Management of Salt-Affected Soils - Practices of Irrigation and On-farm Water Management - page 320

Management of salt-affected soils requires a combination of agronomic prac-
tices depending on soil characteristics, water quality, and local conditions including
climate, crops, economic, social, political and cultural environment, and existing
farming systems. There is usually no single way to combat salt-problem in irrigated
agriculture. However, several practices can be combined into an integrated system
to achieve a satisfactory yield goal.
8.8 Models/Tools in Salinity Management
Salinity management requires an understanding of catchment data and processes.
The aim of modeling and model use are to assist farmers, extension workers and
policy makers in making on-farm investment decisions to manage salinity in the
catchment. A number of models have been developed to predict long term behavior
of groundwater, root-zone salinity index, desalinization of soil profile, quality of
groundwater and drainage, efficient solute transport; and crop response models to
simulate crop production. Some of the models are outlined below:
2CSalt Model
It was developed by Department of Environment and Resource Management,
The State of Queensland (Australia). It is a model of a catchment surface and
groundwater and salt balance, which considers effects of spatial land use.
BC2C Model
A model used to estimate the response time of stream flow and salt loads to land use
change, developed by Department of Environment and Resource Management, The
State of Queensland (Australia).
TARGET Model
It is a spreadsheet model. It was developed as a multi-enterprise, multi-period,
whole-farm analysis tool with an emphasis on “what if” types of analysis. Financial
inputs and production inputs can be readily varied on a yearly basis. It was
developed in Australia.
SALT
Analyzes crop salt tolerance response data, developed by USDA.