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CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Investigating the suitability of Chameleon soil moisture sensors to improve water use of upland crops under conditions of temporal salinity
Agricultural Water Management, Vol.316, 109602
2025
Abstract
Saline intrusion and freshwater scarcity is now common in the Mekong River Delta (MRD) Vietnam resulting in dry season rice crop failure. There is a need to identify suitable alternative crops that are fast maturing, water efficient and/or saline tolerant and optimise the practical irrigation of these crops. A glasshouse trial examined the suitability of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Kruso white), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata Red Caloona) and soybean (Glycine max Richmond) for growth in conditions representing of salinity and drought experienced in the MRD. Plants were irrigated with either fresh or saline (up to 4 g L−1) water. Chameleon soil moisture sensors were used to trigger irrigation events, either constantly (water potential 0 to single bond22 kPa) or intermittently (irrigating when the water potential was below single bond50 kPa). Water use, soil salinity, plant performance and stress parameters were measured. Saline treatments significantly affected the yield of all three species; however, quinoa grew in saline conditions for the longest duration. Cowpea and quinoa tolerated irrigation with 4 g L−1 during reproductive phases, whilst soybean experienced leaf chlorosis and premature senescence with saline irrigation. Cowpea was negatively affected by intermittent irrigation with higher proline concentrations in younger leaves. Chameleon sensors improved irrigation efficiency and could be used to aid farmers in developing irrigation schedules in agricultural producing regions affected by water shortages. High salinity during reproductive growth phases hindered the accuracy of the Chameleon sensors and thus their use would be most adventitious in vegetative stages to improve water use efficiency before salinity peaks.
Details
- Title
- Investigating the suitability of Chameleon soil moisture sensors to improve water use of upland crops under conditions of temporal salinity
- Authors/Creators
- Brooke Kaveney - Charles Sturt UniversityKhoi Chau Minh - Can Tho UniversityMinh Dang Duy - Can Tho UniversityKim Phuong Nguyen Thi - Can Tho UniversityCao Dinh An GiangEd Barrett-Lennard - Murdoch University, Centre for Sustainable Farming SystemsTran Duy KhanhJason Condon - Charles Sturt University
- Publication Details
- Agricultural Water Management, Vol.316, 109602
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V.; AMSTERDAM
- Number of pages
- 11
- Identifiers
- 991005788083207891
- Copyright
- © 2025 The Authors.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.4 Crop Science
- 3.4.49 Plant Stress Responses
- Web Of Science research areas
- Agronomy
- Water Resources
- ESI research areas
- Agricultural Sciences