—Lancaster Firming, Saturday, February 17,1979
124
Farm crops
COLLEGE PARK, Bid. -
Corn and soybean plants are
highly sensitive to the air
borne chloride salts expelled
by power plant cooling
towers using brackish water,
according to a recent study
by the Water Resources
Research
headquartered at the
University of Maryland in
College Park.
But tobacco crops in the
same study showed slight
Increases in yield from salt
drift at very low levels.
Dr. Charles L. Mulchi and
James A. Armbruster,
agronomists for the
Maryland Agricultural
Experiment Station, made
these observations after
simulating salt drift from a
cooling tower operating at
maximum design capability.
Dr. Mulchi, the project
leader, is an associate
professor of agronomy at the
University of Maryland, and
Armbuster is a research
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assistant working on his Ph.
D. degree.
Their simulation ex
periment was conducted at
the University of Maryland
tobacco research farm,
located four miles north of
Upper Marlboro.
The Maryland researchers
confirmed their findings
with similar data from on
site investigations near the
Potomac Electric Power
Company plant at Chalk
Point, located 30 miles
southeastward, on the
western shore of the
Patuxent river in the
southeast comer of Prince
Georges county.
Center,
Some varieties of corn and
soybeans appear more
sensitive to salt drift than
others, says Dr. Mulchi. He
and other crop researchers
found that soybean plants
have an ability to partially
recover from salt damage as
they mature. (Soybeans
have a similar ability for
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From cooling towers ,
studied
recovery from mild
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The Maryland research
indicated that both com and
soybeans could withstand
maximum power plant
operation if the salt' drift
rates remained below 7
pounds per acre per month.
Surprisingly, tobacco
crops exhibited , increased
yield when exposed to 2.5
pounds of salt drift per
month. In addition to the
slight yield increase, small
amounts of choloride
generally do, not affect
tobacco quality adversely,
Dr. Mulchi commented.
But exposure to total
chloride from chloride salts
in amounts greater than 2.5
pounds per acre per month
was found to alter physical
and chemical properties of
Maryland ’ tobacco ad
versely. These changes m
quality index, burn, and
filling capacity have been
asociated with "chloride
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for salt drift effects
additions and consequent
lower average offering
prices by buyers.
In fact, companies which
regularly purchase
Maryland tobacco strongly
oppose even slight increases
in chloride content. Dr.
Mulchi noted.
For the cooling tower
simulation study at the
University of Maryland
tobacco farm, ' the
agricultural experiment
station research workers
applied 100-micron droplets
of brackish water to the
plants with a portable
sprayer rig. This water had
a salinity content of 15 to 25
parts per thousand.
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DANIEL R, STOLTZFUS
RDI, Box 187, Canan Grove Rd.
Newmanstown, Pa. 17073 (Lebanon Co.)
2 Miles east of Schaefferstown on Rt. 897 to Kleinfeltersville. Then V*
mile south on Hopeland Rd. at corner of Canan Grove Rd. Adjacent to
Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area.
Applications were made
five days per week for eight
weeks on com, soybeans and
tobacco. Water was obtained
from PEPCO cooling tower
No. 3, in operation 35 miles
away by road at Chalk Point,
and from solutions of pure
sodium „ chloride
f orumulated at the farm.
The electrical power
generating plant at Chalk
Point lies near a mile-wide
section of the brackish
Patuxent river, near the
junction of Maryland’s four
leading tobacco-producing
counties - St. Marys to the
south, Charles on the west,
Prince Georges to the north
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Prices include Lids.
Manufactured and Sold By
and Calvert, across the river
to the east.
In January 1971, the
Potomac Electric Power
Company petitioned the
Maryland Public Service
Commission for a license to
(Turn to Page 125)
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