Did you know that in addition to providing the water on which farmers rely, rain flushes salts from the soil?
Irrigated water in much of Ventura County is pumped out of the ground into which naturally-occurring salts such as sulfates and chlorides as well as molecules of individual elements such as calcium, magnesium, and sodium are dissolved. Without adequate rain, these salts accumulate in the soil; this may cause damage to plants, especially trees.
Rain, on the other hand, is free of salts except for a little dissolved nitrogen. We absolutely rely on it to leach the salts out of the soil that comes with irrigation water, reducing soil salinity.
Current Ventura County UCCE research into irrigation practices to manage salinity and conserve water will be presented at the Strawberry Irrigation Field Day on Feb. 18.