Effect of pond dimensions on water requirement of basil in novel integrated system of greenhouse and saltwater evaporation pond

Novel integrated system of greenhouse and saltwater evaporation pond is a recently developed idea to provide the possibility of producing freshwater and crop growth in arid and semi-arid areas using saltwater. The system greatly reduces the water requirement of the crop in cultivating environment controlling atmospheric conditions and increasing relative humidity to saturation point. To evaluate the effect of saltwater evaporation pond dimensions on basil water requirements in greenhouse condition of the proposed system, a pilot project was done using pond dimensions of 1, 2, and 3 meter in southeast of Tehran. The average daily requirements of the basil in pilot projects of numbers 1, 2, and 3 in two cultivation periods were measured as 2.4, 1.9, and 0.8 mm, respectively which were significantly different. Increasing the length of saltwater evaporation pond in the system improved system capability to reduce crop water requirement. Therefore, implementation of larger ponds is recommended in commercial scale of this integrated system.