effect of different alternate irrigation strategies using saline and non-saline water on corn yield, salinity and moisture distribution in soil profile

introduction: lack of water and deterioration in the quality of soil and water resources are considered to be the prime cause of reduced crop yield in arid and semi-arid regions ‘more crop per drop’ by trickle irrigation, deficit irrigation, and uncommon water are the best strategies for mitigating water crises. different irrigation management strategies are needed to increase production in different areas. in areas where sufficient water is available, a full irrigation strategy could be a suitable option, while in areas where water is limited, deficit irrigation would be an appropriate method, and finally in areas where water resources are saline, management strategies for achieving sustainable production as well as economic yields would be suitable. maize is the third most important grain crop in the world following wheat and rice and it is the main source of nutrition for humans and animals. because of the importance of maize in the world, increasing maize production under environmental stresses is a big challenge for agricultural scientists. different methods of irrigation and the use of saline water that had satisfactory results for increasing agricultural production have been studied by several investigators . the main objective of this study was to establish an efficient use of limited water resources as well as to explore the possibility of replacing saline water with fresh water using different management techniques. materials and methods: a field experiment was conducted over two maize cropping seasons (2012–2013) in northern iran (gorgan agricultural research station) to compare different alternate irrigation scenarios using saline water on corn yield, salinity and soil moisture distribution in a randomized complete block design with three replications. treatments were: t1 and t2 = 100 and 50 % of crop water requirement with non-saline water, respectively; t3 and t4 = variable and fixed full irrigation with saline and non-saline water in every other row, respectively; t5 and t6= fixed and variable deficit irrigation with non-saline water in every other rows, respectively and t7= full irrigation with saline water. to create the desired water salinity (8 ds/m), non-saline well water (1.5 ds/m) and drainage water (20–35 ds/m) were blended in different proportions. a t-tape drip irrigation system (20 m in length) was used in the field experiment. results and discussion: in general, corn yield in 2013 was about 1270 kg ha-1 higher than in 2012. from the weather records it can be seen that the second year was drier than the first year. yield analysis showed that deficit irrigation treatments (t2, t5 & t6) and also alternate salinity treatments (t3 & t4) did not significantly difference. in other words, the deficit irrigation management had no effect on yield. corn yield in t3 and t4 with 50% of saved fresh water was just reduced to 7 and 1 % of t1, respectively. as a result, comparing treatments t3 and t4 with full irrigation have shown that treatments t3 and t4 are the best option. comparison of moisture distribution in deficit irrigation treatments showed the highest water content in surface and deep layers was related to the treatments t6 and t2, respectively. the distribution of salinity in the soil profile for treatments t3 and t4 showed that after two years of irrigation with saline water, there is the possibility of use saline water for corn production, but drainage and leaching of soil will need to maintain sustainability. conclusion: naturally, in water scarce areas that use some strategic management such as deficit irrigation or saline water use, there is available arable farmland to further develop the irrigated area, and thereby increase total production. according to the results of the two-years where there was a shortage of water to meet crop water requirement and saline water was not available, the use of deficit irrigation managements as described in this study can save fresh water resources and increase total production and farmer's income. if the region is facing a shortage of water resources and saline water is available nearby agricultural land, it is suggested to use alternate furrow irrigation with saline and non-saline water; with the crop water requirement being met by the saline water, the total output will be higher than using deficit irrigation management with non-saline water. comparision of the distribution of moisture in deficit irrigation treatments showed that surface soil moisture was lower in the treatment of t5 because it was more lateral distribution. in the deeper layers, soil moisture of the treatment t2 was more than others, because it was the predominant infiltration. the two treatments t3 and t4 because of the combined matric and osmotic potential and the movement of water along the sides and deep percolation, resulting widely distributed in soil moisture and thus remaining lower moisture in the soil compare to full irrigation treatments. consequently, this finding indicates that after two years of corn irrigation using saline (8 ds/m) and non-saline water in every other row (treatments t3 and t4) production can be increased, and in case of proper leaching and drainage management, agricultural sustainability will also preserve.