Runoff as Affected by Salt Treatments and Soil Texture

Runoff was measured on soils during rains applied with a rainfall simulator in the laboratory. These soils were dried and rained on again and this sequence was repeated several times with runoff measured during each rain. The texture providing maximum runoff consisted of high sand contents (50 to 80%). Higher percentages of clay and silt resulted in surface cracking and considerable infiltration through those cracks. Marked increases occurred in runoff due to NaCl treatments and decreases occurred due to CaSO 4 treatments. Since the amounts of the salts required was small (244 to 896 kg/ha) and the cost of these salts is low (approximately $1.00/50 kg in bulk), emergency water control of bare surfaces using salt treatments appears to be economically feasible.