Clemson University

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Freshwater Scarcity Is a Threat to Agricultural Production. in Many Freshwater-scarce Regions, Saline Water Sources Can Be Used for Irrigation; However, Increased Soil Salinization Constrains Their Use. We Can Grow Salt-tolerant Crops Sustainably With Appropriate Desalination Techniques and Effective Management Water Use, Nutrient Application, and Salinity. We Will Develop an Integrated Hydroponic Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Platform With Pre-breeding and Screening of Mustard Greens, Cucumber, and Tomato Germplasm for Salt Tolerance and Technologies for Desalination to Provide Tailored-quality Irrigation Water. We Will Include University and K-12 Education Activities as Well as Extension Training and Outreach of Stakeholders. Major Impact of This Project Will Be Increased and Sustainable Use of Naturally Occurring Saline Water in Food Crop Production Without Salinizing Soils. Salt-tolerant Mustard Greens, Cucumber, and Tomato Varieties Will Be Available for Further Improvement and Commercial Production.