TY - JOUR
T1 - Crop diversification and saline water irrigation as potential strategies to save freshwater resources and reclamation of marginal soils—a review
AU - Hussain, Muhammad Iftikhar
AU - Farooq, Muhammad
AU - Muscolo, Adele
AU - Rehman, Abdul
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2020/8/1
Y1 - 2020/8/1
N2 - Feeding 9 billion by 2050 is one of major challenges for researchers. Use of diversified crops, nonconventional water resources and rehabilitation of marginal lands are alternate options to produce more food to face climate change projections. Adaptation to climate change through climate smart agriculture practices, agroecology activities, and crop-based management packages can help transform the marginal lands from environmental burdens into productive and economic blocks. This review discusses the recent advancements on specialty group of alternate crops (oil seeds, legumes, cereals, medicinal, lignocellulose, and fruit crops) which can adapt in the marginal environments. Availability of alternate water resources (saline water, treated wastewater) for irrigation cannot be omitted. Crop diversification systems involving drought and salt-tolerant crops are likely to be the key to future agricultural and economic growth in the regions where salt-affected soils exist and/or saline aquifers are pumped for irrigation. These systems may tackle three main tasks: sustainable management of land resources and enhancement of per unit productivity; intensification of agroecological practices to increase soil fertility; and improving productivity of marginal lands for diversified climate smart crops. This review explores various aspects of marginal lands and selection of tolerant crop genotypes, crop diversification, and agroecological practices to maximize benefits.
AB - Feeding 9 billion by 2050 is one of major challenges for researchers. Use of diversified crops, nonconventional water resources and rehabilitation of marginal lands are alternate options to produce more food to face climate change projections. Adaptation to climate change through climate smart agriculture practices, agroecology activities, and crop-based management packages can help transform the marginal lands from environmental burdens into productive and economic blocks. This review discusses the recent advancements on specialty group of alternate crops (oil seeds, legumes, cereals, medicinal, lignocellulose, and fruit crops) which can adapt in the marginal environments. Availability of alternate water resources (saline water, treated wastewater) for irrigation cannot be omitted. Crop diversification systems involving drought and salt-tolerant crops are likely to be the key to future agricultural and economic growth in the regions where salt-affected soils exist and/or saline aquifers are pumped for irrigation. These systems may tackle three main tasks: sustainable management of land resources and enhancement of per unit productivity; intensification of agroecological practices to increase soil fertility; and improving productivity of marginal lands for diversified climate smart crops. This review explores various aspects of marginal lands and selection of tolerant crop genotypes, crop diversification, and agroecological practices to maximize benefits.
KW - Drought
KW - Forage crops
KW - Fruit trees
KW - Land degradation
KW - Marginal environment
KW - Oil seed crops
KW - Perennials
KW - Saline water
KW - Salt-affected soils
KW - Salt-tolerant crops
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85085470142&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11356-020-09111-6
DO - 10.1007/s11356-020-09111-6
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32462627
AN - SCOPUS:85085470142
SN - 0944-1344
VL - 27
SP - 28695
EP - 28729
JO - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
IS - 23
ER -