Research on solutions to adapt to saltwater intrusion for durian gardens in Tam Binh commune, Cai Lay district, Tien Giang province

Abstract

    Saltwater intrusion during the 2020 dry season caused heavy damage to nearly 4,459 hectares (out of a total of 14,870 hectares) of durian in Tien Giang province. The lack of fresh water for irrigation was the main cause of the damage. The underground diffused drip irrigation system is a new irrigation technique which is considered to be the most effective and economical of all current irrigation systems. Application of the underground diffused irrigation system with an irrigation level of 96 L/tree/day, which is 20 % less than the control (with water saving of 120 L/tree/day) during the mature shoot growth period resulted in similar soil moisture in the MH Garden and the DC Garden, fluctuating between > (70-80) %. In terms of growth, the trees in the MH Garden developed more slowly with the number of young shoots, the length of the main shoot, and the length of the secondary shoots all being lower than in the DC Garden. On the contrary, the leaf size in both length and width in the MH Garden was larger than in the DC Garden. The final result was that the total number of fruits per tree in MH Garden (24.80) was higher than DC Garden (16.05) and the fruit yield (98.61 kg/tree) was higher than DC Garden (61.23 kg/tree). On the other hand, underground diffused drip irrigation systems can be integrated into existing sprinkler irrigation systems at farmers at a reasonable cost. This result has special socio-economic significance in case fresh water for irrigation becomes scarce, thus helping durian farmers proactively protect their gardens and adapt long-term to saltwater intrusion.