Effect of salinity and water table on growth and tolerance of plum and peach

The effects of combinations of salinity (no salt, 2000 p.p.m. or 4000 p.p.m. of CaCl₂ and NaCl, 1:1) and water table (30 cm, 60 cm or 90 cm from the soil surface), on the vegetative growth and tolerance of ‘Golden Japanese’ plum and ‘Mit Ghamre’ and ‘Balady’ peaches were studied. The plants were grown in lysimeters. The growth of the trunk, total shoot length, the increase in shoot length per cm and the fresh weight of top, root and total plant were reduced with increasing salinity of the irrigation water. The effect was accentuated when the plants were maintained at high water table level. The salinity treatments resulted in the death of 43%, 73% and 76% of the plants in the plum, and the ‘Mit Ghamre’ and ‘Balady’ peaches, respectively, indicating that the plum is more tolerant to salinity than the peach. The plants of the salinity treatments showed various symptoms of salt injury, such as leaf burn, defoliation, shoot die-back and finally death. In the peaches, salt injury started to occur in the first growing-season, whereas the salt injury appeared in the plum in the second growing-season. The symptoms were more pronounced in the 4000 p.p.m. treatment than in the 2000 p.p.m. treatment and were more pronounced at the high water table level. The salinity level was the predominant factor and the effect of the water table on the vegetative growth diminished with increase in the salinity level of the irrigation water.