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Salinity means there is too much salt in the soil (Na, Ca, Mg, Cl, and SO₄ mostly). Salinity will reduce the growth of the plants. The plants may also get nutrient deficiencies. Rice is most vulnerable to salinity at the young seedling stage (around transplanting) and from booting to flowering.

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When rice is most vulnerable

Young seedling stage around transplanting, and again from booting through flowering.

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How salinity shows in satellite data

  • Patchy, low-NDVI zones that repeat in the same locations season after season - salt accumulates where the water table is shallow.
  • Most common in coastal, low-lying, or poorly drained areas.
  • NDVI stays low even when NDWI is healthy, because water is present but the plant cannot use it effectively.
  • Damage often visible at seedling establishment as gaps in the canopy.

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Field symptoms

  • Tips of affected leaves turn brown
  • Chlorotic patches appear on some leaves
  • Plant stunting and reduced tillering
  • Patchy field growth
  • Dead and white branches on the panicle, and high spikelet sterility

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Reduce the damage by

  • Providing adequate irrigation and drainage (the best option but often not available or too expensive).
  • Use of healthy seedlings.
  • Choosing salt-tolerant varieties.
  • Good nutrient management - application of K can reduce salt toxicities; higher Zn and P rates are important on sodic soils.
  • Soil amendments - organic amendments and/or gypsum can reclaim sodic soils.

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Set an alert for early warning

Turn the diagnosis into a trigger. Go to the Alerts page and configure a rule so gaps in salt-affected zones are caught within days of transplanting.
Recommended settings for salinity on rice:
  • NDVI threshold alert on known salt-affected zones - trigger when NDVI stays below your ecosystem baseline for two consecutive passes.
  • New Imagery alert during seedling establishment so you catch gaps within days of transplanting.