Leaf petiole sodium ion (Na⁺) and chloride ion (Cl^–) concentrations in ungrafted Sultana vines at Dareton were 2-fold those at Merbein, which aligned with differences in electrical conductivity of the soil saturation paste extract. Differences between salinity of soil and ion content of leaves at the 2 sites were attributed to different irrigation management with the estimated leaching fraction at Merbein nearly double that at Dareton. The average EC_e at Loxton was equivalent to that at Merbein. However, the leaf lamina Cl^– in vines grafted to Ramsey rootstock at Loxton was 2-fold that at Merbein and leaf lamina Na⁺ was 10-fold.

Cultivar differences between the 2 sites — Sultana at Merbein and Colombard at Loxton — may explain a small part of the increase in leaf Na⁺ and most of that in leaf Cl^–. However, a far more plausible explanation is that vines at Loxton experienced transient waterlogging which increased their uptake of both Na⁺ and Cl^–, and increased the rate of Na⁺ uptake relative to that of Cl^–. Transient waterlogging was probably caused by a combination of soil sodicity, small excesses in irrigation, and the combination for part of the season of low electrolyte concentration and high sodium adsorption ratio in the soil solution. Under waterlogged conditions, the uptake of Na⁺ relative to Cl^– at Loxton would have been further enhanced by the inherent differences between Loxton and Merbein in the properties of the soil solution. The soil solution at Loxton had a higher Na:Cl ratio.