Using agricultural gypsum effect on increasing irrigation efficiency

Applying and adding agricultural gypsum to the soil, especially in arid regions, increases irrigation water efficiency; this is done by increasing water absorption coefficient, increasing soil hydraulic conduction, increasing soil moisture storage and root growth to lower soil depths. Gypsum-treated soils store between 25 and 70% more usable water than gypsum-free soils. In most cases, it has been shown that the income from reducing water consumption is more than the cost of using gypsum. When gypsum is used in the fields, it is easier to leach the extra boron element from the soil and can be done with less water.

Boron toxicity Reduction

In the current situation, the amount of boron is high in most irrigation waters and saline soils, and if irrigation water containing a large amount of boron is used continuously, it will cause the accumulation of this element to the extent of toxicity. A proposed approach to reduce the amount of boron in the soil and eliminate soil toxicity is to leach the soil with much water; to do that, the required water needs to be provided.

Under these conditions, if agricultural gypsum is used as an amendment in winter and then the soil is leached, the amount of water required to leach boron is reduced to one-third. Even if the amount of boron in the soil is high, a large amount of calcium prevents the absorption of boron by plant roots and can limit toxicity by inactivating extra boron. However, it should be noted that a small amount of boron element is necessary to move calcium in the vascular system of plants.