused by the rise in water the table, which results in the salt being deposited on the surface through capillary action.
The conventional approach of tackling the problem was to pump out the underground water and wash the plant root region with fresh water.
However, this technique was good only as long there was adequate fresh water for flushing the fields.
The only other option is to irrigate with saline groundwater, says Iqrar Ahmad Khan, chief scientist and director of NIAB. We have found ways to cultivate using the same saline water to irrigate the plants.
The NIAB has already carried out trials with several dozens of species of Eucalyptus, Casurina, Acacia, Brassica, among others, which can grow even in extreme saline conditions.
The greenery you now see is the result of 15 years of patient work and trying out of different techniques and waiting, Khan added.
The soil at Paka Anna is highly saline and the salinity varies depending on the water table. The scientists test both the soil as well as the salt levels in water before using it for irrigation.
Care must also be taken to ensure that normal agriculture is not irrigated with salty water because that could have disastrous results.
The NIAB is collaborating with different agencies including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) and other United Nations agencies.
The Pakka Anna project has developed the technology for using salty water for irrigation, said Nazir Hussain Watto, of Anjman Samaji Bahbood Faisalabad, a non-governmental organisation.
But the technology has yet to reach the farmers so we dont know if they can be used by small farmers, added Watto.
The NIAB denies the charge saying that it has been using the technology for agriculture on saline soils at five locations, each covering 5,000 acres and involving small and medium farms.
It has also shared its expertise with 10 countries, mainly in Middle East and Africa.
Pakistan Scientists Find Ways to Live With Salinity
http://www.asiawaterwire.net/node/260
Because Pakistan lacks good quality surface water, its scientists at the Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) are now using salty water for irrigation.
FAISALABAD, Pakistan (Asia Water Wire) After more than a decade of research and experimentation, Pakistan is now learning to live with salinity.
Almost 11 million hectares of land in Pakistan has salt deposits, making the land unsuitable for normal agriculture.
Roughly 16 million of Pakistans 160 million people live in regions with salty water or saline soils and scientists estimate that finding a way to cultivate on this land can contribute up to 2 billion U.S. dollars to the economy annually.
We have to learn to live with salinity as there is no other way, says Riaz A. Waheed, principal scientist at the Pakka Anna Biosaline Research Station.
Along with different species of trees and grasses, we are also growing plants like barley and wheat, and fruits like pomegranates using the under ground saline water on what used to be wasteland, he adds.
Pakistan began research to address soil salinity in 1972 when it set up the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) in Faisalabad.
The Bio-saline Agriculture Technology developed at NIAB is now being demonstrated at two research stations.
The research station at Rakh Dera Chahl near Lahore has demonstration plots that spread across 60 hectares and the other at Pacca Anna some 60 kilometres from Faisalabad is trying out cropping on another 400 hectares.
Adequate supply of good quality surface water is scarce in Pakistan and therefore the it is vital to use salty water for irrigation.
One way is to grow salt-resistant crop varieties.
Our challenge was how to use brackish water for irrigation, says Waheed.
"We now have evidence that the vast saline areas or the so-called wastelands can be used for growing fodder, fuel and other raw materials by using salt-tolerant plant species", he adds.
The residents of Paka Anna village are but forced to believe what has been as good as a miracle.
This land was completely barren about two decades ago but now it has turned completely green using water that is otherwise useless, says Muhammad Ali, a 60-year-old resident of the village.
Soil salinity is caused by the rise in water the table, which results in the salt being deposited on the surface through capillary action.
The conventional approach of tackling the problem was to pump out the underground water and wash the plant root region with fresh water.
However, this technique was good only as long there was adequate fresh water for flushing the fields.
The only other option is to irrigate with saline groundwater, says Iqrar Ahmad Khan, chief scientist and director of NIAB. We have found ways to cultivate using the same saline water to irrigate the plants.
The NIAB has already carried out trials with several dozens of species of Eucalyptus, Casurina, Acacia, Brassica, among others, which can grow even in extreme saline conditions.
The greenery you now see is the result of 15 years of patient work and trying out of different techniques and waiting, Khan added.
The soil at Paka Anna is highly saline and the salinity varies depending on the water table. The scientists test both the soil as well as the salt levels in water before using it for irrigation.
Care must also be taken to ensure that normal agriculture is not irrigated with salty water because that could have disastrous results.
The NIAB is collaborating with different agencies including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) and other United Nations agencies.
The Pakka Anna project has developed the technology for using salty water for irrigation, said Nazir Hussain Watto, of Anjman Samaji Bahbood Faisalabad, a non-governmental organisation.
But the technology has yet to reach the farmers so we dont know if they can be used by small farmers, added Watto.
The NIAB denies the charge saying that it has been using the technology for agriculture on saline soils at five locations, each covering 5,000 acres and involving small and medium farms.
It has also shared its expertise with 10 countries, mainly in Middle East and Africa.