Increased salinity in irrigation water, especially in times of drought, is a significant threat to the vegetable industry. The impact of drought on irrigation water quality can make it unsuitable for salt-sensitive crops.
The vegetable producing areas most at risk from increased salinity include:
- Lockyer Valley, Bowen, Qld
- Werribee, Vic, especially recycled water used for irrigation
- Perth, Manjimup and Pemberton in WA
- Virginia Plains and Murray Bridge in SA
Click HERE for a CSIRO review on the benefits and risks of using recycled water, including the issue of salinity.
|
Vegetable |
EC tolerated No effect on yield (dS/m) |
EC semi-tolerated Yield reduced by 10% (ds/m) |
| Zucchini | 3.1 | 3.8 |
| Garden beet | 2.7 | 3.4 |
| Broccoli | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| Cucumber | 1.7 | 2.2 |
| Tomato | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| Rockmelon | 1.4 | 2.4 |
| Watermelon | 1.3 | – |
| Spinach | 1.3 | 2.2 |
| Cabbage | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| Celery | 1.2 | 2.2 |
| Broad bean | 1.1 | 1.8 |
| Potato | 1.1 | 1.7 |
| Sweet potato | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| Capsicum | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| Sweet corn | 1.0 | 1.7 |
| Lettuce | 0.9 | 1.4 |
| Onion | 0.8 | 1.2 |
| Eggplant | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Carrot | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Beans | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| Radish | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| Turnip | 0.6 | 1.3 |