Global challenges such as soil degradation and water scarcity necessitate sustainable agricultural practices, particularly in regions where saline water is increasingly used for irrigation. This study investigates the effects of four compost treatments, including surface-applied mulch compost (MC), Johnson–Su biologically active compost incorporated into soil (JCI), mulch compost incorporated into soil (MCI), and no compost as control (NC), on soil fertility, microbial activity, and Capsicum annuum (chili pepper) growth. Greenhouse experiments were conducted using soil from two different sites (New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) agricultural research plots and agricultural field-testing site at the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility (BGNDRF) in Alamogordo, New Mexico) and two irrigation water salinities (brackish at ~3000 µS/cm and agricultural at ~800 µS/cm). The Johnson–Su compost treatment demonstrated superior performance, due to its high soil organic matter (41.5%), nitrate (NO3−) content (82.5 mg/kg), and phosphorus availability (193.1 mg/kg). In the JCI-treated soils, microbial biomass increased by 40%, and total microbial carbon reached 64.69 g/m2 as compared to 64.7 g/m2 in the NC. Plant growth parameters, including chlorophyll content, root length, and wet biomass, improved substantially with JCI. For instance, JCI increased plant height by 20% and wet biomass by 30% compared to NC treatments. The JCI treatment also effectively mitigated soil salinity, reducing Na+ accumulation by 60% and Cl− by 70% while enhancing water retention and soil structure. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed a distinct clustering of JCI treatments, demonstrating its ability to increase nutrient retention and minimize salinity stress. These results indicate that biologically active properties, such as fungi-rich compost, are critical to providing an effective, environmentally resilient approach for enhancing soil fertility and supporting sustainable crop production under brackish groundwater irrigation, particularly in regions facing freshwater scarcity.

Increasing soil salinity and degraded irrigation water quality are major challenges for agriculture. This study investigated the effects of irrigation water quality and incorporating compost (3% dry mass in soil) on minimizing soil salinization and promoting sustainable cropping systems. A greenhouse study used brackish water (electrical conductivity of 2010 µS/cm) and agricultural water (792 µS/cm) to irrigate Dundale pea and clay loam soil. Compost treatment enhanced soil water retention with soil moisture content above 0.280 m³/m³, increased plant carbon assimilation by ~30%, improved plant growth by >50%, and reduced NO₃⁻ leaching from the soil by 16% and 23.5% for agricultural and brackish water irrigation, respectively. Compared to no compost treatment, the compost-incorporated soil irrigated with brackish water showed the highest plant growth by increasing plant fresh weight by 64%, dry weight by 50%, root length by 121%, and plant height by 16%. Compost treatment reduced soil sodicity during brackish water irrigation by promoting the leaching of Cl⁻ and Na⁺ from the soil. Compost treatment provides an environmentally sustainable approach to managing soil salinity, remediating the impact of brackish water irrigation, improving soil organic matter, enhancing the availability of water and nutrients to plants, and increasing plant growth and carbon sequestration potential.

This study explores the effects of alternating current-induced electromagnetic field (EMF) on mitigating brackish water irrigation and soil salinization impacts. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of EMF on plant growth, soil properties, and leaching of ions under different conditions, including using brackish water and desalinated water for irrigation and soil compost incorporation. The experiment was performed with four types of irrigation water using soil columns representing field soil layers. EMF-treated brackish water maintained a sodium adsorption ratio of 2.7 by leaching Na⁺ from the soil. EMF-treated irrigation columns showed an increase in soil organic carbon by 7% over no EMF-treated columns. Compost treatment reduced the leaching of NO₃⁻ from the soil by more than 15% using EMF-treated irrigation water. EMF-treated brackish water and compost treatment enhanced plant growth by increasing wet weight by 63.6%, dry weight by 71.4%, plant height by 22.8%, and root length by 115.8% over no EMF and compost columns. EMF-treated agricultural water without compost also showed growth improvements. The findings suggest that EMF treatment, especially combined with compost, offers an effective, low-cost, and eco-friendly solution to mitigate soil salinization, promoting plant growth by improving nutrient availability and soil organic carbon.

Brackish water is becoming an increasingly important resource for agricultural irrigation due to limited freshwater availability; however, concerns persist regarding its potential to degrade soil quality and reduce crop yields. This study evaluated the combined effects of irrigation water quality (brackish water, electrical conductivity (EC) of 2958 µS/cm; agricultural water, EC 796 µS/cm), soil type (agricultural soil and reclaimed desert soil), and compost treatments (no compost, mulch compost, Johnson-Su compost, and mulch compost incorporation) on soil health and chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) growth under greenhouse conditions. Compost amendments significantly improved plant height by 58–213%, root length by 35–166%, and wet biomass by 154–1400% compared to control treatments. Agricultural water maintained lower soil EC (0.553–0.870 mS/cm) than brackish water (0.751–1.104 mS/cm), while Johnson-Su compost most effectively reduced salinity impact on plant growth. Leached water analysis showed higher Na⁺, Cl⁻, and SO₄²⁻ mobility under brackish irrigation, with compost treatments enhancing nutrient retention and soil moisture by buffering salinity stress with carboxylic group and cation exchange capacity. Johnson-Su compost incorporation consistently mitigated the negative effects of brackish irrigation by reducing sodium accumulation, improving chloride mobility, and enhancing soil nitrogen dynamics. These results highlight that combining high-quality irrigation water and biologically active composts improves soil health and plant productivity, while brackish water use requires soil amendments to mitigate salinity risks.

Electromagnetic field (EMF) treatment of irrigation water has gained attention as a non-chemical conditioning approach to improve irrigation performance under freshwater and saline water conditions. In agricultural applications, EMF treatment is typically applied by passing irrigation water through or near inline magnetic or electromagnetic devices before soil application. Unlike desalination technologies, EMF does not remove salts in irrigation water; it is hypothesized to modify water-soil-ion interactions that influence infiltration, solute mobility, and mineral precipitation kinetics. However, the existing evidence remains fragmented across experimental scales and treatment configurations, with inconsistent reporting of EMF exposure conditions, limited field-scale validation, and uncertainty regarding the underlying mechanisms. This review critically evaluates experimental evidence, proposed mechanisms, and limitations of EMF-treated irrigation water, with particular attention to soil salinity management and its integration with unconventional water reuse. Across laboratory, greenhouse, and limited field studies, EMF-treated irrigation water is most consistently associated with altered wetting behavior and downward salt redistribution, with lower surface-layer salinity reported under selected conditions. However, long-term salt accumulation and groundwater impacts remain unquantified. Reported crop responses include improved ionic balance, enhanced growth, and water productivity, although responses vary among experimental conditions. These outcomes may involve changes in water movement, solute transport, and mineral precipitation behavior, although the contributions of individual mechanisms remain uncertain. EMF treatment cannot substitute for desalination where salinity exceeds crop tolerance thresholds; however, it may serve as a complementary conditioning step within integrated reuse frameworks that combine partial desalination or blending with soil amendments to improve the soil compatibility of unconventional waters. Most available studies involve freshwater or saline/brackish irrigation, with limited direct evidence for reclaimed wastewater applications. Overall, current evidence supports EMF primarily as a condition-dependent modifier of soil–water–salt transport rather than a universally effective treatment. Further research requires standardized treatment reporting, replicated field trials, salt mass balances, and energy and cost assessments.

Electromagnetic field (EMF) treatment of irrigation water has been studied as a low-energy conditioning approach to improve soil-plant performance under conventional and unconventional water use. Unlike desalination technologies, EMF does not remove dissolved salts, instead, it is hypothesized to modify water-soil-ion interactions that influence infiltration, solute mobility, and mineral precipitation kinetics. This review synthesizes and critically evaluates evidence on EMF-treated irrigation, focusing on physicochemical mechanisms, soil salinity dynamics, nutrient availability, crop responses, and the role of EMF within agricultural water reuse systems. Across laboratory, greenhouse, and a limited number of field studies, EMF-treated irrigation is most consistently associated with altered wetting behavior and redistribution of salts within the soil profile, commonly expressed as reduced electrical conductivity in surface or root-zone layers accompanied by increased salt accumulation at depth. Reported crop responses include improved ionic balance, enhanced growth, and increased water productivity, particularly under moderate salinity or deficit irrigation. These outcomes are primarily linked to modified transport and crystallization processes rather than persistent changes in bulk water chemistry, and they vary strongly with EMF exposure configuration, hydraulic residence time, irrigation water chemistry, soil texture, drainage conditions, and crop sensitivity. Accordingly, the effectiveness of EMF treatment is better interpreted in terms of cumulative EMF exposure dose rather than magnetic field intensity alone. EMF treatment cannot substitute for reverse osmosis where salinity exceeds crop tolerance thresholds, however, it may serve as a complementary conditioning step within integrated reuse frameworks that combine partial desalination or blending with soil amendments to improve the soil compatibility of unconventional waters. Key research priorities include standardized reporting of EMF exposure, mechanistic validation of soil-water-ion transport pathways and replicated multi-season field trials incorporating soil salinity mass balance and drainage assessment.