Agricultural Irrigation Water Quality

The concentration of dissolved ions in the irrigation water indicates the quality of the irrigation water.

Four basic criteria in determining the quality of irrigation water;

conductivity of water (EC)
sodium adsorption rate (SAR)
residual sodium carbonates (RSC)
ion toxicity

Sodium excess and ion toxicity are the most important problems in agricultural irrigation water. Salt accumulation will occur in the root zone of the crop, especially in arid regions where precipitation is low. In such cases, the change in salt content in the soil and irrigation water quality should be closely monitored. Excess sodium in irrigation water will cause soil structure to deteriorate and prevent water from penetrating into the soil.

There are four basic criteria for evaluating water quality for irrigation purposes:

Conductivity (EC): Excess total dissolved solids in water
Sodium adsorption rate (SAR): Ratio of sodium (Na+) to calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions
Residual sodium carbonates (RSC): Concentration of bicarbonate (HCO3 − ) and carbonate (CO3 2−) anions.
The excess of trace elements that cause toxicity in plants The pH of the water is not a quality criterion in irrigation water. The pH parameter tends to be buffered by the soil and most agricultural crops can tolerate a wide pH range.
You can contact Nanolab Environmental Analysis Laboratory for Agricultural Irrigation Water Quality Analysis.

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