Water mixing operations are one of the proposed strategies to solve the problem of water scarcity for agriculture in Libya

Abstract

The study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of mixing groundwater well water from the Al-Sawawa area in the city of Sirte with water from the Great Man-Made River in different proportions on the growth of lettuce plants, The results showed that using the mixing ratio (D 5:1) gave very good results in terms of lettuce plant growth and the provision of fresh water (artificial river water), as the results obtained for all studied traits showed. The mixing ratio (D) was at a level very close to the mixing ratio (A) (river water), The results showed that the germination rate of the seeds treated with water from the artificial river was 93% of the total seeds, while the number of leaves for treatment (A) was (22.5 leaves) and for treatment (D) it was (20.6 leaves), while the leaf area for treatment (A) was (36.5 cm) and for treatment (D) it was (40.35 cm), The total vegetative mass for treatment (A) is 42.8 grams, and for treatment (D) it is 34 grams. The total root mass for treatment (A) is 26 grams, and for treatment (D) it is 26.6 grams. The fresh weight of the root mass for treatment (A) is 27.4 grams, and for treatment (D) it is 26 grams. The dry weight of the root mass for treatment (A) is 12.4 grams, and for treatment (D) it is 12.2 grams. Except for the dry weight of the foliage, treatment A yielded 5.4 grams, treatment D yielded 4.2 grams, and treatment C, with a 1:1 mixing ratio, yielded 4.6 grams. Finally, the dry weight of the root system was 4.8 grams for treatment A and 4.6 grams for treatment D. Therefore, a 5:1 mixing ratio can be adopted in areas with access to artificial river water to rationalize water use, preserve this resource, protect the soil from salinization, and achieve the desired productivity.