Abstract
Management practices currently recommended for the control of salinity on two major irrigated heavy clay soils, of very low hydraulic conductivity in the semi-arid southern coastal plains of Jamaica are reviewed. Sugar-cane is almost exclusively grown. The main policies governing recommended practices of salinity management are leaching of accumulated salts from the soil profile by storm rains, land-forming and landshaping, improved soil physical condition, conscious irrigation management and the use of salt-tolerant varieties. The clay soils, Agualta clay and Sydenham clay, have become salinized appreciably over the last 15 years, averaging 1.5-2.0% per year. Irrigation water quality (salinity) and quantity have also markedly declined. These conditions, aggravated by a succession of low rainfall years, have been accompanied by depressed yields.
