Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
9-1-1985
Keywords
Soil salinity, irrigation, rice
Abstract
Soluble salt problems do exist and are significant in Arkansas. Studies have been conducted on Crowley silt loam (Typic Albaqualfs) which have established the behavior of soluble salt in that soil. The major objective of this study was to quantify the behavior of soluble salt in a second important Mississippi River Delta soil - the Sharkey (Vertic Haplaquepts). To this end, estimation of the downward redistribution of salt and the estimation of various components of the water balance for this soil served as specific objectives. Field studies were designed to monitor the movement of salt in the Sharkey soil and to characterize selected components of the water balance. In total, three tentative conclusions may be drawn from the data. First, the infiltration for the Sharkey soil was approximately three times that of the Crowley silt loam. The average value was 29 cm for the rice season. Second, levee seepage, while significant for small plots, was shown to be small for production-sized fields. Levee seepage remained relatively constant throughout the season and averaged 0.025 nvfym/d. And third, downward redistribution of salt was large and appeared to follow a pattern where a peak occurred at the surface and, possibly, at the lower soil depths.
Citation
Gilmour, J. T.; Ferguson, J. A.; Scott, H. D.; and Baser, R. E.. 1985. The Behavior of Soluble Salt in Sharkey Clay. Arkansas Water Resources Center, Fayetteville, AR. PUB 117. 32
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/awrctr/240
Report Number
PUB 117
Page
32