Our salinity units are in the dimensionless Practical Salinity Units (PSU). The exploratory well has a consistent reading of 10 PSU.
I know ocean water is approx. 35 psu and freshwater is closer to 1 psu.
I want to know if 10 can be used to water trees (not crops)?
Could your drink water with 10 psu?
I'v looked at literature about the salinity tolerance of plants if measured as EC (electrical conductivity), which goes from
10 PSU is indeed very saline. Most trees will not be able to grow in such conditions. However, like mentioned by Margareth, mangrove species can be very salt tolerant e.g. Avicennia marine can survive when salinity increases to above 35 PSU (of the ocean). Note that there is a difference between surviving and actually sustain a significant growth level.
So the first and second question you should ask: what species are you trying to grow? And what is the question I am trying to answer with this experiment (e.g. the difference between can they survive or can they sustain growth)?
In addition it is important to know if the saline irrigation water is the only available source of water for the tree (greenhouse) or is there a possibility of precipitation (on field)?
The third question you should ask: are there other sources of water or not?
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