Core Ideas: Salinity and drought are the major issues confronting agriculture in arid regions of the world. Guar is a multipurpose drought‐ and salt‐tolerant crop that has the potential to improve farm revenue in arid regions. Guar accessions vary in their salt tolerance and there is a strong need for developing information on accessions appropriate for elevated salinity. Results of this study provide information on accessions appropriate for saline arid regions. Growers in the arid regions of the world constantly face freshwater scarcity and salinity. It is essential to develop information on crops that can tolerate water and salinity stress for ensuring long‐term viability of agriculture in these extreme environments. Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) is a multipurpose crop mainly grown in arid regions of south Asia and the United States is a major importer of this crop. If guar can be produced on saline soils in the arid west, it can improve farm income of local growers. This controlled environment study evaluated germination, physiological response, seedling growth parameters, and ions uptake of 15 guar accessions under different salinity (0.9‐control, 4.5 and 9.0 dS m⁻¹). Results indicated that while one accession (PI 268229) recorded 100% germination at 9.0 dS m⁻¹, two accessions (PI164476 and PI 43359) showed 100% germination at 4.5 dS m⁻¹. Across all accessions the chlorophyll content and assimilation of CO₂ decreased as salinity level of irrigation water increased, but the chlorophyll fluorescence (Chl F) remained higher at all three salinity levels. Accession PI 549164 had maximum leaf area and shoot biomass (OD weight) at 9.0 dS m⁻¹. Although the Na and Cl contents increased, K content and K/Na ratio decreased in all accessions with increasing salinity. This could indicate that selective ion uptake to be the dominant salinity tolerance mechanisms in early stages of guar.

Surface water supplies are gradually becoming short in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Thus, assessment of groundwater quality for crop use appears to be very essential for management and utilization of precious natural water resources. This study reports the water quality of 52 hand pumps and one tubewell located in the most remote areas of desert region, viz. Islamkot and Mithi talukas of district Tharparkar. The water samples were collected during April 2016 (just before the start of rainy season). The water samples were analyzed for EC (Electrical Conductivity), pH, CO32-, HCO3-, Cl-, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Na+ concentration. The SAR (Sodium Adsorption Ratio) and RSC (Residual Sodium Carbonates) were estimated using their respective formula. The categorization of water samples based on their soluble salt content clearly revealed that the water bodies of majority (65%) of areas were hazardous, while 25% areas were marginal. Thus, only 11% water samples of the area under study had useable irrigation water. Because of SAR and RSC the majority (89 and 77%, respectively) of water samples were found to be free from the sodicity hazard. The study concluded that salinity, and not sodicity was the major threat to the area under irrigation with these water bodies. It is, therefore, suggested that the salinity tolerant crops and their genotypes may be used in this area to sustain crop production.

Effect of NaCl Salinity on the Growth and Yield of Inqlab Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Variety