SW New Mexico News

As New Mexico faces long-term drought challenges, a researcher from New Mexico State University is exploring the potential of brackish water as a resource for agriculture. With estimates suggesting between 600 billion to 1.2 trillion cubic meters of brackish groundwater in the state, utilizing this resource could conserve freshwater supplies.

Geno Picchioni, professor emeritus in plant and environmental sciences at NMSU's College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, is leading research into the use of brackish water on salt-tolerant crops. "Use of brackish water on salt-tolerant crops is an important addition to drought contingency planning," he stated. Picchioni emphasized that adapting crop selection to include more salt-tolerant varieties could reduce desalination costs significantly.

Picchioni's team, including former students Alba Lucker and Jonathan Consford, conducted experiments on halophytes such as four-wing saltbush and quail bush. Their research was published in Agricultural Water Management and supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

The experiments involved irrigating plants with moderately saline brackish groundwater and highly saline reverse-osmosis concentrate from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico. "We found that if you irrigate a heavy-hitting halophyte with high salinity, they are going to use the salt as a beneficial resource," Picchioni explained.

While many major crops in New Mexico are not currently salt tolerant, Picchioni sees potential for crops like cotton, barley, sugar beets, pistachio, and asparagus to adapt as reliance on brackish water grows.

Further research compared the effects of salt stress on leaf lettuce and Swiss chard using various saline solutions. "Both lettuce and Swiss chard will respond to brackish water in a way that boosts their nutritional value," noted Picchioni.

Picchioni has been studying plant salinity stress for over forty years at NMSU where he is one among approximately 200 faculty members involved in water research initiatives. Interim Provost Lakshmi Reddi remarked on NMSU's efforts: “We are fortunate to have exceptional professors and researchers addressing unique problems associated with water resources in New Mexico.”

Picchioni advocates for interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers and industry partners to develop innovative solutions using brackish water irrigation methods. He hopes for advancements in developing crop varieties capable of utilizing salts beneficially like halophytes do.

"Faster progress in that direction would be really exciting for the future," he concluded.

A version of this story was originally published in ACES Magazine Fall 2024 issue.