A survey study of soil salinity and pH in some agricultural areas within the Al-Najaf Governorate

Abstract

This survey study was aimed to estimate salinity, acidity, sodium, potassium, and calcium elements in some areas of Najaf. Seven samples were collected by using the cross-diameter method and from 20 cm depth of the soil surface from several agricultural areas planted with different economic crops such as wheat, eggplant, pepper, cucumber and tomato in Najaf Governorate.The salinity and alkalinity results indicated that the highest salinity was recorded in the Abbasiya area planted with wheat, which was 18.43 dsm-1, followed by Al-Brakiya, Al-Wahbi and Maysan areas, while the lowest salinity level was recorded in the greenhouses of the College of Agriculture, which was 1.78 ds m-1. Results of pH showed that in the greenhouses of the College of Agriculture, was 8.36, while the lowest pH was recorded in the Al-Baraka region, which was 5.63. The results of the survey indicated that the highest concentration of sodium ions in the soil of the Al-Mashkhab area reached 49.57 mg. L-1, and the highest concentration of potassium ions were recorded in the greenhouse of the College of Agriculture, reaching 67.30 mg.L-1, meanwhile, the concentration of potassium ions recorded its highest concentration in the Maysan region, reaching 518 mg. L-1.