Fluoride Concentration in Groundwater of Khapa Town, Saoner Tehsil, Nagpur District – A Case Study

Fluoride is known to contaminate groundwater in many countries notably India, Sri Lanka, China, rift valley countries in East Africa, Turkey and parts of South Africa. Sporadic incidence of high fluoride content in groundwater has been reported in 19 states and union territories across the country (CGWB 2010; Pol 2012). The fluoride occurrences in top aquifer system are endemic in many parts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Kerala (Agarwal et al. 1997; Latha et al. (1999); Gopalakrishnan et al. (2012). The toxicity of fluoride is generally influenced by high ambient temperature, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium contents in drinking water (BIS 1991). High level of fluoride posses serious health hazards to humans and irreversible damage to plants. The present study was carried out to assess the fluoride concentration of groundwater in the selected villages around Khapa town of Nagpur district.

Effect of Sources, Levels and Methods of Potash Fertilization on Yield, Nutrient Uptake, Soil Chemical Properties and Quality of Rabi Onion in an Inceptisol

A field experiment on rabi onion (cv. N-2-4-1) was carried out at an experimental farm of College of Agriculture, Pune during the winter season of 2016-17, to study the effect of different levels and sources of potash (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg K2O ha-1) and methods of its application as a basal (30% K2O at the time of transplanting, 40 per cent through fertigation after 30 days of transplanting till initiation of bulb formation and remaining 30 per cent through fertigation after 60 days of transplanting till bulb formation at weekly intervals respectively). In addition to that one more additional treatment of 100 kg K2O ha-1 was applied in the proportion of 90 kg K2O through MOP as a basal application + 10 kg K2O through SOP as a foliar spray @ 1% after 60 and 75 days after transplanting for comparing methods of K application. The results revealed that, the application of 100 kg K2O ha-1 (90 kg K2O ha-1 as basal at the time of transplanting through MOP and 10 kg K2O through two foliar sprays of SOP at 60 and 75 days after transplanting) recorded maximum fresh bulb weight, dry matter yield, and higher bulb diameter, the higher nutrient uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu uptake by rabi onion. The perceptible improvement in available N,P,K , S and Mn content of soil due to application of 150 kg K2O ha-1 through SOP applied through soil and fertigation over control. The application of 100 kg K2O ha-1 (SOP) through soil and fertigation or 100 kg K2O ha-1 was applied in the proportion of 90 kg K2O through MOP as a basal application + 10 kg K2O through SOP as a foliar spray @ 1% after 60 and 75 days of transplanting recorded magnitudely lower mean physiological loss in weight.

Pre Harvest Losses as Perceived by the Wheat Growers in Madhya Pradesh– An Economic Analysis

The study analyzed the physical and financial losses caused by weeds, pest and diseases in cultivation of wheat in Madhya Pradesh. The relevant primary data has been collected from 160 wheat growers of two major wheat producing districts (Hoshangabad & Vidisha) of Madhya Pradesh during the year 2012 -13. The study revealed that the majority of wheat growers (79.47%) were able to distinguish the pest and disease attack by quantitative assessment. The frequency of major pest like termite, aphids and rats were found to be every year (45%), once in a two years (100%) and once in a three years (43.45%) respectively. It was also observed that the extent of pre harvest losses over actual and normal production of wheat were directly proportional to size of farms. Among different plant protection chemicals an average wheat grower invested more on weedicide (Rs 740 per acre) as compared to fungicide (Rs.126 per acre). The private input dealer was found to be the most important source of seeking advice on control of pest and diseases followed by Agriculture University and TV/Radios/Newspaper.

The Major Biophysical Indicators of Desertification in Arid and Semi arid regions of India

Desertification is a process of land degradation in arid, semi- arid and dry sub-humid regions due to climatic uncertainties and improper land management activities. The major desertification processes operating in arid and semi arid regions of India are soil erosion, vegetal degradation, salinization/alkalinisation, water logging, loss of soil fertility and uncontrolled mining. Identification of major biophysical indicators of desertification is necessary for periodical monitoring and preparation of strong combating plan. To investigate the biophysical indicators which are most effective in assessing the level of desertification vulnerability, a total of 17 biophysical indicators were studied in 13 sites of South India representing two different agro-ecological regions (AESR 8.3&3). Principal Component Analysis was employed to identify the effective indicators based on maximum loadings and Eigen value. Linear discriminant analysis was used to identify the most important and reliable indicators for assessing degree of desertification processes. The results showed that pH and organic carbon are the most reliable indicators for assessing the degree of desertification processes in South India.

Secondary and Micro Nutrient mapping in forest soils of Kandhamal district, Odisha

Emergence of widespread secondary and micro nutrient deficiencies have become major constraints of productivity. Farmers give hardly any emphasis on application of these nutrients. As a result decline or stagnation in production and productivity of many crops is observed creating a huge gap between the requirement and supply of food grains. For efficient soil and crop management soil test based fertilizer application is highly essential. major nutrient analysis is often done micro nutrient analysis is usually neglected due to prohibitive costs and expensive instruments. Data on soil micro and secondary nutrients status were used for by generation of soil fertility maps in GIS environment. In the present paper GPS based soil survey was conducted during 2012-13 where 595 nos. of spatially distributed georeferenced surface samples (0-20 cm depth) were collected from forest soils of Kandhamal district of Odisha and analysed for various secondary and micronutrients along with some basic parameters like pH, EC and OC. Derived thematic maps showed deficiency of Sulphur to an extent of 82.5% followed by Boron and Zn as the yield limiting elements of Kandhamal soils.

Characterization and Classification of Soils of Valsad taluka, Valsad District, Gujarat

Five representative pedons (P1 Umarsadi; P2 Segvi; P3 Chikla; P4 Bagal; and P5 Faldhara) from different landforms of Valsad taluka in the coastal region of Valsad district, Gujarat were studied for their morphological, physical, and chemical properties. The soils were deep to very deep, well to imperfectly drained, slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline (pH 7.8 to 9.7), non-saline tosaline (0.1 to 4.4 dS m-1), low to high in organic carbon (2.4 to 12.3 g kg-1) and CaCO3 (0.2 to 19.5%), and medium to high in CEC [21.8 to 69.9 (p+) kg-1]. Soil texture varied from sandy clay loam to clay with clay content ranging from 21.2 to 53.5 %. Bulk density was lower in P5 (1.28-1.33 Mg m-3) than the other pedons (1.21-1.48 Mg m-3). Saturated hydraulic conductivity (sHC) was less than the critical limit of 1.0 cm hr-1 in P3, and generally low due to high (>15) exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) and exchangeable magnesium percentage (EMP). Pedon P1 was classified as Sodic Haplusterts and P4 as Typic Haplusterts. The pedon P2 with an argillic horizon(<35 cm thickness) in the deeper layerswas classified as Inceptic Haplustalfs. The pedon P3 with lithological discontinuity was classified as Typic Ustifluvents and P5 as Vertic Haplustalfs. The pedons P1, P3 and P4 were developed in the basaltic alluvial parent material, and their subsurface properties were influenced by the paleosols. The pedons P1, P2, and P5 under perennial crops such as mango and eucalyptus have higher organic carbon and lower bulk density. Management measures are required to reduce subsoil sodicity, and sustain crop production in the heavy textured soils.

Effect of Fertigation on Yield, Water Use, Economics and Storability of Onion (Allium cepa) cultivated in Inceptisols

The field experiment was conducted to study the effect on yield, water use, economics and storability of onion during rabi season of 2014-17 at Interfaculty Department of Irrigation Water Management, MPKV Rahuri. The experiment comprised of 100, 80 and 60 per cent recommended dose of fertilizer through fertigation, irrigation N and K through drip and P application in soil, drip with conventional fertilizers application in soil, surface irrigation with conventional fertilizers as control and micro-sprinkler irrigation with 100 % RDF through fertigation. The drip irrigation was beneficial than surface irrigation in increasing the yield (78.8 %) and saving the fertilizer. The total seasonal water requirement in drip irrigation was 480.3 mm compared to 807.2 mm in surface irrigation. The drip irrigation with 100 % RDF though fertigation was profitable higher net seasonal income of Rs. 2,74,445 per ha, compared to control (Rs.1,41,955 per ha) with B:C of 4.62 and water productivity of Rs. 566 per mm of water used. The micro-sprinkler irrigation with 100 % RDF through fertigation had significantly maximum total storage losses of 21.10 per cent followed by surface irrigation with 100 % RD of conventional fertilizer (19.86 %) and drip irrigation with 100 % RDF through fertigation. The results revealed that drip fertigation with 100 % RDF through fertigation in 13 weekly splits as per schedule is the best treatment to improve the yield, economical returns and storability of onion (var. N-2-4-1) cultivated in silty clay loam soils of Western Maharashtra.

Establishing Relationship between Saturated Paste Electrical Conductivity (ECe) and Soil:Water Electrical Conductivity (EC1:2) in Some Swell-Shrink Soils of Nagpur District, Maharashtra

Soil salinity is a major environmental hazard which adversely affects plant growth, crop production, soil and water quality and agricultural productivity.Soil salinity is determined by measuring electrical conductivity of soil water suspension. Though saturation paste ECe closely relates with plant growth and development but its measurement is laborious and time-consuming specifically in clayey soils when large number of samples are analyzed. Measurement of EC1:2 (1:2 Soil: water suspension) is very quick and economical. Therefore, a need is felt to develop a relationship between ECe and EC1:2so that the values of EC1:2 could easily be related to ECe. For this, anexperiment was conducted on four soil series representing swell-shrink soils. Soils were artificially salinized with solutions (salt) of 0.2, 0.5, 1 and 2% of chloride salts (NaCl, CaCl2, MgCl2 and their mixture) and replicated three times. The results indicate that a significant relationship (r=0.96) exists between ECe and soil EC1:2and soil ECe can be reliably predicted from EC1:2 in swell-shrink soils.

Characterization and Evaluation of Land Resources of Valia Block, Bharuch District, Gujarat

Detailed soil survey (1:10000 scale) was carried out using base map prepared from satellite data (IRS-P6 LISS IV and Cartosat-1) and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) in conjunction with Survey of India (SOI) Toposheets of 1:50000 scale in Valia block, Bharuch district of Gujarat. On the basis of landform, slope, land use/land cover and ground truth, six landscape ecological Units (LEUs) were delineated and six soil series were identified in the block. Five soil series occur on alluvial plain (cover 66.16 %) and one soil series occupies pediplain 27.61 %. These series were mapped into ten soil mapping units as phases of soil series. The representative pedons of alluvial plain were moderately deep to very deep and their sand, silt and clay content ranged from 8.2 to 44.4, 9.8 to 40.2 and 43.8 to 55.6 per cent, respectively. These pedons were neutral to strongly alkaline (pH 6.8 - 9.7), non-saline with low to high organic carbon (0.18 – 1.2 %) content, low to high calcium carbonate (5.9 - 26.6 %) and high CEC [>35 cmol (p+) kg-1]. Exchangeable complex of these pedons were dominated by Ca2+ followed by Mg2+, Na+ and K+ cations with high base saturation (72.0 to 99. 4 %). Soils were classified as Vertic Haplustepts, Typic Haplusterts, Typic Calciustepts, Typic Haplustepts and Sodic Haplusterts. The representative pedon of pediplains was shallow, dark brown (7.5YR3/2), clayey, strongly alkaline (pH>8.5), non-saline (<2 dSm-1) and had moderate organic carbon (0.50-0.75 %) and calcium carbonate (5-15 %) with high CEC [>35 cmol (p+) kg-1] and classified as Lithic Haplustepts. The soils were evaluated for their suitability for commonly grown crops (cotton, pigeon pea, wheat and chick pea) and mapping unit 2 and 4 were highly suitable for cotton cultivation and other were moderately to marginal suitable for other crops.

Soil Erosion and Crop Productivity Loss in Palghar and Thane Districts of Maharashtra

Present research work was carried out on soil erosion and crop productivity loss in Palghar and Thane districts. The study also describes tolerable soil loss and relationship between top-soil loss and yield loss. The estimated average annual soil loss was 40.45 t ha-1yr-1 before adoption of the soil and water conservation measures (by USLE method) and estimated average tolerable soil loss was 9.36 t ha-1 yr-1, for Palghar district. Similarly, for Thane district the estimated average annual soil loss and tolerable soil loss were found to be 35.89 t ha-1 yr-1 and 9.61 t ha-1 yr-1, respectively for Thane district. The estimated average conservation practice factor (P) factors were obtained as 0.32 for Palghar district and 0.30 for Thane district to bring the soil loss below the tolerable limit. After adoption of soil and water conservation measures, the estimated soil loss were 9.02 t ha-1 yr-1 and 9.38 t ha-1 yr-1 for Palghar and Thane districts, respectively.