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Experimental Studies on Effect of Water and Soil quality on Crop Yield
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WATER RESOURCES, COASTAL AND OCEAN ENGINEERING (ICWRCOE 2015)
Experimental Studies on Effect of Water and Soil quality on Crop Yield K.R. Suresha*, M.A.Nageshb a Department of Civil Engineering, BMS College of Engineering, Bull Temple Road, Bangalore – 560 019, INDIA Department of Construction Technology & Management, Acharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore – 560 107, INDIA
b
Abstract The dawn of the industrial revolution, forced the mankind to introduce numerous hazardous compounds into the environment at an exponential rate. The hazardous pollutants consist of a variety of organic compounds and heavy metals. These pose serious risks to plant and human health. Indiscriminate dumping of urban and industrial effluents along with solid wastes often lead to toxic accumulation of heavy metals which not only impair soil productivity but also cause health hazards by entering into food chain via soil–plant–animal/human route. In modern economies, soil, air and water are traditionally been used as sites for the disposal of wastes. Supply of good quality irrigation water will decrease in future, as the development of new water supplies will not keep pace with the increasing water needs of industries and municipalities. Thus, irrigated agriculture faces the challenge of using less water and in many cases poorer quality water, to provide food and fibre for an increasing population. The quality of irrigation water plays an important role in agricultural development and requires management for maintaining an optimum salt balance in the root zone for productive agriculture. Irrigation with poor quality water may cause an excessive accumulation of salts in the root zone of soil. This affects crop yield, quality of produce and the choice of crop to be grown. In the present work, experiments were conducted at BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore in order to study the effect of water and soil quality on Maize crop yield. Vrishabavathi command area was considered in the case study. The water in the river is highly polluted and the soil in the command area shows degradation. Four plots of 4x10m were prepared and in two plots, the existing soil was replaced with the soil from the study area. Also for two test plots (red soil plot and brown loamy soil from the Vrishabavathi command area plot), water from Vrishabavathi River was supplied throughout the crop period. Comparisons were made at the end of the harvest. It was observed that yield from the Maize crop grown with river water on the soil from the command area showed a decrease of about 25% compared to that of the yield from the red soil with bore well water. © 2015The TheAuthors. Authors.Published Published Elsevier © 2015 by by Elsevier B.V.B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015. Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015 Key words:Water; soil; yield; sowing; harvesting
* Corresponding author. Tel.:09483512589 E-mail address: [email protected]
2214-241X © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015 doi:10.1016/j.aqpro.2015.02.161
1236
K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
1. Introduction Water is a precious natural resource. Surface water resources are limited. Exponential growth in population and the resulting demand for water requires careful planning of the management of available water resources. The urbanization, industrialization, poor land management and environmental pollution have imposed stress on agricultural production. Soil pollution is often thought as a result of chemical contamination. The use of poor quality water, application of excessive amounts of pesticides and fertilizers can result in soil contamination. Soils have often been neglected when they are used for on-site disposal of chemical waste and unwanted materials. To some degree, most of the soils are capable of adsorbing and detoxifying many pollutants to harmless levels through chemical and biochemical processes. Polluted water and soil pose a serious threat to plants, affecting the yield. Also causes health hazards by entering the food chain. In the present study, an attempt was made to study the effect of soil and water quality on crop yield. For this, the Vrishabavathi command area was considered. Vrishabavathi was once a fresh water river. Now it is conveying Bangalore city sewage, Industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes. Today it is one of the most contaminated water sources. The crop yield response was studied for the study area at the test plots at BMSCE campus, Bangalore. 1.1. Irrigation water quality The quality of irrigation water directly influences the quality of soil and crops grown on this soil. Salinity is the most common problem and about 10 million hectares of land is lost annually due to salinity Tanji(1990). As a consequence, the effective use of both the agricultural land and the irrigation water has become an indispensable component. The quality of irrigation water is as important as the nature of a soil. If the quality of water supplied for irrigation is not good, the soil deteriorates and ultimately decreases the crop yield. The irrigation water quality criteria depends on Salinity, permeability, Specific ion toxicity like sodium in terms of Sodium Adsorption Ratio(SAR), chloride, boron and miscellaneous effects like nitrates, bicarbonates and pH of water Ayers and Westcot (1985). 1.2. Soil Quality Soil quality of a soil is its ability to supply essential nutrient elements to the plants in adequate amount and in right proportion for their optimum growth. The soil properties that are sensitive to changes in management can be used as indicators of soil quality. The soil quality as per the plant requirements can be assessed based on soil fertility, soil texture, soil structure, soil water regime and soil temperature. Soil fertility refers to the inherent capacity of a soil to supply essential nutrient elements to the plants in adequate amount and in right proportion for their optimum growth. Soil texture is the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay particles in a mass of soil. The soil containing almost equal proportion of sand, silt and clay are grouped as loams. Theses soils have good physical character. The pore space, leaching and water holding capacity of loams lies in between sand and clay soils. Soil structure is the arrangement of soil particles of different shape and size is called soil structure. These are grouped as soil aggregates in which soil particles are separated and soil cluster in which soil particles are held together. The soil structure influences properties of rate of infiltration, leaching, water retention, swelling, shrinkage and drainage. The soil water regime has the maximum influence on the growth and yield of a crop. The soil temperature affects the plant growth, chemical and biological activities in the soil. Selection of appropriate crops for irrigation is done on the basis of the salt tolerance of the crop and the salinity of the irrigation water Ayers and Westcot(1985);Maas (1990);Pratt and Suarez(1990). 2. Description of study area The area considered in the present study is a part of Vrishabavathi Valley. The study area encompasses latitude of 12° 43’ N to 12° 54’ N and Longitude of 77° 23’ E to 77° 30’ E with an area of about 290 km². Vrishabavathi, now conveys Bangalore city sewage, Industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes. The study of water quality of Vrishabavathi River is reported as poor Chetana Suvarna and Somashekar (1997). The water when boiled leaves
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K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
heavy sedimentation in the vessels indicating the presence of higher amount of salts. In case of growing rice, the farmers have experienced a good vegetative growth of crop but with very less crop yield. The farmers also have experienced low yield of sugarcane. The use of poor quality of water is also resulting in the degradation of soil quality in terms of poor infiltration, alteration of soil structure and other associated salinization problems. The yield of the crops in the study area is decreasing year by year. In recent times, the farmers in the study area have resorted to growing semi salt tolerant crops like Maize, Mulberry, plantation crops like Coconut and other horticulture crops. In the study area, the water is available throughout the year and the farmers find no difficulty in giving the required amount of water to the crop. Hence, in the present study, it was assumed that the crops get required quantity of water as and when they require. Also, the influence of climatic factors and the farm practices on crop yield were not discussed in the study. 3. Experimental Program The experiments were conducted at BMS College of Engineering campus, Bangalore, India. The site is located at Latitude of 12.94°N and Longitude of 77.57°E. The experiments were conducted from 6-3-08 to 26-6-08. 3.1. Preparation of plots Four experimental plots of size 4 m x 10 m were prepared as in Fig. 1.The existing soil was removed from test plots up to a depth of 1.5 m and backfilled with good red sandy loam soil in Plot 1 and 2 and the brown loamy sand soil from the study area (Vrishabavathi valley) in the plots 3 and 4. The soil in the plots was allowed to consolidate for one complete monsoon period. Mechanical and hydrometer analysis was used to classify the soils based on texture. The physical properties and textural classification of the soils are presented in the Table 1. Table 1. Physical Properties of Soil in Plot 1 & 2 and Plot 3 & 4 Textural separates % Soil
Red soil (Plot 1 &2) Brown Soil (Plot 3&4)
Textural Soil
Average Bulk density
Average Dry
γb(g/cc)
γd (g/cc)
Density
Sand
Silt
Clay
Classification
60
22
18
Sandy Loam
1.779
1.50
84
6
10
Loamy Sand
1.841
1.60
The consolidated test plots were cleaned and tilled. Recommended amounts of farm yard manure was spread and mixed with soil up to the required depth as per the guide lines given by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (2006). Manual weeding was carried out as and when required and insecticide was applied during the flowering and cob filling stages. Separate water tanks were used to supply the water to the plots as in Fig. 1. One of the tanks with BMSCE bore well water was used to supply water to the plots 1 with sandy loam and plot 4 with loamy sand. The other tank with water from the study area was used to supply the water to the plots 2 with sandy loam and plot 3 with loamy sand. Evaporimeter and weather station were installed near the plots. Irrigation scheduling was based on the actual soil moisture content in the soils. The soil moisture content was recorded using a soil moisture probe. Collecting pits were provided to collect the excess runoff from the plots.
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K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
Fig.1. Layout plan of experimental site
The properties of water from the study area and the bore well are as in Table2. Table 2. Water Analysis of Study Area and BMSCE Bore Well Water TDS ppm
Na
Ca
Mg
dS/m
ppm
ppm
ppm
7.70
0.81
530
197
60
51
4.50
7.23
0.63
412
86
72
55
1.86
Water
pH
Water from the study area BMSCE Bore well water
EC
SAR
Maize crop was selected for the study. This is because, farmers in the study area are extensively growing Maize. Maize crop characteristics are shown in Table 3.
1239
K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242 Table 3. Characteristics of Maize Crop Maize Crop Stages of development
Maize Crop Characteristics
Initial
Crop development
Mid season
Late season
Total
Stage length in days
20
35
40
30
125
Depletion Coefficient
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.8
-
Root depth, m
0.3
>>
>>
1.0
-
Crop coefficient, Kc
0.3
>>
1.2
0.5
-
Yield response factor
0.4
0.4
1.3
0.5
-
4. Crop response to water and soil quality Sandy loam soil (red soil) of plots 1 and 2 and loamy sand soil (brown soil) of plots 3 and 4 before sowing and after harvesting the crop were analysed for various elements using EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrophotometer Analysis). The EDX analysis showed considerable accumulation of sodium salt in the soil at the end of the crop period. (Fig.2 and 3). It was observed that the sodium content of the soil in test plot 3 (irrigated with water from the study area) has increased compared to the test plot 4 (irrigated with BMSCE bore well water).
Fig.2 EDX analysis for test plot 3 and 4
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K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
Fig.3 Soil Texture in the test plots 3 and 4 before and after crop period
4.1. Crop yield In order to calculate the yield from the test plots, stratified sampling technique was adopted. This was because the population of the cobs over the entire test plots was heterogeneous in nature. Equal allocation method was adopted to find the yield and the results are presented in Table 4. The different stages of crop during the crop period are shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.
Fig. 4 Different stages of Maize crop grown on plot 3
Fig. 5 Different stages of Maize crop grown on plot 4
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K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
The details of soil, depletion coefficient and maize crop yield of plot 1,2,3 and 4 are as in Table 4. The sampling details of Maize grown were as follows: x x x
Sampling area /plot = (1.2X0.8) m2 X 11=10.56 m2 (26% of the plot) Total number of cobs of the sampling area in each of plot 1 & 2 = 70 Numbers Total number of cobs of the sampling area in each of plot 3 & 4 = 74 Numbers Table 4. Details of Soil, Depletion Coefficient and Maize Yield of Plot 1, 2, 3 and 4 Plot-1 Sl. No.
Details
1
Soil colour
2
Soil type
Plot-2
Plot-3
Plot-4
(BMSCE
(Water from
(Water from
(BMSCE
Bore well Water)
the study area)
the study area)
Bore well Water)
Red
Red
Brown
Brown
Sandy
Loamy
Loam
sand
Sandy Loam
Loamy sand
3
Field capacity of soil
22%
22%
16%
16%
4
Wilting point
10%
10%
6%
6%
5
Depletion Coefficient (p)
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
6
Average weight of
111.14 gm
85.28 gm
122.16 gm
162.97 gm
7.78 kg
5.97 kg
9.04 kg
12.06 kg
29.47 kg
22.61 kg
34.24 kg
45.68 kg
7.36 tons
5.65 tons
8.56 tons
11.42 tons
dried maize grain/cob 7
Dry weight of Maize grains of sample area (10.56 m²)
8
Yield of the plot (Each plot area= 40 m²)
9
Maize Yield/Hectare
5. Conclusions The following conclusions were drawn at the end of the experiments: x Test Plot 3 and 4 were filled with loamy sand soil. For Test plot 3, during the crop period, water from the study area was used for irrigation and for test plot 4, BMSCE bore well water was used. It was observed that the maize crop yield from the test plot 3 got reduced by 25% when compared with the yield of the test plot 4. x From the EDX analysis, it was observed that the salt deposition signature in the soil is predominantly less, even though water from the study area was having high salt content. This is because, the process of deposition of salts in the soil may be very slow and the experiments were conducted for only one season. Also, since the Loamy sand soil is more porous, the salts deposited in the root zone is carried down during heavy rains and irrigation.
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References Arnon D.I. and P.R. Stout, 1939. Essentiality of Certain Elements in Minute Quantities for Plants with Species Reference to Copper, Plant Physiology, Vol.14, 371-375. Ayers R. S. and Westcot D. W.,1985. Water Quality for Agriculture, in “FAO Irrigation and Drainage”. In: Paper No. 29, Rev. 1, U. N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome. Ayers R. S. and Westcot D. W, 1985. In:’ Water Quality for Agriculture”, FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 29, Rev. 1, U. N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome. Chetana Suvarna A. and Somashekar R.K., 1997. Evolution of Water Quality Index of River Cauvery and its Tributaries, Current Science, Vol. 72, No.9, 640-646. Eswaran H., Almaraz R., Van den Berg E. and Reich P.,1997. An Assessment of the Soil Resources of Africa in Relation to Productivity, Geoderma, Vol. 77, 1–18. Hedlund A., Witter E. and Ann B.X.,2003. Assessment of N, P and K Management by Nutrient Balances and Flows on Peri-Urban Smallholder Farms in Southern Vietnam, European Journal of Agronomy, Vol. 20, 71–87. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 2006. In: “Hand book of Agriculture”, 154-422. Lal R., Blum W.E.H, Allentin C. and Stewart B.A.,1997.In:”Methods for Assessment of Land Degradation”, Boca Raton:CRC. Maas E.V.,1990.In“Crop Salt Tolerance In: Agricultural Salinity Assessment and Management Manual”, ASCE, New York, pp.262-304 Pratt P.F. and Suarez D.L.,1990. Irrigation Water Quality Assessments In: Agricultural Salinity Assessment and Management Manual, ASCE, New York, 220-236. Stocking, M. A,2003. Tropical Soils and Food Security: The Next 50 Years, Soil Science, Vol.302, 1356. Syers J.K, Hamblin A. and Pushparajah E., 1995. Indicators and thresholds for the Evaluation of Sustainable Land Management, Canadian Journal of Soil Science,Vol.75, No.4,423- 428. Tanji K.K., 1990. Agricultural Salinity Assessment and Management, in“American Society of Civil Engineers”.In: Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice, No.71, p19. Zhang W.L., Tian Z.X., Zhang N and Li X.Q., 1996. Nitrate Pollution of Groundwater in Northern China, Agriculture Ecosystem and Environment, Vol. 59, 223–231.
ScienceDirect Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WATER RESOURCES, COASTAL AND OCEAN ENGINEERING (ICWRCOE 2015)
Experimental Studies on Effect of Water and Soil quality on Crop Yield K.R. Suresha*, M.A.Nageshb a Department of Civil Engineering, BMS College of Engineering, Bull Temple Road, Bangalore – 560 019, INDIA Department of Construction Technology & Management, Acharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore – 560 107, INDIA
b
Abstract The dawn of the industrial revolution, forced the mankind to introduce numerous hazardous compounds into the environment at an exponential rate. The hazardous pollutants consist of a variety of organic compounds and heavy metals. These pose serious risks to plant and human health. Indiscriminate dumping of urban and industrial effluents along with solid wastes often lead to toxic accumulation of heavy metals which not only impair soil productivity but also cause health hazards by entering into food chain via soil–plant–animal/human route. In modern economies, soil, air and water are traditionally been used as sites for the disposal of wastes. Supply of good quality irrigation water will decrease in future, as the development of new water supplies will not keep pace with the increasing water needs of industries and municipalities. Thus, irrigated agriculture faces the challenge of using less water and in many cases poorer quality water, to provide food and fibre for an increasing population. The quality of irrigation water plays an important role in agricultural development and requires management for maintaining an optimum salt balance in the root zone for productive agriculture. Irrigation with poor quality water may cause an excessive accumulation of salts in the root zone of soil. This affects crop yield, quality of produce and the choice of crop to be grown. In the present work, experiments were conducted at BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore in order to study the effect of water and soil quality on Maize crop yield. Vrishabavathi command area was considered in the case study. The water in the river is highly polluted and the soil in the command area shows degradation. Four plots of 4x10m were prepared and in two plots, the existing soil was replaced with the soil from the study area. Also for two test plots (red soil plot and brown loamy soil from the Vrishabavathi command area plot), water from Vrishabavathi River was supplied throughout the crop period. Comparisons were made at the end of the harvest. It was observed that yield from the Maize crop grown with river water on the soil from the command area showed a decrease of about 25% compared to that of the yield from the red soil with bore well water. © 2015The TheAuthors. Authors.Published Published Elsevier © 2015 by by Elsevier B.V.B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015. Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015 Key words:Water; soil; yield; sowing; harvesting
* Corresponding author. Tel.:09483512589 E-mail address: [email protected]
2214-241X © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015 doi:10.1016/j.aqpro.2015.02.161
1236
K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
1. Introduction Water is a precious natural resource. Surface water resources are limited. Exponential growth in population and the resulting demand for water requires careful planning of the management of available water resources. The urbanization, industrialization, poor land management and environmental pollution have imposed stress on agricultural production. Soil pollution is often thought as a result of chemical contamination. The use of poor quality water, application of excessive amounts of pesticides and fertilizers can result in soil contamination. Soils have often been neglected when they are used for on-site disposal of chemical waste and unwanted materials. To some degree, most of the soils are capable of adsorbing and detoxifying many pollutants to harmless levels through chemical and biochemical processes. Polluted water and soil pose a serious threat to plants, affecting the yield. Also causes health hazards by entering the food chain. In the present study, an attempt was made to study the effect of soil and water quality on crop yield. For this, the Vrishabavathi command area was considered. Vrishabavathi was once a fresh water river. Now it is conveying Bangalore city sewage, Industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes. Today it is one of the most contaminated water sources. The crop yield response was studied for the study area at the test plots at BMSCE campus, Bangalore. 1.1. Irrigation water quality The quality of irrigation water directly influences the quality of soil and crops grown on this soil. Salinity is the most common problem and about 10 million hectares of land is lost annually due to salinity Tanji(1990). As a consequence, the effective use of both the agricultural land and the irrigation water has become an indispensable component. The quality of irrigation water is as important as the nature of a soil. If the quality of water supplied for irrigation is not good, the soil deteriorates and ultimately decreases the crop yield. The irrigation water quality criteria depends on Salinity, permeability, Specific ion toxicity like sodium in terms of Sodium Adsorption Ratio(SAR), chloride, boron and miscellaneous effects like nitrates, bicarbonates and pH of water Ayers and Westcot (1985). 1.2. Soil Quality Soil quality of a soil is its ability to supply essential nutrient elements to the plants in adequate amount and in right proportion for their optimum growth. The soil properties that are sensitive to changes in management can be used as indicators of soil quality. The soil quality as per the plant requirements can be assessed based on soil fertility, soil texture, soil structure, soil water regime and soil temperature. Soil fertility refers to the inherent capacity of a soil to supply essential nutrient elements to the plants in adequate amount and in right proportion for their optimum growth. Soil texture is the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay particles in a mass of soil. The soil containing almost equal proportion of sand, silt and clay are grouped as loams. Theses soils have good physical character. The pore space, leaching and water holding capacity of loams lies in between sand and clay soils. Soil structure is the arrangement of soil particles of different shape and size is called soil structure. These are grouped as soil aggregates in which soil particles are separated and soil cluster in which soil particles are held together. The soil structure influences properties of rate of infiltration, leaching, water retention, swelling, shrinkage and drainage. The soil water regime has the maximum influence on the growth and yield of a crop. The soil temperature affects the plant growth, chemical and biological activities in the soil. Selection of appropriate crops for irrigation is done on the basis of the salt tolerance of the crop and the salinity of the irrigation water Ayers and Westcot(1985);Maas (1990);Pratt and Suarez(1990). 2. Description of study area The area considered in the present study is a part of Vrishabavathi Valley. The study area encompasses latitude of 12° 43’ N to 12° 54’ N and Longitude of 77° 23’ E to 77° 30’ E with an area of about 290 km². Vrishabavathi, now conveys Bangalore city sewage, Industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes. The study of water quality of Vrishabavathi River is reported as poor Chetana Suvarna and Somashekar (1997). The water when boiled leaves
1237
K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
heavy sedimentation in the vessels indicating the presence of higher amount of salts. In case of growing rice, the farmers have experienced a good vegetative growth of crop but with very less crop yield. The farmers also have experienced low yield of sugarcane. The use of poor quality of water is also resulting in the degradation of soil quality in terms of poor infiltration, alteration of soil structure and other associated salinization problems. The yield of the crops in the study area is decreasing year by year. In recent times, the farmers in the study area have resorted to growing semi salt tolerant crops like Maize, Mulberry, plantation crops like Coconut and other horticulture crops. In the study area, the water is available throughout the year and the farmers find no difficulty in giving the required amount of water to the crop. Hence, in the present study, it was assumed that the crops get required quantity of water as and when they require. Also, the influence of climatic factors and the farm practices on crop yield were not discussed in the study. 3. Experimental Program The experiments were conducted at BMS College of Engineering campus, Bangalore, India. The site is located at Latitude of 12.94°N and Longitude of 77.57°E. The experiments were conducted from 6-3-08 to 26-6-08. 3.1. Preparation of plots Four experimental plots of size 4 m x 10 m were prepared as in Fig. 1.The existing soil was removed from test plots up to a depth of 1.5 m and backfilled with good red sandy loam soil in Plot 1 and 2 and the brown loamy sand soil from the study area (Vrishabavathi valley) in the plots 3 and 4. The soil in the plots was allowed to consolidate for one complete monsoon period. Mechanical and hydrometer analysis was used to classify the soils based on texture. The physical properties and textural classification of the soils are presented in the Table 1. Table 1. Physical Properties of Soil in Plot 1 & 2 and Plot 3 & 4 Textural separates % Soil
Red soil (Plot 1 &2) Brown Soil (Plot 3&4)
Textural Soil
Average Bulk density
Average Dry
γb(g/cc)
γd (g/cc)
Density
Sand
Silt
Clay
Classification
60
22
18
Sandy Loam
1.779
1.50
84
6
10
Loamy Sand
1.841
1.60
The consolidated test plots were cleaned and tilled. Recommended amounts of farm yard manure was spread and mixed with soil up to the required depth as per the guide lines given by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (2006). Manual weeding was carried out as and when required and insecticide was applied during the flowering and cob filling stages. Separate water tanks were used to supply the water to the plots as in Fig. 1. One of the tanks with BMSCE bore well water was used to supply water to the plots 1 with sandy loam and plot 4 with loamy sand. The other tank with water from the study area was used to supply the water to the plots 2 with sandy loam and plot 3 with loamy sand. Evaporimeter and weather station were installed near the plots. Irrigation scheduling was based on the actual soil moisture content in the soils. The soil moisture content was recorded using a soil moisture probe. Collecting pits were provided to collect the excess runoff from the plots.
1238
K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
Fig.1. Layout plan of experimental site
The properties of water from the study area and the bore well are as in Table2. Table 2. Water Analysis of Study Area and BMSCE Bore Well Water TDS ppm
Na
Ca
Mg
dS/m
ppm
ppm
ppm
7.70
0.81
530
197
60
51
4.50
7.23
0.63
412
86
72
55
1.86
Water
pH
Water from the study area BMSCE Bore well water
EC
SAR
Maize crop was selected for the study. This is because, farmers in the study area are extensively growing Maize. Maize crop characteristics are shown in Table 3.
1239
K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242 Table 3. Characteristics of Maize Crop Maize Crop Stages of development
Maize Crop Characteristics
Initial
Crop development
Mid season
Late season
Total
Stage length in days
20
35
40
30
125
Depletion Coefficient
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.8
-
Root depth, m
0.3
>>
>>
1.0
-
Crop coefficient, Kc
0.3
>>
1.2
0.5
-
Yield response factor
0.4
0.4
1.3
0.5
-
4. Crop response to water and soil quality Sandy loam soil (red soil) of plots 1 and 2 and loamy sand soil (brown soil) of plots 3 and 4 before sowing and after harvesting the crop were analysed for various elements using EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrophotometer Analysis). The EDX analysis showed considerable accumulation of sodium salt in the soil at the end of the crop period. (Fig.2 and 3). It was observed that the sodium content of the soil in test plot 3 (irrigated with water from the study area) has increased compared to the test plot 4 (irrigated with BMSCE bore well water).
Fig.2 EDX analysis for test plot 3 and 4
1240
K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
Fig.3 Soil Texture in the test plots 3 and 4 before and after crop period
4.1. Crop yield In order to calculate the yield from the test plots, stratified sampling technique was adopted. This was because the population of the cobs over the entire test plots was heterogeneous in nature. Equal allocation method was adopted to find the yield and the results are presented in Table 4. The different stages of crop during the crop period are shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.
Fig. 4 Different stages of Maize crop grown on plot 3
Fig. 5 Different stages of Maize crop grown on plot 4
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K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
The details of soil, depletion coefficient and maize crop yield of plot 1,2,3 and 4 are as in Table 4. The sampling details of Maize grown were as follows: x x x
Sampling area /plot = (1.2X0.8) m2 X 11=10.56 m2 (26% of the plot) Total number of cobs of the sampling area in each of plot 1 & 2 = 70 Numbers Total number of cobs of the sampling area in each of plot 3 & 4 = 74 Numbers Table 4. Details of Soil, Depletion Coefficient and Maize Yield of Plot 1, 2, 3 and 4 Plot-1 Sl. No.
Details
1
Soil colour
2
Soil type
Plot-2
Plot-3
Plot-4
(BMSCE
(Water from
(Water from
(BMSCE
Bore well Water)
the study area)
the study area)
Bore well Water)
Red
Red
Brown
Brown
Sandy
Loamy
Loam
sand
Sandy Loam
Loamy sand
3
Field capacity of soil
22%
22%
16%
16%
4
Wilting point
10%
10%
6%
6%
5
Depletion Coefficient (p)
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
6
Average weight of
111.14 gm
85.28 gm
122.16 gm
162.97 gm
7.78 kg
5.97 kg
9.04 kg
12.06 kg
29.47 kg
22.61 kg
34.24 kg
45.68 kg
7.36 tons
5.65 tons
8.56 tons
11.42 tons
dried maize grain/cob 7
Dry weight of Maize grains of sample area (10.56 m²)
8
Yield of the plot (Each plot area= 40 m²)
9
Maize Yield/Hectare
5. Conclusions The following conclusions were drawn at the end of the experiments: x Test Plot 3 and 4 were filled with loamy sand soil. For Test plot 3, during the crop period, water from the study area was used for irrigation and for test plot 4, BMSCE bore well water was used. It was observed that the maize crop yield from the test plot 3 got reduced by 25% when compared with the yield of the test plot 4. x From the EDX analysis, it was observed that the salt deposition signature in the soil is predominantly less, even though water from the study area was having high salt content. This is because, the process of deposition of salts in the soil may be very slow and the experiments were conducted for only one season. Also, since the Loamy sand soil is more porous, the salts deposited in the root zone is carried down during heavy rains and irrigation.
1242
K.R. Suresh and M.A. Nagesh / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 1235 – 1242
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