Saline water irrigation in China

A review is presented of irrigation using saline water. Fresh water resources are scarce but saline water is relatively abundant in the and and semi-arid areas in China. In some areas, saline water has been used for irrigation for about 80 years, so a lot of experience has been acquired. In many areas, experiments using saline water for irrigation have aimed to determine specific limiting concentrations for salt tolerant crops, ways of combining fresh and saline water supplies and the adaptability of appropriate crops to saline water. These experimental studies play a very important role in development of saline water irrigation. Unresolved problems include long-term effects of saline water irrigation on regional environments, development of lower cost techniques of treating saline water for irrigation, more detailed selection of salt-resistant crop varieties and saline water standards for different crops in different soils and climates.