Availability and Feasibility of Water Desalination as a Non-Conventional Resource for Agricultural Irrigation in the MENA Region: A Review

Abstract

Many countries in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) are facing water scarcity, which poses a great challenge to agricultural production. Furthermore, water scarcity is projected to increase due to climate change, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. The integration of solar power and water desalination systems in greenhouses to overcome water shortages is one of the preferred technologies in crop-growing areas. Crop growth control is done through sufficient management of environmental climatic variables as well as the quantity and quality of water and applied fertilisers with irrigation. Numerous crops such as cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, strawberries, flowers, and herbs can be grown under greenhouse conditions using desalinated water. This paper displays the state of the art in (i) solar-driven saltwater desalination to irrigate crops, (ii) the feasibility of water desalination for agriculture in the MENA region, (iii) the economics and environmental impacts of the desalination process, (iv) the quality of desalinated water compared with other non-conventional water resources and (v) recommendations for the future in the MENA region.

Physiological and Biochemical Mechanisms of Exogenously Applied Selenium for Alleviating Destructive Impacts Induced by Salinity Stress in Bread Wheat

“…Its acreage in Egypt is about 1.41 million hectares, providing around 9.0 million tons [1]. Salinity is one of the main abiotic stresses that poses great constraints to agricultural production [2][3][4]. Various crops are responsive to salt stress and incapable of tolerating salinity even at low levels [5].…”

Sowing Date and Genotype Influence on Yield and Quality of Dual-Purpose Barley in a Salt-Affected Arid Region

“…Large agricultural areas in the Mediterranean region are affected by salinity [1]. Indeed, salinity is one of the most important abiotic stresses that destructively affect crop production, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions [2,3]. The arid environments are characterized by water shortage, frequent drought, dry seasons, high climatic variation and different forms of land degradation [4][5][6].…”

Impact of Exogenously Sprayed Antioxidants on Physio-Biochemical, Agronomic, and Quality Parameters of Potato in Salt-Affected Soil

“…Under salt stress, there is a decrease in or inhibition of nutrient uptake, which leads to a lack of chlorophyll content [10,11]. Moreover, salinity causes a considerable reduction in plant growth by inhibiting plant metabolism [12,13]. It destructively impacts plant metabolism through osmotic stress and high production of ROS such as O 2 − , OH − , and H 2 O 2 [14].…”