Prolonged drought conditions in New Mexico have led growers to pump brackish groundwater sources for irrigating crops. Desalination of the groundwater with Reverse Osmosis (RO) is possible but the process leaves a concentrate waste that requires an environmentally safe disposal. Concentrate maybe used to irrigate Atriplex canescens and A. lentiformis , two halophytic native plants that could be cultivated to feed cattle. The objectives of the study were to (i) determine the impacts of the brackish water irrigation on the electric conductivity (EC) and sodium absorption ratio (SAR) of the soil and (2) describe the behavior of ion accumulation in the soil away from the drip source under two irrigation treatments. We hypothesized that ions from the concentrate will increasingly accumulate in the soil away from the drip source as the wetting front expands further from the source. Soil samples were collected at 30, 60 and 90 cm distances from the base of the plant in two directions. At each distance, samples were collected from two depths, 0-25 cm and 25-50 cm. Using the soil paste extract method, EC, sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and chloride ions were measured. Electric conductivity had a statistical difference by distance from the emitters, over time, and irrigation treatment (p-values <0.001, <0.001, and 0.014, respectively). The pattern of EC followed the expected ellipsoid shape of the wetting front. The ion accumulation patterns were varied. As the ions accumulated along the wetting front of the drip irrigation, in an ellipsoid pattern, a favorable environment for root growth was provided. SAR decreased through the study, ensuring soils were not sodic. Given the increased EC but decreased SAR, highly salt tolerant halophytes can tolerate growth in the soil, leading to a potential of using RO concentrate to irrigate Atriplex species for fodder on large scales without a negative impact to soil
