Drip‐irrigation using highly saline groundwater increases sunflower yield in heavily saline soil

To improve global food security, techniques for sustainability managing salinity are needed. The objective of this study was to find a sustainable cultivating method for grain production using saline groundwater. A field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of drip irrigation with saline water (EC = 9.5 dS m–1) (DIS), drip irrigation with freshwater (electrical conductivity [EC] = 1.3 dS m–1) (DIF), and flood irrigation with freshwater (CK) on sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) yields. The cultivation pattern of “scheduled drip irrigation + mulched ridge” was adopted in DIS and DIF, while that in CK was the local pattern of “flood irrigation + flat mulch”. Results showed that drip irrigation with saline water and drip irrigation with freshwater saved 95% and 43 freshwater when compared with CK. After 2 yr, soil electrical conductivity of saturated paste extracts (ECe) in the surface 40 cm decreased from 22.9 to 6.4 dS m–1 in DIS and from 17.9 to 5.4 in DIF. The calculated desalinization rates were 72.1% for DIS and 69.3% for DIF. The sunflower yield in DIS and DIF increased by 12.1 and 37.0% and the economic benefit correspondingly increased by 29.6 and 52.5% when compared with CK after 2 yr. The drip irrigation with saline groundwater had remarkable advantages in saving freshwater, leaching salt, and increasing income. Core Ideas Drip irrigation with highly saline water decreased soil salinity. Drip irrigation with highly saline water increased sunflower yield. Drip irrigation with saline water enhanced water productivity and economic benefit.