Page 212 - Bahrain Gov annual reports(V)_Neat

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Management of Saline Land
The management and the methods employed in working saline lands differs considerably
from practices followed on salt free areas and the inability of many farmers to realise this
results in crop failures and low yields.
Initially, as far as possible every effort must be made to level the land to ensure even
distribution of water, minimise the possibility of low pockets and consequent waste of water.
In low pockets where drainage is poor, soil which receives too much water may be injured by the
exclusion of air or by a rise in the water table which also excludes air and reduces the rooting
zone.
As most plants are very susceptible to saline damage during the germination period and
early stages of growth, seed bed preparation is very important and it has been found that heavy
irrigation before and after planting and frequently irrigation after planting, are very beneficial.
When new areas are being opened up the planting of crops with a low salt tolerance is not
recommended and although this limits the type of crops that can be grown it also ensures the
production of crops that arc reasonably profitable.
Certain tillage practices such as ridging are gradually being adopted in saline areas and
from preliminary experiments carried out at Budeya it has been found that lettuce, cabbage and
pawpaw plants come away very quickly if planted on ridges. The technique with regard to this
system of planting seed-beds is to throw up low ridges and irrigate. After the initial watering
it will be noticed that an accumulation of salt appears on the sides of the ridges. Seeds are
sown on the ridges below the zone of salt accumulation and the roots of the young plants
penetrate a zone of low salt concentration and make better headway than they would if they were
planted on a fiat seed bed.
Where the water-table is high and capillary action raises water from the water table to the
surface of the soil frequent shallow cultivations retard the accumulation of salt in the root zone
and produce favourable conditions for plant growth.
Tillage operations and the time when land should be cultivated is an important factor in
the production of good crops. In Bahrain where weed growth is very strong at certain times of
the year frequent cultivations are necessary to control weeds, so that they do not compete with
plants for moisture and soil nutrients. Cultivation is also necessary for the destruction of pests
and to reduce the incidence of crusting of the soil surface and increase water penetration.

Control of the Biological Properties in the Soil
The control of the biological properties in the soil presents a very wide field of investigation.
All soils contain micro-organisms, which as far as the farmer is concerned, help to process plant
food and increase the availability of plant nutrients. For practical purposes micro-organisms
may be divided into two classes—those that arc harmful, and those that are beneficial to
plant growth. Many • of the harmful organisms are dependent on most plants
and weeds and reasonable control can be effected by crop rotation. For example,
verticillium wilt which attacks tomatoes also attacks peppers and egg plants and these crops
should not follow each other in a rotation. To increase the activity of the beneficial soil
organisms and provide the most favourable conditions for plant growth a balanced soil manage­
ment programme should be aimed at. If rotations are practised, organic matter is kept at a
high level, aeration and soil moisture are not forgotten and favourable conditions will be
produced for plant growth. In Bahrain lucerne is the principal soil binding crop and as far as
possible, rotations should centre round this crop.

Maintenance of Organic Matter in the Soil
The maintenance of organic matter in the soil is very important as far as plant growth is
concerned and in desert soils which lend to decline rapidly great care must be taken to replace
nitrogen and keep the organic content at a high level. Although it is difficult to assess the
correct level, farm management programmes should aim at the production of maximum yields
which can be produced as economically as possible.
The level of the organic matter in the soil can be maintained by practising rotations, by
returning crop residues to the soil and by the application of animal manures and compost and
by growing green manures which are ploughed back into the soil.

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