Two Riverland men were among a group of presenters at a national workshop on the deadly root zone salinity problem held in Adelaide yesterday.

Barmera grape grower Brian Caddy and Bookpurnong citrus grower and irrigator spokesperson David Ingerson addressed the 'Root zone and solute management workshop', held at the Waite Plant Research Centre.
More than 70 of Australia's leading scientists, researchers, growers and policy makers working in the area of root zone salinity were on hand to hear new knowledge, tools and techniques developed by the SA Research and Development Institute (SARDI) to tackle the problem.

A SARDI spokesperson said root zone salinity threatens horticultural crop losses of up to $100 million within the $2 billion Riverland and Sunraysia industries.
Mr Caddy, together with Hardy Wines representative Kerry Degaris, gave an industry's perspective of root zone salinity, while Mr Ingerson presented an irrigator's view.
SARDI researcher Dr Tapas Biswas, who also spoke at the event, said root zone salinity in vines and citrus was not an issue a decade ago when water was used plentifully by irrigators.

"Now growers are doing the right thing using efficient, pressurised irrigation techniques and cutting their water usage by between 35 and 50 per cent," Dr Biswas said. "But this has led to a new issue; there's less water to leach the salt through the plant, and it is accumulating in its roots, causing leaf tip to burn, yield loss and eventually the death of the plant.

"This problem is exacerbated in areas of low rainfall, and further aggravated by drought."
Dr Biswas had developed a simple and inexpensive tool to monitor root zone salinity through the irrigation season.
"The soil water extractor is easy for growers to use themselves," he said.
"The water is simply collected in the extractor and tested for salinity in the salinity meter.
"The whole process takes just a few minutes (and) the information collected helps growers develop salinity 'best management' practice for their crops."

The tool was developed by SARDI (whose researchers were the first to identify the root zone salinity problem several years ago), under a tri-state salinity project, funded by Land and Water Australia, Murray-Darling Basin Commission and the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resource Management Board.

The two-day event includes a field trip to Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale today.
Some of the largest citrus growers in the Southern Hemisphere will be represented at the workshop, including Fosters, Hardy and Yandilla Park.

Representatives from a range of government departments will also be on hand.
 

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