The effect of brackish water irrigation on crops cultivated in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

This study looks at how irrigation with brackish water affects soil salinity and crop productivity in the Mekong Delta. In greenhouse trials at Tra Vinh University, beetroot, maize and peanut grown in loam-clay soil were irrigated with NaCl solutions from 0 to 4 ppt, using two approaches: gradually increasing salinity and short exposures at different growth stages. Irrigation up to 1.5 ppt did not significantly reduce yield within one growing season and raised the sugar content of beetroot. At higher salinity beetroot and peanut were affected, but beetroot yield fell only slightly. The authors propose beetroot as an alternative crop for dry, salinised seasons and note that long-term effects on the soil still need to be evaluated.