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The scarcity of fresh water in arid regions makes saline water a valuable alternative water source for irrigation. Saline water has an agricultural potential but it is necessary to develop special management procedures to obtain maximum yield and high product quality.

Field experiments, which were carried out in a pear orchard, demonstrate that the choice of irrigation method is very important for saline water irrigation. It was shown that by using saline water through subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) reasonable yields can be obtained. Moisture distribution under SDI is better adjusted to the root pattern in order to counteract osmotic effects of the soil salinity in comparison to conventional drip irrigation. Saline water use, particularly through SDI, tends to increase sugar content and acidity of the fruits simultaneously, along with decreasing fouling phases. (C) 2002 Silsoc Research Institute.