Groundwater Contribution by Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) under High Salinity, Different Water Table Levels, with and without Irrigation

Lysimetric experiments were conducted to investigate groundwater contributions made by safflower crop (Carthamus tinctorius L.). The plants were grown in 24 columns, each with a diameter of 0.40 m and packed with silty clay soil. The factorial manner experiments were carried out with four replicates using randomized complete block design with different treatment combinations. Six treatments were applied in each experiment by maintaining groundwater salinity with electric conductivity (EC) of 10 dS = m and different water table levels of 0.60, 0.80, and 1.10 m, with and without irrigation strategies. The use of groundwater as a part of crop evapotranspiration was determined by taking daily measurements of the water levels in Mariotte tubes. Additional irrigation in the form of surface water was applied for each treatment with EC of 1 dS/m. The results of the experiments show that for different treatments, with and without irrigation and different water table levels of 0.60, 0.80, and 1.10 m, the average percentage of groundwater contributions achieved were 15, 19, and 25%; and 10, and 19% of the average annual safflower water requirement, respectively. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0000389. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.