Abstract

Kuwait is a part of the arid and semi arid region, where irrigation is necessary for any realistic agricultural activities. There are no surface fresh water resources in Kuwait. Fresh water is provided from desalination of seawater. However, this water is used mainly for potable purposes. A total of 100,000 cubic meters of brackish groundwater is annually produced from the Kuwait Group and Dammam Formation aquifers. This water is mainly used for mixing at 5-10% with distilled water and for irrigation of specific crops. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of brackish groundwater irrigation on groundwater and soil. A total of 161 water and soil samples from 25 selected farms were collected and analyzed for chemical and physical parameters It was concluded that soil salinity was directly proportional to that of groundwater and a high increase in soil salinity was recognized since the establishment of the farms in Abdally. That was mainly related to the mismanagement of groundwater resources, which causes soil degradation in addition to the losses and inefficiency in water usage. It is recommended to use tertiary treated wastewater for irrigation activities in order to have a wider range of crops to be grown and to prevent the deterioration in both soil and groundwater resources.

Keywords

Publication details

DOI
10.24200/jams.vol9iss1pp17-19
Journal
Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, 9(1), 17
Publisher
Sultan Qaboos University
Open access
Gold open access
License
CC BY 4.0

Cite this article

APA 7

AI-Rashed, M., & Al-Senafy, M. (2004). Assessment of Groundwater Salinization and Soil Degradation in Abdally Farms, Kuwait. Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, 9(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.24200/jams.vol9iss1pp17-19

MLA 9

AI-Rashed, M., and Mohamed Al-Senafy. "Assessment of Groundwater Salinization and Soil Degradation in Abdally Farms, Kuwait." Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, vol. 9, no. 1, 2004, pp. 17. https://doi.org/10.24200/jams.vol9iss1pp17-19.

Chicago (author–date)

AI-Rashed, M., and Mohamed Al-Senafy. 2004. "Assessment of Groundwater Salinization and Soil Degradation in Abdally Farms, Kuwait." Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences 9 (1): 17. https://doi.org/10.24200/jams.vol9iss1pp17-19.

Harvard

AI-Rashed, M. and Al-Senafy, M. (2004) 'Assessment of Groundwater Salinization and Soil Degradation in Abdally Farms, Kuwait', Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, 9(1), pp. 17. doi:10.24200/jams.vol9iss1pp17-19.

Vancouver

AI-Rashed M, Al-Senafy M. Assessment of Groundwater Salinization and Soil Degradation in Abdally Farms, Kuwait. Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences. 2004;9(1):17. doi:10.24200/jams.vol9iss1pp17-19

IEEE

M. AI-Rashed, and M. Al-Senafy, "Assessment of Groundwater Salinization and Soil Degradation in Abdally Farms, Kuwait," Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 17, 2004, doi: 10.24200/jams.vol9iss1pp17-19.