Irrigated crops experience some water stress between irrigations. If poor quality water is used, the crops are also likely to be salinized. Daily C gains and water losses of salinized and nonsalinized sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.), and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) plants were measured continuously, in whole‐plant assimilation chambers, throughout 2 to 3 weeks of water stress under controlled environment conditions. Equivalent data for sorghum plants [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.] were published previously. Even though the three species showed quite different patterns of response to water stress, mild salinization always had the same effect. It reduced the water loss rate per plant, which allowed the length of the irrigation cycle to be increased, which in turn increased the C gain per cycle and the water use efficiency (C gain per unit of water lost).
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McCree et al. (1987) studied this question.