Performance of Tree Species on Waterlogged Sites of Canal Command Area: A Case Study of Bargi Dam, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh)

Bio-drainage is removal of excess soil water through bio-energy of fast-growing tree species having higher transpiration rate. Seven tree species viz. Albizia lebbek, Albizia procera, Acacia nilotica, Dalbergia sissoo, Eucalyptus tereticornis, FRI-4 and FRI-5 clones of Eucalyptus hybrid, Terminalia arjuna and Pongamia pinnata were evaluated for their performance through growth characteristics and biomass studies by planting on waterlogged sites on the bank of Left Bank Canal (LBC) of Bargi command area, Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh state (India). Eucalyptus hybrid, followed by Pongamia pinnata exhibited maximum height and biomass accumulation and its allocation to leaves and branches after four years of plantation,attributing the most desirable species for reclaiming waterlogged sites along canal command areas with similar edaphic and climatic conditions.

Evaluation of crop water demand for sustainable crop production using geospatial tools in a canal command of West Bengal

The agricultural sector is the primary consumer of water resources around the world, and the need for additional food production for growing population further exerts more pressure on water resources. In this study, crop water demand was assessed spatially and temporally for a case study area, Damodar Canal Command (DCC) using geospatial techniques. Crop evapotranspiration was estimated for all the crop seasons using reference evapotranspiration and Fraction of Vegetation cover (FV) that was used as a surrogate for crop coefficient. The reference evapotranspiration (ET ) was calculated using the FAO o Penman-Monteith method. FV was computed based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from MODIS satellite imagery and its value ranges from 0 to 1. The maximum and minimum reference evapotranspiration values were estimated as 8.44 and 1.88 mmday-1 in May and September, respectively during the normal year 2004. The average monthly crop water demand was maximum in May i.e. 8.08 mmday-1. Among all crop seasons, Boro season has the maximum crop water demand followed by Aus and Aman seasons with maximum ET as 496, 438 and 328 mm, respectively. Total annual crop c water demand for normal year, 2004 was estimated at 1237 mmyr-1 in the study area. Spatially and temporally distributed crop water demand estimates help the irrigation planners to devise the strategies for effective irrigation management.

Estimation of Evapotranspiration using Remote Sensing and Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) in Canal Command

Remote sensing based various land surface and bio-physical variables like Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Land Surface Temperature (LST), surface albedo, transmittance and surface emissivity are useful for the estimation of spatio-temporal variations in evapotranspiration (ET) using Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) method. These variables were estimated under the present study for Ozat-II canal command in Junagadh district, Gujarat, India, using Landsat-7 and Landsat-8 images of summer season of years 2014 and 2015. The derived parameters were used in SEBAL to estimate the Actual Evapotranspiration (AET) of groundnut and sesame crops. The lower values NDVI observed during initial (March) and end (May) stages of crop growth indicated low vegetation cover during these periods. With full canopy coverage of the crops, higher value of NDVI (0.90) was observed during the mid-crop growth stage. The remote sensing-based LST was lower for agricultural areas and the area near banks of the canal and Ozat River, while higher surface temperatures were observed for rural settlements, road and areas with exposed dry soil. The maximum surface temperatures in the cropland were observed as 311.0 K during March 25, 2014 and 315.8 K during May 31, 2015. The AET of summer groundnut increased from 3.75 to 7.38 mm.day-1, and then decreased to 3.99 mm.day-1 towards the end stage of crop growth. The daily AET of summer sesame ranged from 1.06 to 7.72 mm.day-1 over different crop growth stages. The seasonal AET of groundnut and sesame worked out to 358.19 mm and 346.31 mm, respectively. The estimated AET would be helpful to schedule irrigation in the large canal command.

Assessment of Soil Fertility Status of Kanwara Minor Lift Canal Command Area in Banda District of Bundelkhand using Nutrient Index Values

A study was conducted to assess the fertility status of Kanwara minor lift canal command area using Nutrient Index values of different soil parameters under study in 2019-20. A systematic set of two hundred and eleven georeferenced soil samples were collected and analysed following the standard sampling and analytical procedure. The analysed values of different parameters were categorized in low, medium and high and further used in determination of the nutrient index. NI value of soil organic carbon was 1.16, 1.00 for available N, 1.47 for available P and 2.55 for available K respectively. Regarding the fertility class based on Nutrient Index values it was deficient in organic carbon, available N and available P while, sufficient in soil available K. This requires immediate attention towards the management of nutrients to restore the soil fertility and sustain crop productivity.