A field study was conducted to investigate the influence of variable rates of application of N and P fertilizers in splits at various times on the growth and the seed and oil yields of canola (Brassica napus L.) during 1995–97. Rates of fertilizer application were 0 and 0 (F0), 60 and 0 (F1), 0 and 30 (F2), 60 and 30 (F3), 90 and 60 (F4) and 120 and 90 (F5) kg N ha−1 and kg P2O5 ha−1. All the P was applied at sowing while N was applied in splits, i.e. all at sowing, half at sowing and half with first irrigation, or half at sowing and half at flowering. The responses of growth, seed yield and components of yield were consistent in both years. Increasing the rate of fertilizer application from F4 (90/60 kg N/P2O5 ha−1) to F5 (120/90 kg N/P2O5 ha−1) increased the leaf area index (LAI) relative to the control and to lower rates of fertilizer application. For both crops, application of 90/60 kg N/P2O5 ha−1 significantly enhanced total dry matter (TDM) and seed yield. Seed yield increased mainly due to a greater number of pods per plant and seeds per seed‐pod. The time of fertilizer application did not significantly affect seed yield or components of yield in either season. Oil yield generally followed seed yield, increasing with increasing rate of fertilizer application up to 90/60 kg N/P2O5 ha−1. The maximum oil contents were obtained from the control. The results show that seed and oil yields of canola were maximized at the F4 (90/60 kg N/P2O5 ha−1) rate of application under the agro‐ecological conditions of Faisalabad, Pakistan.

Groundwater can be a source of both water and salts in semiarid areas, and therefore, capillary pressure–induced upward water flow may cause root zone salinization. To identify which conditions result in hazardous salt concentrations in the root zone, we combined the mass balance equations for salt and water, further assuming a Poisson‐distributed daily rainfall and brackish groundwater quality. For the water fluxes (leaching, capillary upflow, and evapotranspiration), we account for osmotic effects of the dissolved salt mass using Van‘t Hoff's law. Root zone salinity depends on salt transport via capillary flux and on evapotranspiration, which concentrates salt in the root zone. Both a wet climate and shallow groundwater lead to wetter root zone conditions, which in combination with periodic rainfall enhances salt removal by leaching. For wet climates, root zone salinity (concentrations) increases as groundwater is more shallow (larger groundwater influence). For dry climates, salinity increases as groundwater is deeper because of a drier root zone and less leaching. For intermediate climates, opposing effects can push the salt balance either way. Root zone salinity increases almost linearly with groundwater salinity. With a simple analytical approximation, maximum concentrations can be related to the mean capillary flow rate, leaching rate, water saturation, and groundwater salinity for different soils, climates, and groundwater depths.

Soil sodicity, where the soil cation exchange complex is occupied for a significant fraction by Na 1 , may lead to vulnerability to soil structure deterioration. With a root zone flow and salt transport model, we modeled the feedback effects of salt concentration (C) and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) on saturated hydraulic conductivity K s (C, ESP) for different groundwater depths and climates, using the functional approach of McNeal (1968). We assume that a decrease of K s is practically irreversible at a time scale of decades. Representing climate with a Poisson rainfall process, the feedback hardly affects salt and sodium accumulation compared with the case that feedback is ignored. However, if salinity decreases, the much more buffered ESP stays at elevated values, while K s decreases. This situation may develop if rainfall has a seasonal pattern where drought periods with accumulation of salts in the root zone alternate with wet rainfall periods in which salts are leached. Feedback that affects both drainage/leaching and capillary upward flow from groundwater, or only drainage, leads to opposing effects. If both fluxes are affected by sodicityinduced degradation, this leads to reduced salinity (C) and sodicity (ESP), which suggests that the system dynamics and feedback oppose further degradation. Experiences in the field point in the same direction.

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