Tables for Reclaiming Saline or Sodic Soils - Almond and Walnut Emphasis
Phoebe Gordon, Ph.D. UCCE Madera and Merced Counties
pegordon@ucanr.edu; 559-675-7879 ext. 7209
The below tables have been adapted from the Almond Production Manual (UCANR publication 3364) and the Pistachio Production Manual (UCANR publication 3545). They, and other UCANR production manuals, are excellent resources. Find more about them at: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/
| Soil and Water Salinity Guidelines for Almonds and Walnuts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Unit | None | Increasing | Severe |
| Root Zone ECe | dS m-1 | < 1.5 | 1.5 – 4.8 | > 4.8 |
| Water ECw | dS m-1 | < 1.1 | 1.1 – 3.2 | > 3.2 |
| SAR soil | < 5.0 | 5.0 – 15.0 | > 15.0 | |
| SAR water | < 3.0 | 3.0 – 9.0 | > 9.0 | |
| Soil Chloride | meq L-1 | < 5.0 | 5.0 – 15.0 | > 15.0 |
| Water Chloride | meq L-1 | < 4.0 | 4.0 – 10.0 | > 10.0 |
| Soil Boron | mg L-1 | < 0.5 | 0.5 – 3.0 | > 3.0 |
| Water Boron | ppm or mg L-1 | < 0.5 | 0.5 – 3.0 | > 3.0 |
| Short List of Amendments for Leaching | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical Name | Trade name: composition | Lbs/ac-6 in to replace 1 meq/l Na | Lbs/ac-ft of water to get 1 meq Ca |
| Sulfur | Soil sulfur: 100% S | 321 | 43.6 |
| Gypsum | Gypsum: 23.3% Ca | 1720 | 234 |
| Potassium thiosulfate | KTS: 25% K2O, 26% S | 1890 (Assuming K replaces Na in addition to the S) | 256 |
| Sulfuric acid | 100% H2SO4 | 981 | 133 |
| Leaching Requirements | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desired root zone salinity (dS/m) | Water required to leach initial salinity | |||
| (inches water required per foot of root zone) | ||||
| 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | |
| 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 5.4 |
| 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 4.2 |
| 2 | 0 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 3.0 |
References:
Micke, W.C., 1996. Almond production manual (Vol. 3364). UCANR Publications.
Ferguson, L. and Haviland, D., 2016. Pistachio production manual (Vol. 3545). UCANR Publications.