Volume 11 No. 4 ISSN 0022–457X October-December 2012

Contents

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Management of excess runoff and soil loss under different cropping systems in 277rainfed foothill region of North-west India– K.R. Sharma and Sanjay AroraDeclining land quality: A challenge to agriculture growth 281– Arun Chaturvedi, Nitin Patil, T.N. Hajare, S.N. Goswami and R.S. GawandeMicro irrigation for efficient water management 287– Neelam Patel and T.B.S. RajputWater saving technique for intercropping in castor (Ricinus communis L.) 296– Ajit Singh, Vijaya Rani and N.K. BansalAdequacy and equity of rotational distribution of irrigation water of gravity flow 301Ranbir Canal system of Jammu province–A case studyA.K. Raina, Vijay Bharti, Parshotam Kumar Sharma and A. SamantaAssessment of underground water quality in Mundlana Block of Sonipat district in Haryana 307– Ramesh Sharma, Pardeep, S.K. Sharma, Sanjay Kumar and B.S. NegiAssessment of irrigation water quality of cold arid Ladakh region 311– Somen Acharya, A.K. Katiyar, V K Bharti, Guru Charan, B. Prakash and R. B. SrivastavaSoil moisture, organic carbon and micronutrient dynamics and their interrelationship in 316 drip irrigated mango orchard– S R Bhriguvanshi, Tarun Adak, Kailash Kumar, V.K. Singh, Achal Singh and Vinod Kumar SinghRainwater harvesting in North-Western himalayan region-A case study 323– Rohitshaw Kumar, Deepak Jhajharia, D. Ram, S. Chand, Mukesh Kumar and R M ShuklaEffect of low nitrogen on productivity and nitrogen economy of maize (Zea mays) cultivars 329– Mahendra Singh PalInfluence of value added fertilizer on production and productivity of wheat (Triticumaestivum L.) in 334Indo-gangetic plains of eastern Uttar Pradesh– A.K. Jha, K.K. Singh and Mayank RaiReservoirs – Sink or sources of greenhouse gases? 339– Somen Acharya, Tarun Adak and R.B. SrivastavaAddressing social and gender issues –A key to exploit full potential of watershed development 346programmes in rehabilitating Shivalik ecosystem-Northern India– Swarn Lata Arya and R.P. YadavFarmers’ perception about climate change and its impact on agriculture in Panna distrct of 356Bundelkhand region (Madhya Pradesh), Central India– Rajendra Prasad, A.K. Pandey, S.K. Dhyani, N.K. Saroj and V.D. TripathiCrop growth and methane emission dynamics of soil under different methods of transplanting of rice 365Priyanka Suryavanshi, Y.V. Singh, K.K. Singh and Y.S. ShivayRole of communication technologies for enhancing farmers’ agricultural knowledge 372V.K. Bharti, Hans Raj, Suraj Bhan and Pankaj Kumar

PledgeJ.S. Bali

I pledge to conserve Soil,

that sustains me.

I pledge to conserve Water,

that is vital for life.

I care for Plants and Animals and the Wildlife,

which sustain me.

I pledge to work for adaptation to,

and mitigation of Global Warming.

I pledge to remain devoted,

to the management of all Natural Resources,

With harmony between Ecology and Economics.

October-December 2012] MANAGEMENT OF EXCESS RUNOFF 277

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 277-280, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Management of excess runoff and soil loss underdifferent cropping systems in rainfed foothill region of

North-west India

K.R. SHARMA1 and SANJAY ARORA2

Received: 27 April 2012; Accepted: 1 October 2012

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during kharif season on nearly 2 % sloping lands in kandi (droughtprone) region of Jammu with the objective to evaluate different intercropping in maize (Zea mays) withcowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and mash (Vigna mungo) and their sole stands. Intercropping of mash andcowpea with maize gave higher maize-equivalent yields (43.32 and 42.43 q ha-1, respectively) than solemaize (42.05 q ha-1). Mash and cowpea in sole stands had less runoff and soil loss than their intercropwith maize. The runoff and soil loss was minimum under maize intercropped with mash whichaccounted to be 10.6 per cent of rainfall and 2.77 Mg ha-1, respectively. Highest runoff and soil loss wasobserved in cultivated fallow followed by maize as sole crop.

Key words: erosion, runoff, soil loss, maize, legumes

1Professor, Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology,Faculty of Agriculture, Chatha - 180009, Jammu (J&K), India2Present address: CSSRI, RRS, Bharuch (Gujarat)

INTRODUCTIONSoil erosion by water is a serious hazard in foothill

region of Shivaliks in North-west Himalayas, anarrow belt of 10-25 km width, having an area ofabout 9 % of geographical area of Jammu & Kashmir.The area represents Shivalik deposits, indicating thatit is alluvial detritus derived from sub-aerial wastesof mountains swept down by rivers and streams. Ithas a sub-humid climate with an annual rainfall of800-1250 mm of which 80% is received duringmonsoon season.

The seriousness of the problems can be imaginedfrom the fact that in highly denuded Shivaliks, 4-6cm topsoil layer often disappears during a singlemonsoon. Due to great variation in steepness of thisslope ranging from slightly gentle (1 to 2%) to steepslope (>10%) in kandi (drought prone) belt of Jammu,erosion is the major problem of soil husbandry. Soilerosion is creating great damage in this region ofJammu. Even in lands with a slope of 2 to 3 per centin clay loam soil, there is loss of 106.5 t ha-1 year-1. Inall districts of Jammu region, the damage to soil

because of water erosion is considerable, especiallyin the tracts lying under outer or Shivalik Himalayas,most of which occurs during south-west monsoonseason (Hadda et al., 2006). The soils of the kandiregion of Jammu are found to be highly erodiblebecause of their coarser texture, low in organic matterand water holding capacity (Arora, 2006; Gupta etal., 2010).

The soil erosion has converted most of the fertilesoils of the region into barren, fallow and degradedlands. About 32 per cent of the total geographicalarea of Jammu and Kashmir is found to be highlydegraded. Soil erosion creates a vast quantity ofdebris which in turn, is accumulated at the base ofthe rivers and streams, and shrink their basins, as aresult of which a slight rainfall causes flash floods.In fact, soil erosion is at once cause and effect of thedepletion of the forests (Gupta and Arora, 2010). Themost damage of all is the way the erosion of top soiland vanishing the vegetation, reduces the amountof water which would otherwise percolate into thesoil and later on charge vital ground water acquires

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278 SHARMA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

(Kukal et al., 1993). It is estimated that soil loss isabout 3.6 to 10 t ha-1 through erosion during maizecrops. None of the farmer in the area is havingknowledge and interest regarding rainwatermanagement for ground water recharge and duringour survey no water harvesting structures or pondswere located in the villages surveyed. Although oneor two existed in poor shaped developed a decadeback. Lack of technical knowledge and pooreconomic status are the major constraints identifiedfor conservation and management of water and soilin the area (Arora and Bhatt, 2006).

Maize is the principal kharif season crop of theWestern Himalayan region of India and is mainlysown with the onset of monsoon (Khola et al., 1999).Canopy cover is the first line of defense against watererosion with direct reduction in splash effect,reduced soil sealing and more soil infiltrability.Legumes are considered to be the best soilconservators (Tejwani and Mathur, 1972) andlegumes as intercrops impart sustainability in thesystem (Sharma and Chaubey, 1991). However, noinformation is available presently on the extent ofcontribution in canopy cover and yield by variouskharif pulses to maize in intercropping in comparisonto sole crops in this region. Therefore, the presentstudy was undertaken to evaluate the protection andproduction worth of two kharif legumes viz. cowpeaand mash with and without maize.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe field experiment was conducted in Jammu at

a latitude of 30o 39’ N and longitude of 74o 53’ E andat an elevation of 332 m above mean sea levelrepresenting the kandi belt of Jammu plain areas andpart of Kathua and Udhampur districts of Jammuprovince. The objective of the experiment was toevaluate different crops and combination of legumecrops with maize on soil loss and runoff with thetreatments comprising of T1 = Sole maize, T2 = Solemash, T3 = Sole cowpea, T4 = Maize+ mash, T5 =Maize + cowpea and T6 = cultivated fallow. Thetreatments were replicated thrice in randomizedblock design.

The total recorded rainfall during the kharif seasonwas 642 mm considering only those rainstormswhich produced >10 mm of rainfall in singlerainstorm. The annual rainfall received was 966 mm,of which 862.5 mm during kharif (June-September)and remaining only 61.3 mm during rabi (October-

April). The monthly average rainfall received duringmonsoon period is presented in Fig. 1. The soils ofthe experimental site are medium to coarse in texturewith low to medium in moisture retention capacity.The characteristics of the soil of the experimental siteare presented in Table 1.

Since the economical crop produce under varioustreatments were different, maize equivalent yieldswere calculated on the basis of prevailing marketrates of respective economical products of differentcrops in Jammu. The data were statistically analysedas per the procedures outlined by Cochran and Cox(1957).

Soil characteristics Values

pH (1:2.5) 7.2EC (dS m-1) 0.32Organic carbon (%) 0.35Available N (kg/ha) 168Available P (kg/ha) 11.4Available K (kg/ha) 128Sand (%) 65.4Clay (%) 18.5Textural class Sandy loamBulk density (Mg m-3) 1.48Water retention at 1/3 bar (%) 13.0Water retention at 15 bar (%) 4.0

Table 1. Characteristics of the soil of the experimental site

Fig. 1. Average rainfall during monsoon period

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Crop yields

There was certain increase in mean maizeequivalent yields of intercropping systems than theirrespective sole stands of intercrops (Table 1). It wasfound to be 3 and 0.8 % higher under maize+mashand maize+cowpea intercrops over the sole maize(Table 2).

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October-December 2012] MANAGEMENT OF EXCESS RUNOFF 279

Higher maize-equivalent yields underintercropping than sole cropping of maize and/orlegumes were also reported by Sharma et al. (1998)and Khola et al. (1999). These were attributed tobetter utilization and complementary nutrient use(Willey, 1979). Intercropping of legumes reduced thegrain yield of maize which indicated the interspecificcompetition or allelopathic effects of legumes onmaize was more than intraspecific competition orautotoxic effect of maize on maize that was in ordercowpea> mash. The higher grain yield under maize+ mash may be attributed to minimum adverseeffects of growing mash in maize.

Maize also had adverse effects on grain yields oflegumes in intercropping which was 52.3 per cent inmaize+mash and 58.6 per cent in Maize + cowpea.Thus reduction in the grain yields of legumes due tomaize was nearly same with mash and cowpea whichrevealed that interspecific competition inintercropping was more than intraspecificcompetition in different legumes.

Soil moisture storage

Periodic soil moisture storage was recorded in thestanding crops and it was observed that in-situgravimetric soil moisture was highest undermaize+mash (14.64 %) at 60 days after sowing (DAS)(Table 2). This may be due to reduced runoff andmore canopy cover preventing losses of moisturefrom the soil.

in combination with maize (Table 3). Sole cowpeaand sole mash produced comparatively low runoffresulting lower soil loss as compared to sole maize.However, combination with maize or maize alonewas inferior in reducing runoff.

Runoff and soil loss

It was observed that highest runoff (nearly 45 percent of rainfall) was obtained in cultivated fallow ascompared to sole maize (36.5%) or cowpea or mash

Table 2. Effect of intercropping on grain yield and maizeequivalent yield.

Treatments Yield (q ha-1) Maize Soilequivalent moisture

Maize Intercrop Yield storage atlegume (q ha-1) 60 DAS

(cm/60cm)

Maize sole 42.05 - 42.05 8.45Mash sole - 6.17 19.75 10.40Cowpea sole - 8.26 26.43 11.35Maize+ mash 32.98 3.23 43.32 14.64Maize +cowpea 26.94 4.84 42.43 12.22Cultivated - - - 7.30fallowCD (5%) - - 2.35 -

DAS: days after sowing

Table 3. Effect of intercropping on soil loss and runoff

Treatments Runoff Soil loss (% of rainfall) (Mg ha-1)

Maize sole 36.5 7.45Mash sole 24.8 5.82Cowpea sole 18.7 4.63Maize+ mash 10.6 2.77Maize + cowpea 14.2 3.34Cultivated fallow 45.2 8.67

Table 4. Effect of intercropping on monetary return andbiological feasibility

Treatments Gross monetary Land equivalentreturns (Rs ha-1) ratio (LER)

Maize sole 21025 1.00Mash sole 9872 1.00Cowpea sole 13216 1.00Maize+ mash 21658 1.32Maize + cowpea 21214 1.22Cultivated fallow - -CD (5%) 2132 NS

Monetary returns

Further, cowpea gave the highest monetaryreturns in terms of crop produce and maize-mashintercropping recorded the highest land equivalentratio (LER) as compared to other intercropping orsole crop (Table 4). Maximum gross returns to thetune of Rs. 21658 ha-1 was observed undermaize+mash which was nearly 3 per cent higher overthe sole maize.

Biological feasibility

Effect of crop species combinations on LER werestatistically non-significant. Amongst intercrops,highest LER was observed under maize + mash,while minimum LER was found under maize +cowpea. Although maize + mash producedmaximum LER, it could not give maximum grossreturn that is simply because LER does not take intoaccount the relative monetary value of products(Willey, 1979) and also LER is independent of yieldlevels (Chetty and Rao, 1979).

Biological sustainability of intercropping over solecropping of maize and legumes were indicated byhigher LER values (1.22 to 1.32) under different cropspecies combinations (Table 4).

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280 SHARMA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

CONCLUSION

The study showed that intercropping of maizewith legumes will be beneficial not only in terms ofyields and monetary returns but also conserving thesoil and in-situ moisture for the succeeding crops inthe kandi (foothill) region. Also, keeping in view theatmospheric nitrogen fixing ability of legumes, thesoil fertility can also be enhanced due to intercropsas compared to sole maize.

REFERENCES

Arora, Sanjay 2006 Preliminary assessment of soil andwater conservation status in drought prone foothillregion of north-west India. Journal of World Associationof Soil Water Conservation J1-5: 55-63.

Arora, Sanjay and Bhatt, R. 2006 Effect of in-situ soilmoisture conservation practices on soil moisturestorage and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) in a rainfedfoothill region of North-west India. Tropical Agriculture82(3): 37-42.

Arora, Sanjay and Hadda, M. S. 2003 Soil moistureconservation and nutrient management practices inmaize-wheat cropping system in rainfed North-western tract of India. Indian Journal of DrylandAgricultural Research and Development Vol 18 (1) : 70-74.

Arora, Sanjay, Sharma V., Kohli A. and Jalali V.K. 2006.Soil and water conservation for sustainable cropproduction in Kandi region of Jammu. Journal of Soiland Water Conservation 5(2) : 77-82.

Chetty, C.K.R. and Rao, U.M.B. 1979. Experimentaldesigns for intercropping systems and analysis of data.In: Proceedings of International IntercroppingWorkshop, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, January 10-13, pp.277-281.

Cochran W.G., Cox, G.M. 1957. Experimental design, 2nd

ed. John Willey and Sons Inc., New York.

Dhruvanarayana, V.V. and Ram Babu 1983. Estimationof soil erosion in India. J. Irri. Drain. Engg. 109 : 419-434.

Gupta, R.D., Arora, Sanjay, Gupta, G.D. and Sumberia,N.M. (2010) Soil physical variability in relation to soilerodibility under different land uses in foothills ofSiwaliks in N-W India. Tropical Ecology 51(II): 183-198.

Gupta, R.D. and Arora, Sanjay 2010. Watershedmanagement and Eco-restoration of degraded landsin Northwest Himalayas. Journal of the Soil and WaterConservation 9(4) 249-253.

Hadda, M.S., Arora, Sanjay and Vashistha, M. 2006).Resource management for soil and water conservationin relation to crop productivity. Journal of Soil and WaterConservation, India. 5(4): 1-8.

Khola, O.P.S., Dube, R.K. and Sharma, N.K. 1999.Conservation and production ability of maize (Zeamays) – legume intercropping systems under varyingdates of sowing. Indian J. Agron. 44(1) : 40-46.

Kukal, S. S., Khera, K. L. and Hadda, M. S. 1993. Soilerosion management on arable lands of submontanePunjab, India: a review. Arid Soil Research andRehabilitation. 7(4): 369-375.

Sharma, R.S. and Chaubey, S.D. 1991. Effect of maize-legume intercropping systems on nitrogen economyand nutrient status of soil. Indian J. Agron. 26 : 60-63.

Sharma, V.M., Chakor, I.S. and Manchanda, A.K. 1998.Effect of maize (Zea mays)- based legume intercroppingon growth and yield attributes of succeeding wheat(Triticum aestivum) and economics. Indian J. Agron.33(2) : 231-236.

Tejwani, K.G. and Mathur, H.N. 1972. Role of grasses andlegumes in soil conservation. Soil Cons. Digest 1: 21-29.

Willey, R.W. 1979. Intercropping its importance andresearch needs. Part I. Competition and yieldadvantage. Field Crops Abs. 32(1) : 1-10.

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October-December 2012] DECLINING LAND QUALITY 281

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 281-286, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Declining land quality: A challenge to agriculture growth

ARUN CHATURVEDI1, NITIN PATIL2, T.N. HAJARE3, S.N. GOSWAMI4 and R.S. GAWANDE5

Received: 29 April 2012; Accepted: 18 September 2012

ABSTRACT

The country is destined to combat with increasing agricultural productivity with its finite land resources.Net area sown per person has decreased from 0.329 ha in 1950-51 to 0.12 ha in 2007-08 showing adecline of 62 per cent during the span of 57 years. Similarly, gross cropped area per person also declinedfrom 0.365 ha in 1950-51 to 0.17 ha in 2007-08 indicating a decrease of 52 per cent. The problem iscompounded by the fact that sizeable land is not in a healthy state. Land degradation is the major causeof concern because despite differences about aerial extent, different reports are unanimous that largechunk of the land is being lost due to degradation. It is well understood that the health status of naturalresources determines the productive capacity of soils and land. The severity of the problem due to landdegradation in the country can be gauged from the fact that in different States, the economic lossesaccount for 10 to 27 per cent of the total value productivity, the average being 12 percent for the country.This has implications for the sustainability of agriculture and food security of the nation.The presentstudy examines the current scenario, especially land degradation, and discusses policy imperatives toprotect precious land resources. Macro level and micro level implications are discussed. The suggestionsinclude legislation to protect soils, no subsidy on electricity/groundwater pumping, discouraging freesupply of irrigation water etc. There is an urgent necessity to formulate a national policy for compilation,coordination and sharing of information in respect of soil, land use and degraded lands.

Key words: soil health, land quality, agricultural productivity, land degradation

1-5 Division of Land Use Planning, National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning, 633, Amravati Road, Nagpur – 440010 e-mail arunchat55@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

It is estimated that 44 per cent of India’s total landarea is affected by land degradation, which hassevere implications for livelihood and food security(MOEF 2009). Land, labour and capital are the threeimportant resources which constitute the factors ofagricultural production. In India, land gets leastrecognition due to a general perception that there isno dearth of land and its availability in large quantityhas given complacency to the society. For mostpeople in urban areas, land is an anchorage spacewhich can be manipulated. It has become fashionableto talk about an anthropocentric approach fordevelopment. The question is, can there be humandevelopment in a country like India without a properutilization of its land resources? Land being a finitenatural national resource, its efficient use andmanagement is vital for economic growth and

development of the country.The total geographical area of India being 328.73

million hectare (m ha), 306.06 m ha comprises thereporting area and 264.5 m ha only is under use foragriculture, forestry, pasture and other biomassproduction systems. Since 1970-71, the net area sownhas remained around 140 m. ha (Ministry ofAgriculture and Cooperation 2007-08). Indiasupports approximately 16% of the world’s humanpopulation and 20% of the world’s livestockpopulation on merely 2.5% of the world’sgeographical area. The demands on the finite landresources are increasing exponentially due to thegrowing population at the rate of 1.3 per cent. India’spopulation is projected to reach 1.5 billion by about2035 A.D. This population growth is making the manto land ratio more unfavorable. The per capita netsown area has been declining from 0.33 ha (1951-52)

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282 CHATURVEDI ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

to 0.12 ha (by 2010 A.D.). The food production nodoubt increased from 52 m tones (in 1950’s) to 235 mtones (The Hindu April 24, 2011) but this has beenlargely as a result of expansion in cultivated area,irrigated area and use of high inputs. The significantgrowth of agriculture has been at a cost of decline insoil quality and risk of soil degradation. Accordingto a study (Challa et al, 2007), about 57 per cent ofsoils are under different kinds and degrees ofdegradation and these are getting furtherdeteriorated with risk of jeopardizing our foodsecurity systems. On the top of it, many more issuesconcerning environment, sustainability, carryingcapacity of our land resources including increaseddemand of land and water for non- agricultural usesetc. are gaining importance. These adversely affectsoil health and, in turn, human health.

The steady growth of human as well as livestockpopulation, the widespread incidence of poverty,and the current phase of economic and tradeliberalization are exerting heavy pressures on India’slimited land resources for competing uses in forestry,agriculture, pastures, human settlements andindustries. These multifunctional uses of landdemands a more focused attention to developagricultural/ non agricultural uses for sustaining theincreasing population (http://envfor.nic.in/soer/2001/ind_land.pdf).

Any agrarian economy is highly natural resourcedependent. The status of natural resourcesdetermines the productive capacity of soils and land.Similarly, its degradation is also closely related topoverty for the people who are dependent on land.Studies on the socio-economic scenario of eroded/degraded lands of Chhindwara District M.P. haveconcluded that Soil and Land Degradation andPoverty have a direct relationship. The Severe andVery Severe Eroded lands of the district were mostlyinhabited by tribal population, had less literatepopulation, had fewer amenities and infrastructurefacilities in comparison with the better lands(Chaturvedi, 1988). FAO studies have also concludedthat soil erosion and other degradation lead tonutrient depletion reducing the soil fertility and thusreducing the agricultural production leading topoverty.

Land degradation: The Indian scenario

Land degradation is a ubiquitous and is also anatural phenomenon due to the basic nature of soiland land formation and the various bio-physical

properties inherent in the soils. The degradation is,however, assuming serious proportions due to theincreasing human interference. Problems areaggravating further with more and more new landsbeing brought under canal irrigation without propereducation of the farmers in using irrigation waterand managing the existing lands judiciously. Thewidespread land degradation resulting in reducedproductivity is the most serious threat to our effortsto achieve sustainability goals. Land degradation isa serious threat to social, economic and politicalstability, particularly in developing country likeIndia.

The major factors causing land degradation are:unsuitable agriculture practices, unsuitable watermanagement, land use changes- conversion of primeforest land to agriculture uses, diversion ofagriculture lands, pastures and grazing lands to otheruses, uncontrolled and illegal logging /felling inforests, industrial and mining activities anddischarge of effluents/pollutants and increasedlivestock pressure. Impact of land degradation is theloss of productivity and bio-diversity as it adverselyaffects the crop lands subjected to soil erosion andthere is a rapid decline in the production.

In India, the estimates on land degradation/wastelands given by different agencies are highlyvariable (Table 1), which may largely be due todiffering definitions of degraded lands and/ordifferentiating criteria used. Then there are differentapproaches in evaluating the soils and landdegradation, the natural processes and the humandimension and also the question of scale of mapping.In such a scenario the estimation of degraded/

Table 1. Estimates of degraded/waste lands of India bydifferent agencies

S. Agencies/Organisation AreaNo. (m ha)

1. National Commission on Agriculture, 175.0Govt. of India (1976)

2. Soil and Water Conservation Division, 173.6 Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India

3. Society for Promotion of Wastelands 93.7development (1984)

4. National Bureau of Soil Survey and 187.7Land Use Planning (1994) (Being Revised)

5. Department of Land Resources (2000) 63.86. Department of Agriculture & 107.4

Cooperation (1994)7. National Wasteland Development board, 123.0

MoEF, (1985).

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October-December 2012] DECLINING LAND QUALITY 283

wastelands in India has varied from 63.8 m. ha. to asmuch as 187.7 m ha. (nearly 57 per cent of TGA).

Irrespective of the disagreement on precise aerialextent, there is no doubt that the soils are stressedand the decline in their productivity must bearrested. In addition to the extent of the soil/landdegradation in India, the issue of its utilization isequally important. Chaturvedi and Thayalan (2003)have reported that in the North Deccan Plateauregion of Madhya Pradesh, cultivation is taking placeeven in the very severely eroded lands. These aresmall farmers (mostly tribal) who cultivate coarsegrains like kutki (little millet, Panicum sumatrense) forsurvival. These fragile lands are thus being furtherdegraded in the absence of any conservationmeasures and low technology.

Vasisht et al (2003) have translated the physicalextent of land degradation due to various causalfactors into economic terms to gauge the severity ofthe problem. Presenting a methodology for assessingthe economic losses on account of land degradation,they have applied the model to the Indian case toestimate the losses due to land degradation ineconomic terms. According to them, the totaleconomic losses in the country are estimated atnearly Rs. 285.51 billion. The severity of the problemdue to land degradation in the country can be gaugedfrom the fact that in different States, the economiclosses account for 10 to 27 per cent of the total valueproductivity, the average being 12 percent for thecountry. This has implications for the sustainabilityof agriculture and food security of the nation.

An analysis of the extent of land degradation inthe major states of the country reveals that the extentof degradation (Table 2) is the highest in the State ofMadhya Pradesh (26.2 m ha) and the minimum inPunjab (0.9 m ha). In terms of the proportion ofdegraded land to total geographical area of the State,the highest proportion of degraded land is in Kerala(67 per cent), followed by Madhya Pradesh (59 percent) while the minimum is in Jammu and Kashmir(10 per cent). The other States in which the problemof land degradation is severe are Andhra Pradesh(57 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (54 per cent), Gujarat(53 per cent), and Uttar Pradesh (52 per cent). Amongthe 17 States for which the data were available, withthe exception of Jammu and Kashmir (10 per cent)and Punjab (18 per cent), 15 States had over one-thirdof area degraded due to one or more of the causalfactors. These data highlight the severity of theproblem of land degradation in the country.

Policy initiatives to combat land degradation

The Government has initiated many programmesto combat the menace of soil and land degradation.These are Integrated Wasteland Development Project(IWDP), Desert Development Programme (DDP).Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP),Reclamation of Alkali Soil (RAS), WatershedDevelopment Project in Shifting Cultivation Areas(WDPSCA), National Watershed DevelopmentProject In Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA), River ValleyProject & Flood Prone Rivers (RVP & FPR) of theGovernment between 1999-2002, the maximum beingin Rajasthan and Gujarat. The irony is that in thesame period, the net sown area decreased and areaunder non-agriculture uses increased. Uttar Pradeshhad an area of 715000 ha under these programmesbut in the same period a large amount of goodagriculture land was deprived of its biologicalproductivity through conversion to non-agricultureuses, some being irreversible in nature. A veryimportant issue in appreciating the relevance of landdegradation and its impact on Indian agriculture isthe ownership of these lands. Most of the degradedlands in the country are not under private ownershipand are owned either by the Government or underlocal authorities.

Net area sown per person decreased from 0.329ha in 1950-51 to 0.12 ha in 2007-08 showing a decline

Table 2. Extent of land degradation in major states of India

States Degraded Degraded landland area as % of total(000' ha) geographical area

Andhra Pradesh 15662 57Assam 2807 36Bihar 6291 36Gujarat 10336 53Himachal Pradesh 3008 54Haryana 1384 31Jammu & Kashmir 2225 10Karnataka 7681 40Kerala 2608 67Maharashtra 13328 43Madhya Pradesh 26209 59Orissa 6121 39Rajasthan 13586 40Tamil Nadu 5273 41Uttar Pradesh 15253 52West Bengal 2752 31Punjab 896 18All India 187700 57

Source: NBSS & LUP (ICAR), Nagpur, 2000

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10

October-December 2012] DECLINING LAND QUALITY 285

of 62 per cent during the span of 57 years (Table 3).Similarly gross cropped area per person also declinedfrom 0.365 ha in 1950-51 to 0.17 ha in 2007-08indicating a decrease of 52 per cent. Grazing areaper animal showed a gradual declining trend from0.047 ha in 1960-61 to 0.021ha in 2007-08 indicating adecline of around 50 per cent. This has shown agloomy scenario to animal rearing population aboutthe future scarcity in grazing land for increasinganimal population.

Policy imperatives for land use planning

In order to prevent land resources from furtherdegradation and to ensure appropriate land use forproduction of food, fuel, and fodder on sustainablebasis, it should address the following issues:• Deciding the most appropriate land use based on

the resource potential and empowering the Stateland use Board to implement it.

• Discourage irrational use of irrigation water.Supply of subsidized or free electricity forpumping groundwater, subsidized irrigationwater supply need to be dispensed with to slowdown accelerated land degradation in irrigationcommands.

• Policy initiatives to encourage adoption of soilconservation practice with each farmer as a unit,a tough measure to implement becauseconservation practices require communityapproach for protecting a contiguous belt of land.Innovations like mandatory compensation to bepaid by upstream farmer (not adopting measures)to the downstream farmer every annum till thebelt is developed need to be considered.

• Like forest resources, legislation to protect soil/land resources need to be pursued.

• Creating awareness amongst the farmers and landusers for implementation of recommended landuses.

• Synergy between the departments and agenciesworking for land use and its implementation.

• Scientific generation of database for various landresources and land uses, for various category ofusers, national and regional planners, district andwatershed level implementers through resourcesurveys and classification.

• A national policy for compilation, coordinationand sharing of information in respect of soil, landuse and degraded lands need to be developed andadopted by all for availability of real time data

for planning, development and monitoring of theprogrammes. Measures to conserve soil moisturein fallow lands so that these lands under currentfallow (left uncultivated during seasons of erraticrainfall) can be effectively utilized.

• Development/ Reclamation of degraded lands inplanned and phased manner to bring intoadditional cultivable areas to meet the demandsof food for teeming population.

• Involvement of people for sustainable use of soiland water, need to be taken up at Panchayat levelsinvolving Panchayati Raj Institutions.

Future scenarioThe minimum amount of arable land required to

sustainably support one person is 0.07 of a hectare.This assumes a largely vegetarian diet, no farmlanddegradation or water shortages, virtually no post-harvest waste, and farmers who know preciselywhen and how to plant, fertilize, irrigate, etc.(Norman Myers, 1998). According to the populationprojections of Planning Commission, we shall needto feed an extra 300 million people by 2021 and 600million by 2061 (Srinivasan and Shastri, 2002). Thiswould mean that almost 2.1 m. ha of additional landwould be required in another 12 years, land with nofarmland degradation or water shortages, highquality management practices by highly efficient andlearned farmers.

The Planning Commission has projected that thenet area sown or arable land of the country willremain constant at 142 million hectares. Annualgrowth in net area sown was at around 1% in theearly period of planning which fell to around 0.6%and then to 0.3% in subsequent decades and is nownot growing at all. It is reasonable to assume thatthe geographical area of the country or the extensiveland frontier for exploitation has reached its limit.This is an important issue, the implications of whichare not being realized with the urgency they deserve.The availability of land is expected to emerge as amajor constraint on agricultural growth. Due toincreasing demand of land for housing, rising levelof urbanization and industrialization, increasinglylarger quantity of agricultural land is being shiftedto non-agricultural uses. In the past such loss ofagricultural land was being compensated byconverting forest land into agricultural land.However, there is no scope for further conversion ofthe forest land. As per 2007-08 land use statistics,the total area under forestry was 69.63million

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hectares which constituted 22 per cent of totalreported area. The Planning Commission has set atarget of bringing one-third of the geographical area(109.56 million hectares) under forest cover by theend of the next decade. This will require an additionalarea of 40.73 million ha to be brought underforestation. Apart from that, because of increasinghousing demand, urbanization and industrialization,the area under non-agricultural uses is likely toincrease. In 2007-08, 25.92 million hectares wereunder non-agricultural uses. Between 2001-02 and2007-08, the area under non-agricultural usesincreased at the annual rate of 0.85 per cent.Assuming the same trend to continue, the area undernon-agricultural use is likely to be 28.12 millionhectares by the end of 2021-22. Thus, forestry andnon-agricultural use would require additional 42.93million hectares over the perspective period till 2021-22. At present, nearly 77.89 million hectares of landare lying uncultivated or fallow, of which 13.79million hectares are under pasture and tree crops.Thus nearly 64.19 million hectares of land areavailable, sufficient to meet the additionalrequirement of area for forestry and non-agriculturaluse at the macro level provided forestry and non-agricultural use are undertaken on such land.However, at the micro level, non-agricultural use isspreading into the uncultivated land area. This islikely to reduce the cultivated area, or spreadingcultivation into marginal, fallow and other lesssuitable lands with serious economic andenvironmental consequences.

REFERENCES

Challa O., S.N. Goswami and M.V. Venugoplan 2007.Emerging Land Use related issues and policyimperatives to resolve land use conflicts. Paperpresented at India-IIASA Joint Workshop on“Economic Societal and Environmental Benefitsprovided by Indian forests held at India InternationalCentre Annexe, New Delhi-110012 during 25th - 27th

April, 2007.Chaturvedi Arun 1988. Socio Economic Constraints in

Optimisation of Land Use in Chhindwara District,M.P. Ph.D. Thesis (unpublished), Nagpur University,Nagpur.

Chaturvedi Arun and S. Thayalan 2003. Eroded/Degraded Lands of North Deccan Plateau and theirUtilisation. ANNALS of National Association ofGeographers’, India.(NAGI). Vol. XXIII, No. 1.

Norman Myers 1998. The next green revolution: Itsenvironmental underpinnings. Presented at theInterdisciplinary Dialogue on Malthus and Mendel:Population, Science and Sustainable Security, held atM. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai,28 January 1998.

Srinivasan K. and V.D. Shastri 2002. A Set of PopulationProjections of India and the Larger States based on2001 Census Results. Background Paper, PlanningCommision. New Delhi.

MOEF 2009. State of Environment Report India. Ministryof Environment and Forests, New Delhi.URL: http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/24/stories/2011042456831300.htm

Vasisht, A. K., Singh, R. P., Mathur, V. C. 2003. Economicimplications of land degradation on sustainabilityand food security in India. Agropedology (No. 2)19-27.

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October-December 2012] MICRO IRRIGATION 287

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 287-295, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Micro irrigation for efficient water managementNEELAM PATEL1 and T.B.S. RAJPUT2

Received: 18 July 2012; Accepted: 14 November 2012

ABSTRACT

India shares 16% of the global population with only 2.4% of land and 4% of water resources. India hasone of the largest irrigation networks in the world but more than half of the cultivated area in thecountry still remains without irrigation facility. Water use efficiency in irrigated areas particularly undercanal irrigated areas is very poor. Increasing food grain requirements for burgeoning population in thecountry puts increasing pressure on land and water resources. Micro irrigation system result into higherwater use efficiency and water productivity and thus offer a viable option for meeting the increaseddemand of food grains, fruits and vegetables and other high value crops. However, these systems areexpensive to install and require the farmer to be trained in optimally using these systems. Governmentof India had initiated a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Micro irrigation. Viewing micro irrigationtechnology as an integral part of comprehensive water management strategy with the focus on enhancingwater productive efficiency (more revenue per drop of water) Ministry of Agriculture has now launchedNational Mission on Micro Irrigation for the promotion of micro irrigation on a sustainable basis. Outof a potential of 27 Mha area projected to be brought under drip irrigation in he country, by the end of2011 an estimated 2.52 Mha has already been brought under drip irrigation in the country.

Key words: micro irrigation, water management

1Senior Scientist and 2Principal Scientist, Water Technology Centre, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012, Email:neelam@iari.res.in

INTRODUCTION

Indian agriculture, accounting for 25% of thenation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 15% ofexports and 60% of the employment continues to bethe mainstay of economy. Having achieved laudablesuccess in agricultural production in the last 50 years(50 Million ton to 230 Million ton) India hastransformed herself from a food deficit country to afood surplus country. Still there are many challenges,which Indian agriculture is facing, in a fast changingtechnical and socio-economic scenario. Relating tothe natural resources and production base, water hasemerged as the most crucial factor for sustaining theagricultural sector. India accounts for 16 percent ofthe world’s human population and nearly 30% ofthe cattle with only 2.4% of the land and 4% of thewater resources. Even if the full irrigation potentialis exploited, about 50% of the country’s cultivatedarea will still remain unirrigated, particularly withthe current level of irrigation efficiency. The shareof water for agriculture would reduce further with

increasing demand from other sectors. But the waterdemand for agricultural purposes is estimated toincrease in order to produce more cereals,horticultural produce and raw material for a fastexpanding food industry. Efficient management ofwater is, therefore, key to future growth of Indianagriculture. The requirement of water by all sectorsin 2025 is estimated to be 105 M ha m (WaterResources Development in India, 2010). Share ofwater for agriculture is expected to get reduced fromthe present level of 85 % to 69 % by 2025. On theother hand, the actual agricultural water demand isestimated to increase from 470 Billion Cubic Meters(BCM) in 1985 to 740 BCM in 2025. During the sameperiod, the demand for non-agricultural use of waterwill multiply four fold from 70 BCM to 280 BCM.

Misplaced and inappropriate policies leading toindiscriminate use of water, lack of appropriatetechnologies, poor technology transfer mechanismsand inadequate and defective institutional supportsystems have led to serious agro-ecological and

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288 PATEL ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

sustainability problems in irrigated areas. Watertable rise and water logging covering an area of 8.5M ha are major problems in canal command areas.Secondary salinization, receding water table at a rateof, as high as one meter annually along with underground water pollution in many states are thedaunting problems in tube well irrigated areas. Thewater use efficiency (WUE) in Indian agriculture, atabout 30-40%, is one of the lowest in the world,against 55% in China.

The vulnerability of Indian agriculture is boundto be severe if the present trend of water use andmanagement efficiency is not changed. TheInternational Water Management Institute forecaststhat by 2025, 33% of India’s population will liveunder absolute water scarcity condition. Rainfedlands are not only low in productivity andsustainability, but also more prone to risks, ascompared to irrigated areas. Rainfed areas are alsothe location where, proportionately a greaterconcentration of poor and hungry persons lives. Thiscan be obviated to some extent by expandingirrigated areas through improving watermanagement and water use patterns. Presently, theproblem facing the country is not the developmentof water resources but the management of thedeveloped water resources in a sustainable manner.By adopting efficient water management practices,the bulk of India’s agricultural lands could bebrought under irrigation. Micro irrigation is one suchpractice.

DEVELOPMENT OFMICRO IRRIGATION IN INDIA

Micro irrigation (drip irrigation, trickle irrigation)is based on the fundamental concepts of irrigatingonly the root zone of the crop rather than the entireland surface and maintaining the water content ofthe root zone at near optimum levels. It is one of thelatest methods of irrigation, which is becomingincreasingly popular in areas with water scarcity andsalt problems. Economic considerations usually limitthe use of drip irrigation system to orchards andvegetables in water scarcity areas. The concept ofdrip irrigation goes back at least to the ancientEgyptians who placed porous pots in the soil andfilled them with water. Use of subsurface clay pipesfor irrigation in Germany led to doubling of cropyields in 1860 and perhaps that was the beginning

of the concept of applying irrigation water directlyto the root zone. Nehemiah Clark, in 1873, obtainedthe first known US patent for a water-emitting deviceas a dripper (a simple hole).

Almost at the same time experiments of irrigatingwith porous pipes began. Drip irrigation in principleevolved from subsurface irrigation when in 1920, thedrainage tubes (with open joints) of subsurfaceirrigation were replaced experimentally by porouspipes for the purpose of irrigation. Another versionof porous pipe was the perforated pipe, whichallowed the exit of water through holes or slits in itswall and the flow caused by the pressure inside thepipes. The perforated pipe was used in Germany,which made the concept feasible, and variousexperiments were then centered on the developmentof drip system using perforated pipe made of variousmaterials. During early 1940, Symcha Blass, an Israeliengineer observed that a large tree near a leakingfaucet exhibited a more vigorous growth than theother tree in the area, which were not reached by thewater from the faucet. This example of leaking faucetled him to the concept of an irrigation system thatwould apply water in small amounts.

In several parts of India, it is an age old practiceof system similar to drip was used for irrigating ‘tulsi’plant. An earthen pitcher used to be hanged abovethe plant with the help of ropes. The pitcher used tohave a small hole at the bottom with wick of strawthrough which water used to discharge in drops overthe plant. In India, micro irrigation was originallypracticed through some indigenous methods like,micro irrigation using bamboo pipes in Meghalaya,perforated clay pipes and pitchers in Maharashtraand Rajasthan. In Meghalaya an ingenious systemof tapping of stream and spring water by usingbamboo pipes to irrigate plantations is widelyprevalent. The tribal farmers of Khasi and Jaintia hillsuse this 200-year-old system to irrigate the betel leafor black pepper crops planted in mixed orchards.Bamboo pipes are used to divert perennial springson the hilltops to the lower reaches by gravity. Thechannel sections, made of bamboo, divert and conveywater to the plot site where it is distributed withoutleakage into branches, again made and laid out withdifferent forms of bamboo pipes.

During the initial phase of drip irrigation, viz.,during 1971, the area under drip irrigation totaled56,000 hectares worldwide. In 1998, the area undermicro irrigation was around 2.8 million ha. In India,

14

October-December 2012] MICRO IRRIGATION 289

the area under drip irrigation had grown from anegligible level in 1975 to around 25.23 lakhs ha in2011-12 (NCPAH, 2012). In India, Maharashtra,Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are some of the stateswhich have taken a lion’s share in drip irrigated areaconstituting 39.7 per cent, 28 per cent and 24.3 percent respectively of total area under micro irrigation.

In India, though the research work on dripirrigation had started at Water Technology Centre,Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhiand Tamil Nadu Agricultural University almostsimultaneously in 1970 but it took a couple of yearsbefore the farmers initiated to adopt (Michael, 1978,Sivanappan et. al., 1987). However, micro irrigationsystems were initially not popular due to poorquality of components and lack of services from themanufacturers/ traders. It took more than ten yearsbefore Indian business started showing interest inthe systems, after getting convinced that the systemhas potential in the country. By the time researchesin different ICAR Institutions and AgriculturalUniversities had provided adequate data to provethat the systems not only save water but also help inimproving crop yields and the quality of the produce.The positive results of the experimentations by thegrape growing farmers in Maharashtra proved themuch needed catalyst in increasing the popularityof the micro irrigation system by assuring thefarming community of its benefits including its costeffectiveness.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA INITIATIVES

Recognizing the urgent need for increasing WaterUse Efficiency (WUE), Government of India hadconstituted a National Task Force on Micro Irrigationunder the Chairmanship of the then Chief Ministerof Andhra Pradesh, Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu. TheTask Force made the following recommendations.1. Micro irrigation is to be promoted in a holistic

manner involving appropriate cultivars,agronomic practices and post harvest handling,processing and marketing.

2. Fifty per cent (50%) financial assistance shouldbe provided to farmers for adoption of micro/sprinkler irrigation.

3. Micro irrigation should be made compulsoryin command areas of new irrigation projects.There is a need to introduce a policy of “no liftwithout drip” to ensure benefits to large numberof farmers with the same amount of water.

4. High taxes such as sales tax, trade tax, purchasetax and local taxes like octroi, entry tax, etc.ranging from 4 to 10 percent are waived.

5. An apex body in the form of National Councilon Precision Farming be established and vestedwith the responsibility of providing technicalguidance, channelizing resources, monitoringand electronic database management,establishing linkage with market chain besidesoverseeing the overall development of microirrigation in the country.

6. Adequate post-installation maintenance andextension services need be provided to thefarmers.

7. The network of 22 Precision FarmingDevelopment Centers (PFDCs) to bestrengthened and converted into centers ofexcellence. These should be equipped to functionas quality testing centers for micro irrigation.

8. The Task Force estimated potential for Dripirrigation of 27 Mha and for Sprinkler irrigationas 42.5 Mha as given in Table 1.

Crop Area (Million Ha)Drip Sprinkler Total

Cereals - 27.6 27.6Pulses - 7.6 7.6Oil seeds 3.8 1.1 4.9Cotton 7.0 1.8 8.8Vegetables 3.6 2.4 6.0Spices and condiments 1.4 1.0 2.4Flowers, Medicinal, - 1.0 1.0aromatic plantsSugarcane 4.3 - 4.3Fruits 3.9 - 3.9Coconut & Plantation 3.0 - 3.0crops, Oil palm

Total 27.0 42.5 69.5

Table 1. Theoretical potential of micro irrigation in India

Based on the recommendations of the Task Force,Government of India had initiated a Centrallysponsored micro irrigation scheme in the countrywith 50% financial support to farmers from Centralas well as State Government budgets in the ratioof 4:1. National Committee on PlasticultureApplications in Horticulture was made itscoordinating agency. The results of the efforts of thescheme may be seen in Table 2.

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290 PATEL ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

Table 2. The state-wise total area under Drip/ SprinklerIrrigation (ha) till 31.03.2010

State Drip Sprinkler Total

Andhra Pradesh 655767 320881 976648Arunachal Pradesh 613 0 613Assam 116 129 245Bihar 578 33201 33780Chattisgarh 8798 133961 142759Goa 849 1544 1544Gujarat 299279 246852 546131Haryana 17400 541910 559309Himachal Pradesh 116 581 697Jharkhand 1273 8842 10115Karnataka 293593 385675 679268Kerala 16593 4004 20597Madhaya Pradesh 101288 171437 272726Maharashtra 779295 346600 1125895Manipur 30 0 30Mizoram 72 106 178Nagaland 0 3962 3962Orissa 12109 43958 56067Others 15000 30000 45000Punjab 26758 11533 38291Rajasthan 53934 1090033 1143967Sikkim 23460 11339 34799Tamil Nadu 201396 28196 22592UP 13963 16832 30794Uttaranchal 38 6 44West Bengal 538 150576 151114Grand Total 2522854 3581309 6104163

Source: NCPAH, Ministry of Agriculture, GoI, 2012

Drip irrigation can be used for most crops, suchas:Orchard crops : Grapes, Banana, Pomegranate,

Orange, Citrus, Tamarind, Mango,Fig, Lemon, Custard Apple, Sapota,Guava, Pineapple, Coconut, Cashewnut, Papaya, Aonla, Litchi,Watermelon, Muskmelon etc.

Vegetables : Tomato, Chilly, Capsicum,Cabbage, Cauliflower, Onion, Okra,Brinjal, Bitter gourd, Bottle gourd,Ridge gourd, Cucumber, Peas,Spinach, Pumpkin etc.

Cash Crops : Sugarcane, Cotton. Arecanut,Strawberry etc..

Flowers : Rose, Carnation, Gerbera,Anthurium, Orchids, Jasmine, Lily,Mogra, Tulip, Dahilia, Marigold etc.

Plantation : Tea, Rubber, Coffee, Coconut etc.Spices : Turmeric, Cloves, Mint etc.Oil seed : Sunflower, Oil palm, Groundnut etcForest crops : Teakwood, Bamboo etc.

The Government of India (GOI) plans to cover 17Mha under drip and sprinkler systems by the end ofXI plan. The Micro Irrigation Scheme has beenlaunched by the GOI with this objective. Microirrigation system was found to result in 30 to 70 %water savings in various orchard crops andvegetables from along with 10 to 60 % increases inyield as compared to conventional methods ofirrigation. Mulching with drip further enhanced thecrop yield to the tune of 10-20 % and controlledweeds up to 30-90%.

Financial Drip Sprinkler Total (ha)Year Irrigation(ha) Irrigation(ha)

2006-07 155000 144000 2990002007-08 209000 241000 4500002008-09 250000 324000 5740002009-10 1897280 3044940 4942220Total 2511280 3753940 6265220

Table 3. Area Covered under Drip/Sprinkler irrigationunder CSS on Micro Irrigation

Source: Progress reports from state governments

Fig. 1 Micro irrigation in different crops

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October-December 2012] MICRO IRRIGATION 291

IMPACT OF MICRO IRRIGATION

A review of selected literature on micro irrigationtechnology is strongly suggestive of economicviability of this technology for many crops of India.What is no less striking is that this economic viabilityexists even without taking into account theGovernment subsidy available on micro irrigationunder various development programs. The cost forinstalling the system works out Rs. 15,000 – Rs.25,000/ ha for widely spaced crops like coconut,mango etc to Rs. 60,000 – 90,000/ ha for closelyspaced crops like cotton, sugarcane, vegetables etc.The cost depends upon the crop, spacing, waterrequirements, source of water supply etc. Theeconomics of micro irrigation has been calculatedand payback period was worked after interviewingmore than 50 farmers for different crops (Table 4). Itis observed that the payback period is about one to2 years for most of the crops and the benefit costratio varies from 2 to 5 (Sivanappan, 2009).

The impact in introducing the micro irrigationsystem is grouped under.

1. Benefit to the Nation2. Benefit to the farmers

(a) Benefit to the Nation

(i) Saving in infrastructural cost on irrigationprojects:

With the adoption of micro irrigation, there wouldbe saving of irrigation water required (40-70%) forthe crops. Under the principle of “water saving iswater created” there would be benefit to the nationin the form of saving in cost or creating irrigationinfrastructure for increasing the irrigated area. Inplace where there is no water for extending irrigationfacility, the same can be done by converting fromsurface irrigation to drip irrigation. The Task Forceon micro irrigation has worked out, for a coverageof additional area of 17 M ha under irrigation by theend of IX plan, the saving of water will be about 5.9M ha m. Based on the saving in irrigation water andthe total value of the savings which otherwise willhave incurred for creating equal amount of irrigationpotential, works out to be about Rs. 45,000 crores.(ii) Saving in subsidized electricity supplied to

agriculture sector due to reduction in electricityconsumption with micro irrigation. It isestimated about Rs. 3767 crores.

(ii) Saving in subsidized electricity supplied toagriculture sector due to reduction in electricityconsumption with micro irrigation. It isestimated about Rs. 3767 crores.

(iii) Saving in subsidy for the fertilizer due to savingin fertilizer by adopting drip/ fertigation. Microirrigation saves about 30-40% of the fertilizerused i.e., about Rs.5500 crores/ annum.

(iv) Employment generation:1. Due to micro irrigation industry2. Semi skilled persons required for installation

& maintenance3. Direct employment in agriculture since more

area is brought under irrigation4. Indirect employment – post harvest,

transportation, marketing etc.

(b) Benefits to farmers due to increased yield andgood quality of produce

Micro irrigation led agriculture should be viewedas one of the eco-technological approaches to attainsustained and enhanced agriculture production andproductivity. Through micro irrigation, the greenrevolution could be transformed into an evergreenrevolution to ensure the sustainability, profitabilityand equity. Since micro irrigation greatly enhanceswater, fertilizer and energy use efficiency andpromotes precision agriculture, the green revolutioncould be achieved without the burden ofenvironmental degradation.

5. Micro irrigation research in IndiaDifferent Institutes of Indian Council of

Agricultural Research, State AgriculturalUniversities and other Water Management ResearchInstitutes investigated different aspects primarily oncrop, water, and fertilizers etc. related managementtechnologies. which are summarized in brief in thefollowing paragraphs.

i) Studies on water saving and yield enhancement

Many studies across the country compareddifferent micro irrigation methods with conventionalmethods of irrigation like border, check basin, furrowor surge irrigation and established beyond doubt thesuperiority of micro irrigation methods in differentaspects of water management (Table 4)(Annonymous, 2001).

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292 PATEL ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

Crop Increase in Water yields, % saving, %

Tomato 25-50 40-60Chilli 10-40 60-70Sugarcane 50-60 30-50Bottle Gourd 20-40 40-50Okra 25-40 20-30Cauliflower 60-80 30-40Potato 20-30 40-50Pomegranate 20-40 50-60Cabbage 30-40 50-60Cabbage 50-60 50-60Brinjal 20-30 40-60French Bean 55-65 30-40

Table 4. Increase in yield and water savings in microirrigation as compared to surface irrigation

ii) Crop GeometryMicro irrigation methods encourage researchers

to investigate different planting arrangements formaximizing crop yields. Also the cost of the microirrigation system depends on the crop geometry.Some of the significant findings of the research effortsin terms of optimal plant to plant and row to rowspacing of different crops for getting the maximumyields and least cost of the system are presented inTable 5 (Anonymous, 2001).

iii) Fertigation StudiesThe introduction fertigation opened up new

possibilities for controlling water and nutrientsupplies to crops and maintaining the desiredconcentration and distribution of ions and water inthe soil. Most research is focused on comparing theconventional fertilization method with fertigation,especially the NPK use efficiency and their impacton the quantity and quality of produce. Adoption of

Crop Location Recommended Row to Increase in WaterRow and Plant to Plant Spacing, Yield, % Saving, %

cm x cm

Okra Delhi 30 x 15 66 71Tomato Delhi 40 x 40 81 54Banana Coimbatore 200 x 400 70 -Okra Coimbatore 30 x 40 30 -Banana Kharagpur 200 x 400 50 50Pea Solan 20 x 11.50 80 -Tomato Solan 20 x 42.1 42 -Cabbage Hyderabad 20 x 72 50 50Banana Navsari 120 x 200 28 40Chilli Coimbatore 20 x 72 50 50Sugarcane Navsari 60 x 120 17 46

Table 5. Effect of crop geometry on the yield and water saving under micro irrigation

fertigation by farmers in several crops registeredsignificant fertilizer savings (20 to 60%) in differentcrops (Table 6). New fertilizers for fertigation includeslow and controlled release fertilizers which ensurecontinuous plant nutrition over months besidesmatching nutrient release rate with plant needs,labour saving and reduced leaching.

Table 6. Effect of fertigation on yield of different crops

Crop % Saving % Increasein fertilizer in yield

Tomato 40 18Castor 60 32Okra 40 18Cotton - 20Onion 40 16Potato 40 -Broccoli 40 10Tomato 50 28Banana 20 11Tomato 40 33Bangalore blue grapes 20 -Sugarcane 50 -Sapota 40 -Gerbera - 37Banana 40 -Tomato 20 25

6. Advances in Micro IrrigationInitially, micro irrigation was used primarily for

high-value crops such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, andsugarcane. As system reliability and longevityimproved, its application was extended to lower-valued agronomic crops (viz., cotton, tobacco,peanuts, corn, castor, chickpea, soybean, sunfloweretc.) and spices & condiments (ginger, turmeric,cardamom etc), primarily because the system could

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be used for multiple crops & years owing to variedplanting patterns (mainly paired row pattern),reducing the annual system cost with enhanced rateof return on investment.

i) Emitter types and designIn many countries still the dominant emitter type

used by the farmers in several field & horticulturalcrops is either point source (individual buttondrippers) or line-source (integral drip lines and driptapes). In the USA, Israel, Australia, Spain, SouthAfrica, India, Mexico, China, France, Germany,Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia etc there is anincreasing tendency to use line-source emittersprimarily for sugarcane, corn, tobacco, mulberry,vegetables, flowers etc. Subsurface drip withpressure compensating dripper and flap outlet isgaining momentum in several crops viz., turf grass,cotton, sugarcane, corn, potatoes, vegetables,grapevines etc in the USA, South Africa, Israel,Australia, Turkey, Argentina, France etc.

ii) Low-flow irrigationSoil water potential and water content in the

vicinity of active roots generally controls the rate ofwater and nutrient uptake by plants. In dripirrigation, frequency and emitter dischargedetermine the variation in soil water potential, andconsequently, root distribution and plant wateruptake patterns. Drip irrigation systems generallyconsist of emitters that have discharge rates varyingfrom 2 to 8 Lph. In semiarid summer climates cropwater use is generally 6 to 8 mm/day, and water issupplied two or three times a week. Therefore theduration of water application is much shorter thanthe time over which plants take up water. Even ifthe water is supplied on a daily basis, a waterapplication rate of 2 Lph delivers the consumptiveneeds of plants in a small fraction of the time overwhich plants photosynthesize and transpire. Thismeans that even for water applications exactly equalto plant water needs, part of the water may not beused by the plant and would most likely drain belowthe root zone. Lowering emitter discharge rates toas close as possible to plant water uptake rates mayreduce these percolation losses. Recently, lowpressure drip systems have been developed thatprovide emitter discharge rates lower than 1.0 Lph(Battalwar, 2009)..

The low pressure drip irrigation system (LPS) is asystematic development of low cost drip systemwhich performs as drip except that the water is

applied on the soil surface or below the soil surfacethrough discrete emitters with low discharge rates(0.6 – 1.0 LPH) and narrow spacings. The lowpressure capability of LPS (0.3 – 0.5 bars) providesan effective low energy and economical upgrade forflood/furrow irrigation. LPS is specifically designedto enable growers to use existing infrastructure likeleveled fields, water sources and pumps, minimizefront end investment, provide fast return oninvestment, reduce energy cost on pumping andpressurizing, move and reuse equipment easily,provide low system maintenance and management.

iii) AutomationThere is an increasing trend to shift from manual

to automatic operations. Irrigation can be almosttotally automated by using micro irrigation systems.This requires linking the irrigation water lines to aremote control mechanism that uses smallcomputers. Israel first introduced thesecomputerized controls into its farm managementsystems in the early 1970s. In either small or largemicro irrigation systems and greenhouses, thecomputer can control water flow, detect leaks, shutoff faulty lines, adjust water application for windspeed, air temperature, and soil moisture content;filter backwash; apply fertilizer on schedule; monitorplant growth & water relations. An added advantageof the computerized systems is their ability to locatemalfunctions and alert the operators to makenecessary repairs before the faulty element causestoo much damage or water loss. Accurate and preciseapplication rates, increased yields (2 – 10%) savingsin water & energy (10 – 30%), reduced labour cost,minimized return flow, aquifer & stream pollution;improved pest and disease control are among themajor advantages that are offered by adoptingautomation techniques in micro irrigation.

iv) Use of waste water through micro irrigationUse of wastewater for irrigation of industrial

crops, fruits, managed landscapes, golf & racecourses has been actively practiced in other countriesfor many years, especially in Israel & USA. However,wastewaters often contain microbial and chemicalcontaminants that may affect public health andenvironmental integrity. Wastewater pre-treatmentstrategies and advanced irrigation systems may limitcontaminant exposure to crops and humans.Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) shows promise forsafely delivering reclaimed wastewater. The closedsystem of SDI subsurface pipes and emitters

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294 PATEL ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

minimizes the exposure of soil surfaces, aboveground plant parts, and groundwater to reclaimedwastewater. Experiments in several countriesrevealed that subsurface drip irrigation preventedthe virus movement onto crop leaf surfaces.However, beneficial and safe use of reclaimedwastewater for subsurface drip irrigation willdepend on management strategies that focus onirrigation pre-treatment, virus monitoring &inactivation strategies, field and crop selection,appropriate drip design & component (emitter type& discharge rate; filter type) selection, assessmentof water quality, monitoring and periodic leachingof salts.

v) Linking of major and medium irrigation projectswith micro irrigation

Though in some foreign countries like Australiaetc. this type of micro irrigation linkage with surfaceirrigation is reported yet in India it is only practicedin few states (though the scope and needs are veryhigh). But, some attempts were made in Punjab tostore canal water in pond and then its applicationthrough drip, Haryana to link it with sprinklerirrigation system. Recently the Government of APhas initiated a move linking a major irrigation projectin the district of Nalgonda with sprinkler irrigation.

In Gujarat the government is giving a very seriousthought of bringing the whole Sardar Sarovar(Narmada Project) project of 18 lakhs hectares underdrip and sprinkler. The water availability, soilirrigabilty and the proposed cropping pattern govery much in favour of this. A techno economicfeasibility study on pilot scale has been initiated inthis regard in the state. It has been given tounderstand that the Government of TamilNadu isalso contemplating of introduction of MIS in surfaceirrigated systems.

Though the linking of major, medium and minorirrigation projects with MIS is technically feasible andprofitable, yet, modalities for the sharing of the costinvolved for the additional storage structures,pumping and networking have to be worked out.Further crop/ cropping pattern selection anddiversification will be the major factors in decidingits economic viability. Presently water is applied oncein every 7 to 15 days in surface / gravity irrigationdepending on the soil and crop. Hence, moisture /water stress will be noticed just before irrigation andthe growth of the crop is affected. Furthermore, it isdifficult to constantly give the required quantity of

water to the root zone using surface irrigation soyields are often less than optimum. Waterproductivity can be maximized by sifting fromsurface irrigation to drip irrigation (Table 7)(Sivanappan, 2009).

Table 7. Water productivity gains in percentage from shiftingto drip irrigation from surface irrigation in India

Crop Change in Change in Change inyield water use water

productivity

Banana +52 -45 +173Cabbage +2 -60 +150Cotton +27 -53 +169Cotton +25 -60 +255Grapes +23 -48 +134Potato +46 -0 +46Sugar cane +6 -60 +163Sugar cane +20 -30 +70Sugar cane +29 -47 +91Sugar cane +33 -65 +205Sweet Potato +39 -60 +243Tomato +5 -27 +49Tomato +50 -39 +14

Source: Adapted from data in Indian National Committee onIrrigation and Drainage, Drip Irrigation in India, Compiled byR.K.Sivanappan (New Delhi 1994)

7. Success stories of under Centrally Sponsoredscheme on Micro irrigation

Kinnow (Mr. Raghubir Singh, Village: Dataranwali,District : Ferozpur, Punjab)• More than 26.7 t/ha yield• Gross Income increased from Rs. 62,500/- to Rs.

175,000/- per haPotato (Mr. Sukhdev Singh, Village: Bhai Roopa,District : Bathinda, Punjab)• Diversification from cotton and wheat• Crop saved from fog• More than 30% increase in yield• More than 50 t/ ha yield• Gross Income increased from Rs. 75,000/- to Rs.

120,000/- per ha

Cotton (Mr. Gurdas Singh, Village Lehra Mohabbat,District Bathinda, Punjab)• Sand dunes converted to cotton fields• Less attack of Mealy Bug• More than 20% increase in yield compared to

traditional irrigation• More than 3.75 t/ha yield.• Gross Income increased from Rs. 75,000/- to Rs.

1,12,500/- per ha.

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October-December 2012] MICRO IRRIGATION 295

8. Forward Path for Promotion of Micro Irrigationin the Country

Viewing micro irrigation technology as an integralpart of comprehensive water management strategywith the focus on enhancing water productiveefficiency (more revenue per drop of water) andequity & equality must be the guiding principlepromotion of micro irrigation on a sustainable basis.This requires a include holistic approach includingcapacity building & training of stakeholders,institutional support, standardization & qualitycontrol, credit support from international financialinstitutions like World Bank, ADB, JBIC etc, tax &fiscal incentives, strengthening of R & D forimproved technological support, improving theavailability of water soluble fertilizers at affordableprices etc.

Steps can be taken immediately for the promotionof micro irrigation system-• Water to be treated as a national resource• Integration of Macro & Micro Irrigation

technologies• Expenditure for laying Micro Irrigation Systems

should be treated as an investment rather thanan expense.

• Adequate Policy measures for financialassistance as well as availability of funds at softinterest rates.

• Reduction of system cost through costeconomical designs

• Development of Package of Practices for variouscrops in different agro-climatic zones.

• To create technology awareness among variousstake holders through audio, video aids &media.

REFERENCES

Anonymous 2001. Annual progress report, NationalCommittee on Plasticulture Applications inHorticulture, Department of Ag. and Co-operation,Min. of Ag., GOI, New Delhi, p. 98.

Anonymous. 2012. National Committee on PlasticultureApplications in Horticulture 2012, Ministry ofAgriculture, GoI.

Michael, A.M. 1978. Irriation- Theory and Practice, VikasPublishing House, New Delhi, 801 Pages.

Sivanappan, R.K., Padmakumari, O. and Kumar, V. 1987.Drip irrigation. Keerti Publishing House (P) Ltd., 278-281.

Sivannapan, R.K. 2009. Development of micro irrigationtechnology in India. Micro irrigation, ISBN 978-81-88708-48-2, pp 1-7. Proceedings of winter school onMicro irrigation sponsored by ICAR.

Water Resources Development in India 2010. Edited byC.D. Thatte, A.C. Gupta, M.L. Baweja, Central WaterCommission. Ministry of Water Resources, GoI, p 173.

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296 SINGH ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 296-300, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Water saving technique for intercropping in Castor(Ricinus communis L.)

AJIT SINGH1, VIJAYA RANI2 AND N.K. BANSAL3

Received: 28 May 2012; Accepted: 16 October 2012

ABSTRACT

Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is most important oilseed crop of India due to the fact that its oil hasdiversified uses and has great value in foreign trade. Water use, yield and economics in relation tointercropping of pulses in castor on raised bed (both castor and pulses was sown by inclined cell platebed planter in single operation) were studied during 2010-11 in Haryana state, India. The results werecompared with conventional method of seeding technique, wherein the pulses are sown by seed drilland castor is drilled manually in field. There was a saving of 28.33% in irrigation water in raised bedthan flat bed method of intercropping. The increase in yield of castor when intercropped with greengram, moth bean and cluster bean on raised bed was 31.33%, 29.77% and 30.43% compared tointercropping of castor with green gram, moth bean and cluster bean on flat bed. The increase in yieldof green gram, moth bean and cluster bean was 4.51%, 5.2% and 6.27% on raised bed. The cost saving ofintercropping of pulse in castor on raised bed was Rs.1698.53 as compared to conventional method.The per cent increase in income of castor + green gram, castor + moth bean and castor + cluster bean onraised bed intercropping was 14.93 %, 9.02 % and 18.25 % over flat bed intercropping. The benefit costratio for raised bed intercropping was 3.25, 2.76, and 2.89 with the three pulse crops, respectively.

Key words: castor, intercropping, pulses, raised bed, irrigation

1 Senior Research Fellow, Deptt. of Dryland Agriculture, er.ajitsangwan@gmail.com2Assistant Professor, 3Head & Senior Research Engineer, Deptt. of Farm Machinery & Power Engineering, CCSHaryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004, Haryana (India).

INTRODUCTION

Agriculture constitutes the largest sector of oureconomy. Majority of our population, directly orindirectly, depends on this sector. It contributesabout a quarter of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP)and accounts for about half of employed labour forceand is the largest source of foreign exchangeearnings. Currently agriculture

in India is facing a severe threat of shortage ofirrigation water because of traditional methods ofcultivation, less trend towards agriculturalmechanization and lack of farmers’ awareness inadvance methods of farming. Castor

(Ricinus communis L.) is one of the ancient andimportant non-edible oilseed crop grown during themonsoon season mainly for its seeds, from which40-50% oil is extracted. It does well both underdryland or rainfed farming and limited irrigation due

to deep root-system. Its cultivation is becomingpopular in north –western part of the country owingto its better performance under stress conditions andhigher export potential that has great industrial andmedicinal value. India is the leader in global castorproduction and dominates in international castor oiltrade, Anonymous (2008). Total area and productionof castor crop in India for the year 2010-11 was 0.859million hectares and 1.19 million tonnes, respectively(CCS of India 2010-11). Being a long-duration,widely-spaced crop with comparatively thin plantpopulation in comparison with other field crops, itoffers a great scope for using its inter-space bygrowing short-duration crop and thereby helps toharvest the potential productivity, Patel et al. (2007).Inter-cropping of short-duration crop like green-gram (Phaseolus radiates L.), black gram (P. mungo L.)and cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taubert)

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October-December 2012] WATER SAVING TECHNIQUE 297

with castor is remunerative for dry land conditions,Singh and Singh (1988).

Presently, the intercropping in castor is carriedout on flat fields. Firstly, the pulse crops of shortduration are inter-sowed by seed drill and then castoris drilled manually. The process of drilling castorwhich is done manually or by animal drawn ploughis very tedious and time consuming. Moreover,heavy as well as low rainfall can harm theintercropping in castor with pulse crops on flat field.This may be overcome by using raised bed seedingtechnique wherein if rainfall is low, moisture can besaved and in case of heavy rainfall, water can bedrained out through the furrows and the seed sownmay have favourable condition to germinate andthus production may be increased. Moreover, theraised bed system helps in minimising losses of water(15-40%) during application and distribution in field,Dhindwal et al. (2006). The other advantages of raisedbed system, as envisaged by Hobbs (2002) are themaximum harvesting and utilization under lowrainfall, avoidance of temperature flooding,improved drainage under high intensity rainfall,higher N- use efficiency and less lodging. Thus, therewas a need to evaluate the feasibility of raised bedsystem for intercropping of pulses in castor.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

The field experiments for the performanceevaluation of the tractor drawn bed planter wereconducted at CCSHAU Hisar. The test field wasdivided into 21 plots of size 16 m × 5.5 m. Eachtreatment was replicated thrice. Followingtreatments were used for the study. T1 - castor + greengram (raised bed), T2 - castor + moth bean (raisedbed), T3 - castor + cluster bean (raised bed), T4 - castor+ green gram (flat bed), T5 - castor + moth bean (flatbed), T6 --- castor + cluster bean (flat bed), T7 -- castor(sole on flat bed). T1, T2 and T3 were sown by bedplanter where in both castor and the pulse crop weresown in one operation. In treatment T4, T5 and T6,the pulse crop was first sown by seed drill and castorwas drilled manually in the field. In T7 treatment solecastor was drilled manually.

The experiment was laid out in randomized blockdesign with three replications. The castor hybridDCH -177 was sown with a seed rate of 5 kg/haadopting a spacing of 60 cm × 110 cm on 15th July,2010. The three intercrops viz., green gram (variety,Asha), moth bean (variety, RMO-40) and cluster bean

(variety, HG-563) were intercropped in castor.Fertiliser application was done only for the castorcrop (Diammonium phosphate), while intercropswere not fertilised separately. First Irrigation wasapplied 45 days after sowing and subsequentlytwo more irrigation were applied as perrecommendations of package and practice of castorand pulse crop. The Water used, yield and economicswere studied for the different treatments.

Measurement of irrigation water

Irrigation to the experimental plots was appliedthrough a lined open channel provided in the field.Float method (Michael, 1978) was used to measurethe velocity of flow in the open channel. Thedischarge was estimated as The volume of waterapplied in each plots was measured by float methodand expressed as under:

Q =A x V x 1000WhereQ = Discharge through channel (liters sec-1)A = Cross-sectional area of flow (m2)V = Average velocity of water flowing through

channel (m sec-1)The time of irrigation was decided by the pre

decided depth (10 cm) of water ponding at thesurface. Irrigation stream was turned off as soon asthe depth of water ponding reached the desired levelat the end of plot/furrow.

Economics

The cost of operation of machine in differenttreatments included the fixed cost and variable cost.Fixed cost includes such items such as depreciation,interest, insurances taxes and housing. Variable costincludes fuel, lubricates, operator’s wages and repairand maintenance cost. Cost of operation wascompared with conventional practice.

Income was calculated on the basis of supportprice of different crops as announced by governmentof India. Gross return (Rs ha-1) was worked out bysubtracting the total cost of cultivation of treatmentsfrom the gross income of respective treatments.Benefit cost ratio (B: C) was calculated to ascertainincome variability of the treatment using followingformula:

Gross return (Rs ha-1)B: C ratio = –––––––––––––––––––––––––

Cost of cultivation (Rs ha-1)

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298 SINGH ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results for yield presented in Table1, indicatethat there was significant variation in treatments forsowing methods & intercropping. The yield washigher in case of raised bed intercropping for bothcastor and pulse crop than flat bed intercropping asindicated by the mean values in the Table1.Dhindwal et al. (2006) also reported a higher yield inpigeon pea, cluster bean and green gram in raisedbed as compared with flat bed. The improvement inabove yield attributes could be possible due to bettermoisture conservation under bed system and lesserweed infestation. The yield of castor is also higherwhen intercropped with pulses in comparison to solecastor on flat bed, as indicated in Table1.

It is imperative to grow crop using less waterwithout any adverse effect on crop productivity. Thedata on comparative time to irrigate one hectare andsaving of irrigation water in bed system is reportedin Table 2. There were saving of the order of 28.33per cent in the irrigation water in raised bed thanflat bed method of intercropping. Kumar et al. (2002)reported the performance evaluation of two rowtractor drawn bed planter in comparison with flatbed. There was 45 per cent saving in irrigation water.Dhindwal et al. (2006), Jena (2009), Sharma et al.(2001) reported saving of 25 per cent, 39.62 per centto 45 per cent, 30 per cent to 40 per cent in irrigationwater in raised bed over flat bed, respectively.

The economics of raised bed and flat bed methodfor intercropping of pulse in castor were calculatedon the basis of actual use, field test data and cost ofcultivation data are reported in Table 3 & Table 4. Itis evident from Table 3 that saving in cost of sowingwith bed planter was Rs 1698.53 per hectare. Kumaret al. (2002) reported 25.41 per cent reduction in costof operation by bed planter.

The per cent increase in income of raised bedintercropping was 14.93 per cent, 9.02 per cent, 18.25per cent over flat bed intercropping of green gram,moth bean and cluster bean Table 4. Kamboj et al.(2008) reported that net returns obtained fromsugarcane + wheat crop intercropping on raised bedwere Rs.19,723 ha-1 higher compared to the sole cropof sugarcane on flat bed . Idnani and Gautam (2008)reported that green gram in raised bed systemrecorded the highest net return of Rs 10177 perhectare. Dhindwal et al. (2006) reported raised bedplanted pigeon pea, cluster bean and green gramgave additional net benefit of Rs 2820 ha-1, 830 ha-1

and 1465 ha-1, respectively compared with flat sowncrops.

The per cent increase in income for cluster on flatbed intercropping was 35.54 per cent, 20.07 per cent,24.18 per cent with green gram, moth bean andcluster bean over sole crop of castor on flat bed Table4. Gupta and Rathore (1993) showed increase inincome by intercropping of moong bean with castor

Intercropped crop Raised bed Castor equivalent yield Flat bedRaised bed

Castor + green gram 32.33 + 5.51 42.24 28.43 + 4.56Castor + moth bean 30.77 + 6.20 36.36 28.43 + 5.37Castor + cluster bean 31.43 + 7.27 38.17 26.63 + 6.07Sole castor - 27.89Critical difference at 5% Sowing methods Intercropping Sowing methods × Intercroppingfor yield values of castor 0.792 0.970 NS

Table 1. Mean values of yield (q ha-1) for castor and pulses on raised bed and flat bed

Table 2. Quantity of Irrigation water applied in different treatments for raised bed and flat bed method of sowing (area 88 m2)

Treatments Discharge rate Raised bed Flat bed Saving in (lit.sec-1)* Time (Min) Quantity of Time (Min) Quantity of irrigation water (%)

water (lit) water (lit)

Castor + green gram 16.1 9.49 152.78 13.56 218.31 30Castor + cluster bean 16.1 9.76 157.13 13.56 218.31 28Castor + moth bean 16.1 9.89 159.22 13.56 218.31 27Mean 16.1 9.71 156.37 13.56 218.31 28.33

*Source of water –Tube well

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October-December 2012] WATER SAVING TECHNIQUE 299

(Rs 12995 per hectare) over castor alone (Rs 7588 perhectare) on flat bed. Prasad and Verma (1986) alsoreported increase in income of intercropping ofmoong bean with castor (Rs 5044 per hectare) overcastor alone (Rs 3098 per hectare) on flat bed.

The benefit cost ratio was found to be higher forraised bed intercropping than flat bed intercropping.The values are 3.25, 2.76 and 2.89 as shown in Table4 when intercropping was done with green gram,moth bean and cluster bean. Same trend wasobserved by Porwal et al. (2006). Idnani and Gautam(2008) reported that green gram in raised bed systemgave benefit cost ratio 1.03.

CONCLUSION

The raised bed system of planting proved aresource-conservation technology. Intercropping ofpulses in castor on raised bed increased the cropyield, saved irrigation water over flat bed. Based oncost of sowing and income of raised bed over theflat bed, the raised bed system is a highlyremunerative for castor intercropping and it may beused by the farmer.

REFERENCES

Anonymous. 2008. Castor seed seasonal report,www.karvycomtrade.com/.../karvysSpecialReports_20080424_ 02.pd..

Table 3. Comparative cost of sowing for raised bed and flat bed

Parameters Raised bed Flat bed

Cost of operation of machine, Rs/ha(Rs/h) Bed planter - 1397.20 Seed drill - 595.73

530.94 357.44Cost of sowing, Rs/ha 1397.20* 3095.73**Saving in raised bed over flat bed, Rs/ha 1698.53 -

*All sowing operation was done with bed planter for both castor and pulse crop**All the intercrops were sown by seed drill and castor was drilled manually

Table 4. Comparative income for raised bed and flat bed intercropping

Intercropped crop Raisedbed, Flat bed, Per cent increase Per cent increase Benefit cost ratioRs ha-1 Rs ha-1 in raised bed over in raised bed over

flat bed sole castor

Raised bed Flat bed

Castor + green gram 153650 133690 14.93 35.54 3.25 2.53Castor + moth bean 136110 124852 9.02 20.07 2.76 2.30Castor + cluster bean 140765 119045 18.25 24.18 2.89 2.14Sole castor - 113360 - - - -

Castor Crop Survey. 2010-11. The Solvent Extractors’Association of India.

Dhindwal, A S, Hooda, I S, Malik, R K and Kumar, S. 2006.Water productivity of furrow irrigated rainy seasonpulses planted on raised beds. Indian J. of Agron. 51(1):49-53.

Gupta, I N and Rathore, S S. 1993. Intercropping in castor(Ricinus communis L.) under dryland condition inRajasthan. Indian J. of Agron. 38 (2):182-186.

Hobbs, P R. 2002. Resource conservation technologies. Asecond revolution on South Asia. (In). Proceeding ofInternational workshop on Herbicide resistancemanagement and zero tillage in rice wheat croppingsystem, held during 4-6 March at CCS HAU, Hisar.PP. 67-76.

Idnani, L K and Gautam, H K. 2008. Water economizationin summer green gram (Vigna radiata var radiata) asinfluenced by irrigation regimes and landconfigurations. Indian J.of Agric. Sci. 78 (3):214-219.

Jena, S. (2009). Optimization of ridge and furrowdimensions for development of tractor drawnmulticrop ridger seeder. unpublish COAE&T M. Tech.thesis, CCS HAU, Hisar.

Kamboj, B R, Malik, R K, Garg, R, Yadav, A, Singh, S,Goyal, N K, Lathwal, O P, Malik, Y P, and Mehla O P.2008. Bed planting-A Novel Technique to EncourageMultiple Land Use. Technical Bulletin (29). Directorateof Extension Education, CCS Haryana AgriculturalUniversity, Hisar, India. Pp.24

Kumar, V, Sharma, DN and Sardana, PK. 2002. Techno-economic evaluation of bed seeding technique inwheat crop. J. of Agri. Engg. 39: 32-43.

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Parsad, S N and Verma, B 1986. Effect of intercroppingcastor with green gram, black gram, sesame andsorghum on yield and net return. Indian J. of Agron. 31(1): 21-25.

Patel, K S, Patel, M K, Patel, G N and Pathak, H C 2007.Intercropping in castor under irrigated condition. J.Oilseeds Res. 24 (1): 121-123.

Porwal, M K, Agarwal, S K and Khokar, A K. 2006. Effectof planting methods and intercrops on productivityand economics of castor –based intercropping systems.Indian J. of Agron. 51 (4):274-277.

Michael, A M. 1978. Irrigation, theory and practice (Firstedition). Vikas publishing house pvt. Ltd. 576, MasjidRoad, Jangpura, New Delhi- 110 014.

Sharma, D N, Kataria, D P and Bahl, V P. 2001. On-farmfield trials of tractor drawn multicrop ridge-furrowand flat bed seeding machine for rainfed and irrigatedconditions. J. of Agri. Engg. 38 (1):24-33.

Singh, J P and Singh, B P. 1988. Intercropping of mungbean and guar in castor under dryland condition.Indian J. of Agron. 33 (2): 177-180.

26

October-December 2012] ADEQUACY AND EQUITY 301

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 301-306, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Adequacy and equity of rotational distribution ofirrigation water of gravity flow Ranbir Canal system of

Jammu province–A case studyA.K. RAINA1, VIJAY BHARTI2, PARSHOTAM KUMAR SHARMA3 and A. SAMANTA4

Received: 1 March 2012; Accepted: 27 September 2012

ABSTRACT

Water distribution systems often have multi-objectives such as on the basis of location criteria affect onadequacy, equity etc. The canal systems distributing the water through net work of majors and minorshave different design capacities, command areas and lengths requiring different duration of operation.Irrigation scheduling under these conditions especially for rotational water distribution becomes acomplex process. Hence, in this research study is conducted in relation to location criteria regarding,the adequacy and equity criteria of canal net work of study area emerging from Ratian head works asper state irrigation department nomenclature as D-10 and D- 10A of gravity flow Ranbir Canal systemof Jammu. The canal net work receive irrigation water from head works on 14 days rotation basis with7 days turn for D-10 and D- 10A. The canal network of the study area further, has 13 branches havingdesigned command area of 13375 ha of farmers land within famous Basmati bowl of Jammu province.Based on the present study the adequacy weights range between 0.74 to 1.19 and equity weights areless than 1.0 in each of canal within network. This establishes a fact that there is in- adequate andunequal rotational distribution of irrigation water being presently supplied by state irrigationdepartment. This may be one of the causes for stagnant productivity levels of 20 qtls/ha of Paddy(Basmati) within the study area despite application of better quality seed, fertilizer dose and up to themark farm power energy level.

Key words: rotational water distribution, Ranbir Canal, irrigation

1 Chief Scientist2 Jr. Scientist/ Asstt. Professor, WMRC, SKUAST-J3 Agronomist, Division of Agricultural Engineering, SKUAST-J4 Sr. Scientist/ Assoc. Professor, WMRC, SKUAST-J

INTRODUCTION

The Ranbir Canal falling within Jammu district isa gravity flow canal system, with Chenab River asits water resource. The diversion of the gravitysystem starts at Akhnoor village having designeddischarge of 28.3 m3/sec. It has a designed commandarea of 38,623 ha which falls under the command of17 numbers of distributary canals named by stateirrigation department as D1 to D17.

As per preliminary bench mark survey, it isobserved that the Ranbir canal system has deficitirrigation availability in relation to different cropstages during Kharif season. This may be consideredas one of the reasons for stagnant productivity levelsof rice-wheat rotation, despite application of better

level of inputs and package of practices, farm powertechnology in vogue and fertilizer applicationadopted by farmers of the famous Basmati belt ofJammu called R.S. Pura. A number of models havebeen developed for irrigation scheduling withoptimization and simulation techniques. Rajput et.al(1989) developed a procedure for operation of canalsusing water balance equation for the estimation ofdaily soil moisture status taking a hypothetical caseof four branch canal system. This model can beapplied to real field situations only if the number ofbranch canals in the network is in multiples of four.Vedula et al. (1993) have developed an irrigationscheduling model for optimal allocation of waterduring different periods of the season for a single

27

302 RAINA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

crop using dynamic programming. The model takesinto account the soil moisture contribution forestimating the irrigation requirement. Yuanhua andHongyuan (1994) have developed a model for canalscheduling with rotational water distribution bycomputing the initial soil moisture daily throughwater balance equation and forecasting the weatherdata and subsequently the irrigation date and depth.Most of these models have difficulties in fieldapplications for the following reasons:(a) The assumptions made and or the pre-defined

mathematical structure involved in developingthe optimization problem does not match withthe real conditions of the field.

(b) The field measurement data required for thesemodels such as the soil moisture status or plantstress are generally not collected and used inmost of the irrigation systems in many countries.Zhi et al. (1995) have proposed a 0±1 linearprogramming model for outlet scheduling.However, application of this model is limited toirrigation systems where the distribution outletsalong the canal (be it main, lateral, tertiary) havethe same discharge capacity and such systemsare hypothetical. In this study based on theconcept of Molden and Gates (1990) and Santhiet.al (1999), individual weights like adequacyand equity weights will be estimated for 13numbers of distributary canals emerging fromRatian Head works. The canal network supplyirrigation to the designed command area of

13,375 ha. The data base generated will amplyclear the scenario regarding efficacy of presentrotational distribution of irrigation water beingfollowed within these command areas by thestate irrigation department.

MATERIAL & METHODSStudy area

Detailed study is undertaken within the studyarea. It is established that scheduling of rotationalirrigation within the area is on rotation of 14 daybasis each rotation has number of days equal to 7.Accordingly, the groupings in relation to locationcriteria W1kt are considered in the study. The fullsupply levels (FSL) have been monitored and crosschecked with the official records of the concerneddepartments. Overall cropping pattern in the areasuch as rice-wheat rotation and number villages anddesigned command area within canal network of thestudy area has been surveyed and data basegenerated for the study. Identification of canalnetwork with command area, cropping pattern anddesigned duty of water is presented in table.1. Onthe basis of 33 year’s monthly normal rainfall of thestudy area, the effective rainfall for each month iscalculated as per SCS method. This effective rainfallon monthly basis is considered to calculate net waterrequirement for different crop growth stages ofBasmati rice (Kharif) as presented in Fig.1. The studyarea is akin to total command area of the irrigationsystem and is taken as representative area for

Table1. Identification of canal network with designed command area, predominant cropping pattern and duty of water

S. Identification of Designed Name of Village with Designed DutyNo. canal network command predominant cropping pattern Discharge (ha/ cumec)

area (ha) (Cumecs)

1. *MI1 (D-10) 60 Kotlishah Dowla, Tanda Minor (Rice-Wheat) 0.04 1500.02. **MA2 (D-10) 3760 Ratian head to Kapoor pur (Rice-Wheat) 2.46 1528.53. MI3 (D-10) 240 Musachak minor (Rice-Wheat) 0.17 1411.74. MA4 (D-10) 2530.8 Main Tanda minor (Rice-Wheat) 2.69 940.55. MI5 (D-10) 924.8 Chakroi minor (Rice-Wheat) 0.65 1422.76. MA6 (D-10A) 1000 Katyal minor (Rice-Wheat) 0.70 1428.57. MI7 (D-10A) 40 Badyal-A (Rice-Wheat) 0.02 2000.08. MI8 (D-10A) 34 Badyal-B (Rice-Wheat) 0.02 1700.09. MA9 (D-10A) 2896 Ratian head to Koratana (Rice-Wheat) 2.83 1023.310. MI10 (D-10A) 100 SKUAST Channel (Rice-Wheat) 0.07 1428.511. MI11 (D-10A) 600 Khanna chak minor (Rice-Wheat) 0.42 1428.512. MI12 (D-10A) 270 Samka minor (Rice-Wheat) 0.25 1080.013 MI13 (D-10A) 920 Chandu chak minor (Rice-Wheat) 0.65 1415.3

Total Area 13375.6

*MI minor and**MA major

28

October-December 2012] ADEQUACY AND EQUITY 303

research findings regarding adequacy and equitycriteria of the system under rotational distributionof water followed by state irrigation department ofJammu presented in photoslide.1.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

For practical application, location criteria of canalnetwork as per ground reality are one of the mostimportant criteria to be considered while schedulingthe canals. In the present research as per equation.1,two groupings of location criteria are considered inrelation to rotational water supplies.

Fig. 1 Net monthly water requirement within study areasduring Kharif season

29

304 RAINA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

Two groupings (1 & 2)W1kt = 0.9 for k õ Group g of dist. canals,t = g, 2g, 3g, . . . , mW1kt = 0.1 for k “ Group g of dist: canals,t = g, 2g, 3g, . . . , mWhere, W1kt is the weight for the canal ‘k’ of the

canal system for the turn ‘t’, and ‘n’ the number ofturns within two canals emerging from head works,‘g’ the number of groupings of canals for turns in arotation and ‘m’ the number of turns in a crop season.In the present study the design capacity of main canalwhich feeds Ratian head works is 9.4 m3/sec whichfurther, is distributed on rotational basis to canalnetwork of study area through D-10 and D-10A with14 days rotation on 7 days turn basis. The designcapacity of D-10 and D-10A is 9.4 m3/sec and 4.3m3/sec. Therefore, in reference to equation 1, the twogroupings are calculated i.e. 9.4+4.3 = 13.7 / 9.4= 1.45,in relation to this two groupings of location criteriafor the study area considered as indicated above.These groupings help in devising combined effectof individual weights on the irrigation planning ofthe system.

Adequacy criteria W2K relates to the desire todeliver targeted amounts of water needed for cropirrigation to delivery points in the system as per(Molden and Gates, 1990). In the present model basedon the concept of (Santhi et.al 1999) the weights areassigned to each canal in proportion to its requiredduration of operation over the crop duration. Thecanal losses for different reaches are assumed to beconstant during the season. However, the antecedentmoisture remains fairly constant when water flowsin the canals during the irrigation season. Hence, theseasonal variation is not considered in computingthe canal losses. Number of days of operation of canalnetwork is computed dividing the demand by itsdischarge capacity. This weight takes care of theadequacy satisfying the crop demand. Thus, thisweight for each of the distributary canal remainsconstant throughout the crop season.

indicates that the canal network of the study areacan complete irrigation supply either running formore number of days or less number of days inrelation to cropping period. Therefore, during cropperiod targeted amounts of water needed for cropirrigation to delivery points is presently inadequateand is in the range of 0.74 to 1.29 presented in column7 of table.2.

Equity criteria W3K are one of the main objectivesof the rotational water distribution. It can be definedas the spatial uniformity of the ratio of the deliveredamounts of water to the targeted amounts isdetermined as per (Molden and Gates, 1990). Further,as per (Santhi et.al 1999) present model used in thestudy is a planning model, gives the fairest way toachieve equity with a view to allocate the water inproportion to the irrigable area under the canals withproper accounting of conveyance losses. Conveyanceloss, being an important factor of equity, has to beincorporated in the equity calculations.

Where W2k stands for the weight of the canal k,dk for the duration of operation required (in days)to meet the demand of the canal k at full supplydischarge and D for the crop duration in days. Onthis concept adequacy weight criteria and duty ofcanal network of study area is calculated as presentedin tables 2 & 3 and figs.2 & 3. The fig.2 clearly

Fig. 2. Adequacy and estimated number of days requiredduring Kharif season within canal network to achieveirrigation water supply (IWS)

Fig. 3. Variation in meeting duty of water in the study area(ha-m)

30

October-December 2012] ADEQUACY AND EQUITY 305

W3k is the weight representing the equity criteriaindirectly, A*k the virtual area of the distributarycanal k, Ak is the designed command area of the canalk, lossk is the percentage of loss per kilometer(expressed as a fraction) of the canal k and length(k)stands for the length of the canal k. It assumesthat the loss increases with the length of the canals(Hiemcke, 2000). In the present study the conveyanceloss in each of the canal is taken as 1% per kilometer.

Accordingly, the equity criteria is estimated forthe canal network of the study area and presentedin table 3 and fig. 4. The data and figures clearly

Table 2. Adequacy weight criteria W2K and estimated number of days required to meet up requisite irrigation waterrequirement within canal network

Fig. 4. Pattern of equity trends within canal network

Table 3. Estimated and normal duty of water met by canalnetwork

MI1 (D-10) 1500.0 1260.9MA2 (D-10) 1528.5 1260.9MI3 (D-10) 1411.7 1260.9MA4 (D-10) 940.5 1260.9MI5 (D-10) 1422.7 1260.9MA6 (D-10A) 1428.5 1260.9MI7 (D-10A) 2000.0 1260.9MI8 (D-10A) 1700.0 1260.9MA9 (D-10A) 1023.3 1260.9MI10 (D-10A) 1428.5 1260.9MI11 (D-10A) 1428.5 1260.9MI12 (D-10A) 1080.0 1260.9MI13 (D-10A) 1415.3 1260.9

Identificationof canalnetwork

Estimated duty ofwater met by canal

network(ha / cumec)

Normal duty ofwater to be met

during thecropping period

(ha / cumec)

indicate that equity criteria for all the distributariesare far less than 1.0 as given in table 3 and equitytrend follows disproportionately with the respectivedesigned command areas of canal network of thestudy as presented in fig.4. This proves that spatialuniformity ratio of delivered and targeted amountof water in each canal is not maintained underpresent scheme of rotational distribution of waterfollowed by the concerned departments.

1 2 3= (1*2) 4 5 6= (3/5) 7= (6/162) 8

60.0 1111 666600 0.04 3672.6 181 112.0 *MI1 (D-10)3760.0 1111 41773600 2.46 213015.6 196 121.0 **MA2 (D-10)240.0 1111 2666400 0.17 14690.7 181 112.0 MI3 (D-10)2530.8 1111 28117188 2.69 232603.2 120 74.6 MA4 (D-10)924.8 1111 10274528 0.65 56314.4 182 112.0 MI5 (D-10)1000.0 1111 11110000 0.70 61211.3 181 112.0 MA6 (D-10A)40.0 1111 444400 0.02 2448.4 181 112.0 MI7 (D-10A)34.0 1111 377740 0.02 1958.7 192 112.0 MI8 (D-10A)2896.0 1111 32174560 2.83 244845.5 131 119.0 MA9 (D-10A)100.0 1111 1111000 0.07 6121.1 181 81.1 MI10 (D-10A)600.0 1111 6666000 0.42 36726.8 181 112.0 MI11 (D-10A)270.0 1111 2999700 0.25 22036.0 136 112.0 MI12 (D-10A)920.0 1111 10221200 0.65 56314.4 181 129.0 MI13 (D-10A)13375.6

In column (7) no. of days in a cropping season are = 162., *MI minor and **MA major

Designedcommandarea (ha)

Waterrequirementfor rice crop

during Kharif(mm)

Irrigationwater

requirement(IWR)(m3)

Designeddischarge ofeach canalwithin thenetwork(m3/sec)

Dischargeof canalnetworkper day

(m3 / day)

Estimatednumber of daysrequired withincanal network

to meet up (IWR)

Adequacy Weightcriteria

W2K*10^-2

Identificationof canalnetwork

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306 RAINA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

CONCLUSION1. The location criteria W1kt of the canal network

of study area are practically grouped in relationto ground reality that 5 numbers of canals fallunder D-10 and 8 numbers of canals fall underD-10A having rotational irrigation water supply(IWS) of 14 days basis with 7 days of watersupply per rotation during cropping period of162 days during kharif season.

2. The adequacy criteria W2k of canal network ofstudy area are varying in relation to croppingperiod and W2k weights are in the range of 0.74to 1.29, which, indicates canal network canachieve irrigation water demand (IWD) of therespective command areas either early or afterthe cropping period, therefore does not possessadequacy. As far as duty of water is concernedinstead of 1260 ha / cumec for the croppingperiod it is in the range of 940 to 1500 ha / cumecas presented in fig. 3. Its percentage variationranges between -25 to + 21 in relation to normalduty of water, therefore, it is erratic.

3. Equity criteria W3k spatial uniformity of the ratioof the delivered amounts of water to the targetedamounts. The equity weights W3k within thecanal network of the study area indicate varianceas none of the value of these weights is close to1 as presented in table 3 and fig. 4.

4. This proves a fact that present rotational waterdistribution criteria followed by state irrigationdepartment is inadequate and unequalcommensurate with design command area.

5. There is urgent need to revisit the randomlyselected 14 days rotational water distributionwith 7 days turn for canal network of the studyarea by state irrigation department for Ranbircanal system of Jammu.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTAICRP on Water Management, Jammu Centre,

SKUAST- Jammu.

REFERENCES

Rajput, T.B.S., Michael, A.M., 1989. Scheduling of canaldeliveries. I. Development of an integrated canalscheduling model. Irrigation and Power 46(2), 23±39.

Molden, D.J., Gates, T.K., 1990. Performance measures forevaluation of irrigation water delivery systems. J.Irrigation Drainage Eng. ASCE 116(6), 804±823.

Yuanhua, Hongyuan, 1994. Real-time OperationScheduling of Canal System with Rotational Irrigation.International Conference on Irrigation ManagementTransfer, Wuhan, China, September 1994.

Vedula, S., Ramesh, T.S.V. Mujumdar, P.P., 1993. Real-time irrigation scheduling. In: InternationalConference on Environmentally Sound WaterResources Utilisation, Bangkok, Thailand, November1993, pp. III-25±III-31.

Zhi, W., Mohan Reddy, J., Feyen, J., 1995. Improved 0±1programming model for optimal ¯ow scheduling inirrigation canals. Irrigation Drainage Systems 9,105±116.

Santhi, C. Pundarikanthan, N.V, 1999 A new planningmodel for canal scheduling of rotational irrigation.International journal of Agricultural WaterManagement 43 (2000) 327-343.

Table 4. Equity Criteria W3K of canal network of gravity flow Ranbir Canal command areas of Jammu

1 2 3 4 5 6= 2/5 7= 6/”AK**MI1 (D-10) 60 4.5 0.95 0.81 73.8 0.07**MA2 (D-10) 3760 16.5 0.83 0.04 76239.3 79.61MI3 (D-10) 240 2.3 0.97 0.94 253.1 0.26MA4 (D-10) 2530.8 7.5 0.92 0.55 4541.4 4.74MI5 (D-10) 924.8 4.5 0.95 0.81 1137.7 1.18MA6 (D-10A) 1000 6 0.94 0.68 1449.5 1.51MI7 (D-10A) 40 2 0.98 0.96 41.6 0.04MI8 (D-10A) 34 1.5 0.98 0.97 34.7 0.03MA9 (D-10A) 2896 10.6 0.89 0.30 9497.7 9.90MI10 (D-10A) 100 1.7 0.98 0.96 103.1 0.10MI11 (D-10A) 600 5.8 0.94 0.70 848.5 0.88MI12 (D-10A) 270 2.2 0.97 0.95 283.5 0.29MI13 (D-10A) 920 5.5 0.94 0.73 1255.7 1.30

Total Command Total virtual command Area: 13375.6 area: “AK* 95760.2

Identificationof canalnetwork

Designedcommand area

within canalnetwork (ha)

Length ofeach minor/major (Kms)

Waterconveyanceloss of each

dist. (1-lossk)

5= (4^3) Virtual commandarea under each

canalAk* (ha)

Equity weight ofeach canal

(AK*/Sum Ak*)(W3K*10^-2)

32

October-December 2012] ASSESSMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATER QUALITY 307

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 307-310, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Assessment of underground water quality inMundlana Block of Sonipat district in Haryana

RAMESH SHARMA1, PARDEEP2, S.K. SHARMA3, SANJAY KUMAR4 and B.S. NEGI5

Received: 23 February 2012; Accepted: 13 September 2012

ABSTRACT

The present study is based on 221 water samples collected from 26 villages of Mundlana block of Sonipatdistrict. Based on electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ration (SAR) and residual sodiumcarbonate (RSC) of waters, 24.4, 25.3, 8.1, 24.1 and 18.1 per cent water samples were found good,marginally saline, saline, high SAR-saline and highly alkali categories, respectively. EC, RSC and SARranged from 0.34 to 22.32 dS/m, nil to 9.10 me/L and 0.24 to 28.18 (m mol/L)½, respectively. Amongcations, sodium was dominant ion which ranged from 0.37 to 155.43 me/L followed by magnesium(0.25 to 44.75 me/L) and calcium (0.50 to 23.50 me/L), whereas, among anions, C1- was dominant ion(1.20 to 133.60 me/L) followed by SO4

-2 (0.67 to 86.76 me/L), HCO3- (0.40 to 13.00 me/L) and CO3

-2

(0.20 to 6.00 me/L). During last three decades, significant groundwater quality degradation has beenobserved and good quality water percentage is deteriorated by 28.2 per cent approximately.

Key words: EC, groundwater, RSC, SAR, salinity, sodicity

1-5 Deptt. of Agricultural & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi-1100012-4 Department of Soil Science, CCSHAU, Hisar, Haryana, 125004

INTRODUCTIONQuality of water is assuming great importance

with the increasing demand in industries, agricultureand rise in standard of living. Agriculture is the majoruser (89 per cent) of the India’s water resources butthe estimates show that the growing demands frommunicipalities, industry and energy generation willclaim about 22 per cent (24.3 m ha-m/year) of thetotal water resources (105 m ha-m/year) by the year2025 AD, thereby, further reduce the good qualitywater supply for irrigation (Minhas and Tyagi 1998).The adequate amount of water is very essential forproper growth of plants but the quality of water usedfor irrigation purpose should also be well within thepermissible limit, otherwise, it could adversely affectthe plant growth. Supplementary irrigation withtubewell is important in India where one – third ofthe land surface falls under arid and semi-aridclimate and the rainfall is seasonal and erratic. About75-80 per cent of human requirements for water arefulfilled by groundwater. Unlike surface waters,underground waters are not always suitable forirrigation, their salt content and composition

depends upon the location and geo-climatic factors.The water quality in watershed is directly affectedby vegetative cover, agricultural practices and otherland management techniques (Bhattaria et al. 2008).

In the Haryana state, on an average 37 per cent ofthe ground water is of good quality, 8 per centmarginal and 55 per cent are of poor quality.Amongst poor quality water, 11 per cent saline, 18per cent sodic and 26 per cent saline-sodic in nature(Manchanda 1976). The farmer use poor qualityground water due to limited availability of canals aswell as good quality groundwater for cropproduction. Continuous use of poor quality waterwithout drainage and soil management mayadversely affect the soil health and agriculturalproduction. Attempts also have been made in thepast to establish water quality zones of Haryana state(Manchanda 1976), but a major change in waterquality has occurred over the years due overexploitation and a shift in the cropping pattern(Phogat et al. 2008). Pressures on groundwaterresources in semi-arid regions due to irrigation canbe released through the judicious use of this scarce

33

308 SHARMA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

resource by knowing the groundwater quality of thatarea. Therefore, it is necessary to continuouslymonitor the quality of underground water forassessing the possible adverse effect on soil health.Keeping in view these facts, quality appraisal ofunderground water in Mundlana block of Sonipatdistrict was done for sound irrigation planning ofthe area.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Survey and characterization of undergroundirrigation waters of Mundlana block of Sonipatdistrict, Haryana was undertaken during 2006-07.The district Sonipat comprises of seven blocksnamely Sonipat, Kharkhoda, Ganaur, Rai, Gohana,Kathura besides Mundlana. Mundlana block liesbetween 29º07/25// to 29º17/25// N latitude and76º33/30// to 76º52/05// E longitude (Fig.1). Area ofMundlana block is 305.7 sq.km., comprising 13.5 percent of the total district area. Geologically, Sonipatdistrict is a part of the Indo-Gangatic plain of Peluvialage which has been laid down by tributaries of theIndus river system and other nonexistent rivers.Water table is shallow in areas having canal systemand water quality is poor in these areas. The problemof water logging and salinisation exist there.However, in Yamuna belt the water table is deepbecause of over exploitation of underground water.Two hundred and twenty one water samples werecollected from Mundlana block through randomsampling of the running tubewells of the block fromall sides of each village. The samples were analyzed

for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), CO3-2, HCO3

-,Cl-, Ca+2, Mg+2 and Na+ by following the proceduresoutlined in USDA Handbook No. 60 (Richards 1954).Water samples were categorized on the basis ofcriteria (Table 1) adopted by All India CoordinatedResearch Project on Management of Salt Affected Soil

Quality EC SAR RSC(dS/m) (m mol/L)½ (me/L)

Good <2 <10 <2.5Marginally saline 2-4 <10 <2.5Saline >4 <10 <2.5High SAR - saline >4 >10 <2.5Marginally alkali <2 <10 2.5-4.0Alkali <2 <10 >4.0Highly alkali Variable >10 >4.0

Table 1. Criteria for water quality classification(Anonymous, 1989)

and Use of Saline Water through the values of EC,residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and sodiumadsorption ratio (SAR) of the samples (Gupta et al.1994). SAR and RSC were calculated as described bythe following equations.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In Mundlana block, electrical conductivity (EC)ranged from 0.34 to 22.32 dS/m with a mean of 3.39dS/m (Table 2). The lowest EC of 0.34 dS/m in watersamples was observed in village Jawara and its

Table 2. Range of different water quality parameters inMundlana block of Sonipat district

Quality parameter Range Mean

pH 7.40-11.50 8.05EC (dS/m) 0.34-22.32 3.39RSC (me/L) nil -9.10 3.81SAR (m mol/L)½ 0.24-28.18 9.18Ca+2 (me/L) 0.50-23.50 3.44Mg+2 (me/L) 0.25-44.75 8.62Na+ (me/L) 0.37-155.43 21.03K+ (me/L) 0.07-1.69 0.43C1- (me/L) 1.20-133.60 14.11SO4

-2 (me/L) 0.67-86.76 13.96HCO3

- (me/L) 0.40-13.00 4.07CO3

-2 (me/L) 0.20-6.00 1.51

34

Fig.1. Location map of Mundlana block of Sonipat district

October-December 2012] ASSESSMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATER QUALITY 309

highest value (22.32 dS/m) was recorded in villageShamari (Fig.1). The pH ranged from 7.40 to 11.50with an average of 8.05 and the lowest pH of 7.40 inwater samples was observed in village Chirana. TheSAR ranged from 0.24 to 28.18 (m mol/L)½ with amean value of 9.18 (m mol/L)½. The lowest SARvalue was observed in village Gangana and itshighest value was recorded in village Bichhpuri. TheRSC varied from nil to 9.10 me/L with an averagevalue of 3.81 me/L. Maximum value of the RSC (9.10me/L) was found in the village Ahmedpur Majra.In case of cations, sodium was dominant ion whichranged from 0.37 to 155.43 me/L followed bymagnesium (0.25 to 44.75 me/L), calcium (0.50 to23.50 me/L) and potassium (0.07 to 1.69 me/L).Mean value for Na+, Mg+2, Ca+2 and K+2 were 21.03,8.62, 3.44 and 0.43 me/L, respectively.

In case of anions, chloride was the dominant ionwith maximum value of 133.60 me/L observed invillage Shamari and minimum value of 1.20 me/Lrecorded in village Mundlana. Highest value ofsulphate (86.76 me/L) was recorded in villageBarauda. Bicarbonate content ranged between 0.40to 13.00 me/L and its minimum value found inButana village. The carbonates varied from 0.20 to6.00 me/L with maximum value (6.00 me/L) foundin the water samples of village Bichhpuri. Meanvalue for CO3

-2, HCO3-, Cl- and SO4

-2 were found tobe 1.51, 4.07, 14.11 and 13.96, respectively. Shahidet al. (2008) also reported the similar results in Julanablock of Jind district. It was further observed thatcations and anions in groundwater followed theorder Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > K+ and Cl- > SO4

-2 >HCO3

-, respectively. In arid and semi-arid regions,various workers have reported the dominance ofsodium and chloride ions in irrigation waters(Paliwal and Yadav 1976; Sharma 1998; Shahid et al.2008).

The mean chemical composition and relatedquality parameters in different EC ranges forMundlana block are given in table 3. Maximumnumbers of samples (61) were in the EC range of 1-2dS/m. The study revealed that 68.3 per cent of thesamples showed EC less than 4 dS/m, 30.4 per centhad EC 4 to 10 dS/m and only 1.3 per cent sampleswere above 10 dS/m. Number of samples upto ECof 2 dS/m was increased, with further increase inEC, the number of samples deceased and its numberwas reduced significantly after an EC of 5 dS/m.Only three samples were recorded with EC greaterthan 10 dS/m. Concentration of Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ andK+ increased with increase in the EC of the watersamples and the magnitude of increase in sodiumand magnesium concentration was much higher thanthe other two. Concentration of chloride andsulphate anions increased with the increase in theEC of the water samples. However, the sulphatecontent remained higher than the chloride in watershaving EC upto 5.0 dS/m, whereas, waters havingEC greater than 5.0 dS/m had more average chloridecontent than sulphate. Bicarbonates were also foundto be in appreciable quantities, whereas, carbonateswere in low quantities, but the concentration of thesetwo anions did not show any relation with EC ofirrigation water.

According to AICRP classification, the maximumsamples were found in marginally saline (25.3 percent) category followed by good quality (24.4 percent) (Fig.2). The per cent samples in high SAR saline,high alkali and saline were 24.0, 18.1 and 8.1,respectively. No sample was found in marginallyalkali and alkali categories. Minhas et al. (1998) alsoreported that 32.84% of running wells in India wererated to be of poor quality. Earlier studies conductedby Manchanda (1976) indicated that in Mundlanablock, 34, 11, 11, 11 and 33 per cent of groundwater

EC class No. of Na+ Ca+2 Mg+2 K+ CO3-2 HCO3

- Cl- SO4-2

(dS/m) water samples me/L0-1 10 2.05 1.48 3.03 0.26 0.46 2.22 2.28 2.411-2 61 9.19 1.50 3.29 0.34 1.46 4.11 4.15 4.882-3 44 15.75 2.10 6.07 0.46 1.58 4.64 7.65 10.773-4 36 21.73 3.92 8.80 0.42 1.82 4.19 12.49 16.664-5 30 29.28 3.00 9.68 0.50 1.80 4.11 17.01 19.335-6 15 30.70 7.08 14.82 0.44 1.71 3.71 23.37 14.186-7 9 37.67 5.53 18.06 0.43 0.91 3.16 36.44 20.947-8 6 44.00 7.13 22.50 0.50 1.17 4.98 45.07 22.65>8 10 64.80 13.28 28.00 0.76 0.90 3.41 59.96 42.30

Table 3. Average chemical composition of tubewell water samples of Mundlana block in different EC classes

35

310 SHARMA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

was under good, normal, marginally saline, sodicand saline-sodic categories, respectively. During lastthree decades, significant groundwater qualitydegradation has been observed. Good quality waterpercentage changed from 34 to 24.4 indicates thatthe quality of groundwater is deteriorated by 28.2per cent.

CONCLUSIONS

The ground waters of Mundlana block are Na-Mg-Ca type dominated by chloride and the brackishwaters are generally saline and alkali in nature. Goodquality and marginally saline waters can besuccessfully used for crop production without anyhazardous effect on soil and plant. The presence ofsulphate, being important plant nutrient, is beneficialfor crop production. The sulphate content of thesewaters in addition to supplying the sulphur nutrientto plant is beneficial in reducing the sodium hazardof waters having higher sodium content.Groundwater having EC more than 4 dS/m requirespecial management practices depending upon thesoil type, crop grown and climatic factors. Alkaliwater can be used successfully by using gypsum asan amendment tool (Anonymous, 2010). The watersrated as saline and high SAR saline is unfit forirrigation. Their indiscriminate use may causesecondary salinization and sodification of soil

resulting in adverse effect on crop growth. But inemergency these waters can be used with specialmanagement practices depending upon the rainfall,crop to be grown and soil type.

REFERENCES

Anonymous. 1989. AICRP on Management of SaltAffected Soils and Use of Saline Water in Agriculture,Progress report, CSSRI, Karnal.

Anonymous. 2010. AICRP on Management of SaltAffected Soils and Use of Saline Water in Agriculture,Annual report, CCSHAU, Hisar.

Bhattaria, G. R., Srivastva, P., Margen, L., Hite, D. andHatch, U. 2008. Assessment of economic and waterquality impacts of land use change using a simple bio-economic model. Environmental management, 42,122–130.

Gupta, R. K., Singh, N. T. and Sethi, M. 1994. Water qualityfor irrigation in India. Tech. Bull. 19, CSSRI, Karnal ,India.

Manchanda, H. R. 1976. Quality of underground water ofHaryana. Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar.

Minhs, P. S., Sharma, O. P. and Patil, S. G. 1998. Twentyfive years of research on management of salt affectedsoils and use of saline water in agriculture. CSSRIKarnal India

Minhas, P. S. and Tyagi, N. K. 1998. Guidelines forirrigation with saline and alkali waters. TechnicalBulletin no. 1/98, CSSRI, Karnal. pp.1.

Paliwal, K. V. and Yadav, B. R. 1976. Irrigation waterquality and crop management in the union territoryof Delhi. Research Bulletin 9 IARI, New Delhi. pp. 166.

Phogat, V., Sharma, S. K., Satyavan and Kumar, S. 2008.Assessment of groundwater quality for irrigation ofJind district for irrigation. Proceedings of 16th Nat.Symp.on Environ. (NSE-16), 16-18 Jul., 2008, GuruJambheshwar Univ. Sci. and Tech., Hisar, India..

Richards, L. A. 1954. Diagnosis and improvement of salineand alkali soils. U.S.D.A. Hand Book No. 60 . Oxford& IBH Publishing Co., New Delhi.

Shahid, M., Singh, A. P., Bhandari, D. K. and Ahmad, I.2008. Groundwater quality appraisal andcategorization in Julana block of Jind district, Haryana.J. Indian Society of Soil Science. 56(1) 123-125.

Sharma, D. R. 1998. Assessment of the nature and extentof poor quality of underground water resources.National Seminar on Strategies for the Managementof Poor Quality Water in Agriculture, held at CSSRI,Karnal. pp 4-5.

Fig. 2. Quality of groundwater (per cent) in Mundlana blockof Sonipat district

36

October-December 2012] ASSESSMENT OF IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY 311

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 311-315, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Assessment of irrigation water quality ofcold arid Ladakh region

SOMEN ACHARYA1, A K KATIYAR2, V K BHARTI3, GURU CHARAN4,B. PRAKASH5 and R. B. SRIVASTAVA6

Received: 7 May 2012; Accepted: 12 September 2012

ABSTRACT

Present study was undertaken to determine irrigation water quality of cold arid Ladakh region. InLadakh region, nearly all irrigation water is driven from snow melting water. Most of the irrigation isdone by canal systems. Skillfully constructed water channels carrying water from its source to thecultivated fields are the backbone of agriculture in Ladakh. Irrigation water quality was determined onthe basis of pH, EC, TDS, SAR, RSC, SSP, salt index values. Mean pH of irrigation water of Indus andNubra valley was recorded 7.93 and 7.90 respectively. Using EC and SAR values, irrigation water ofIndus valley falls in C2S1 class and Nubra valley in C1S1 class which is considered to be good forirrigation purposes with no salinity hazard. Average RSC value of Indus and Nubra valley was found0.25 and 0.35 mel-1 respectively which is within the safe limit. From the overall results it can be concludedthat there is no hazard in irrigation water of Ladakh region in terms of salinity, sodium or bicarbonatehazard and can be used safely for growing crops.

Key words: irrigation water, Ladakh, cold arid desert

1 Scientist, 2 SRF, 3 STA, 4 Director, Defence Institute of High Altitude Research, DRDO, C/o 56 APO, Leh-Ladakh, 901205

INTRODUCTION

Water is the most important factor required forplant growth in agriculture production. Bulk weightof all living organisms consists of 80 to 90 % water.Water need for plant growth is met with soil waterstorage in plant root zone. Under rainfed conditions,soil water storage is continuously replenished withnatural rainfall; however, irrigation is essential inarid and semi-arid climate to maintain soil waterstorage at an optimum level to get higher yield.

Irrigation can be defined as the replenishment ofsoil water storage in plant root zone throughmethods other than natural precipitation (Kirda,1997). Characteristics of irrigation water quality varywith the source of water. All water sources used inirrigation contain impurities and dissolved saltsirrespective of whether they are surface orunderground water. There are regional differencesin water quality, based mainly on geology andclimate. There may also be great differences in the

quality of water available on a local level dependingon whether the source is surface water (rivers, pondsand springs) or from groundwater aquifers withvarying geology (Will and Faust, 2002).

In agriculture, irrigation water quality is relatedto its effects on soils, crops and managementpractices necessary to overcome problems linkedwith water quality. Chemical constituents ofirrigation water can affect plant growth directlythrough toxicity or deficiency, or indirectly byaltering plant availability of nutrients. To evaluatequality of irrigation water, it is necessary to identifythe parameters that are important for plant growth.Therefore, appropriate tests should be conductedprior to apply irrigation water in the field for bettergrowth and yield of the crops.

Ladakh is the northern most part of India situatedat an altitude of 8,500 to 15,000 ft above MSL. Thetopography is rugged with rocky terrains. Valleysare sandy, open, long broad with some water bodies.

37

312 ACHARYA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

This trans-Himalayan icy region, popularly knownas cold desert, is characterized by severe, aridconditions (Acharya et al., 2010). In this region,agriculture season is very short (April-May toSeptember-October) and main crops are wheat,barley, gram, potato and some vegetables. In Ladakhregion besides poor soil fertility status, water is themajor factor limiting crop production. Nearly all thewater used in irrigation is from melting snowbanksand glaciers and is therefore most abundant in thespring and summer months. Without irrigationvegetable farming is out of question in Ladakh. Tilldate assessment of irrigation water quality of Ladakhregion have not been carried out. Hence, presentstudy focuses on assessment and comparative studyof irrigation water quality of different villages ofIndus and Nubra valley.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Water samples for irrigation water qualityassessment were analyzed for chemical constituents.The samples were collected in sterile plastic bottles(500 ml) and stored by adding 2-3 drops of tolueneto prevent microbial growth. Sampling was carriedout from April to October over two years ofinvestigation (2009-2010) from different canals inNubra and Indus valley of Ladakh region. Nubravalley lies between two great mountain ranges, i.e.Ladakh (on the south) and Karakoram (on the north)with approximately 340152 453 -350302 N latitudeand 760552 -780052 E longitude. Study area of Indusvalley lies between 33p 592 363 -34p 172 723 Nlatitude and 077p 122 -077p 452 673 E longitude.Present survey was conducted in 12 villages of Indusvalley and 10 villages of Nubra valley. From eachsource (irrigation canals) 3 samples were collectedfrom each village and altogether, 66 water sampleswere collected from both the valleys.

Many factors were taken together to determinethe quality of water for irrigation. Irrigation waterquality was determined by using the followingparameters: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), Totaldissolved solids (TDS), alkalinity (carbonates andbicarbonates), sodium (Na) hazard (amount of Nain water compared to Ca and Mg), bicarbonatehazard [also called Residual sodium carbonate(RSC)] (Singh et al., 2005). The effect of Na iscalculated as the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). SARis calculated using the formula:

SAR = Exchangeable {(Na)/ “(Ca + Mg)/2}

Where concentrations are given in mel-1

Soluble sodium percentage (SSP) is anotheralternative measure of sodium hazard and wascalculated to see the damaging effect of Na in thesoil.

SSP = Exchangeable {(Na)/ (Ca + Mg + K + Na)}x 100

Salt Index is also used for predicting sodiumhazard. It is the relation between Na, Ca and CaCO3present in irrigation water.

Salt Index = (Total Na – 24.5) – [(Total Ca – Ca inCaCO3) X 4.85]

Presence of bicarbonate (HCO3-) is also important

parameter for irrigation water quality. It brings aboutchanges in SSP and SAR and therefore, an increaseof the sodium hazard. It is expressed as residualsodium carbonate (RSC) using the followingformula:

RSC (mel-1) = {(CO3 + HCO3) - (Ca + Mg)}Irrigation water classification based on EC, SAR,

SSP, RSC and Salt Index is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Classification of irrigation water based on EC, SAR,SSP, RSC and Salt Index

Water EC (µScm-1) SAR SSP RSC Saltclass IndexLow < 250 (C1) < 10 (S1) < 20 < 1.25 -24.5 to 0Medium 250-750 (C2) 10-18 (S2) 20-50 1.25-2.5High 750-2250 (C3) 18-26 (S3) 50-80 > 2.5 > 0Very high > 2250 (C4) > 26 (S4) > 80

In addition, presence of toxic substances likechloride in irrigation water as well as trace elements(zinc and manganese) was also estimated.

pH, soluble salts (EC) and TDS of irrigation waterwas measured by pH and EC meter (Model HACH,USA). Calcium and magnesium was measured byversenate titration method using EDTA-disodiumsalt solution as chelating agent. Carbonates andbicarbonates were determined by titrating knownvolume of water against standard H2SO4 usingphenolphthalein and methyl orange indicators,respectively. Sodium, potassium and calcium weremeasured by flame photometer (Model AFP 100,UK). Chloride was determined by AgNO3 (Mohr’stitration) method and trace elements like zinc andmanganese were measured using inductivelycoupled plasma (ICP) spectrophotometer (ModelOptima 7000 DV, Perkin Elmer).

38

October-December 2012] ASSESSMENT OF IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY 313

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The pH of irrigation water is an importantparameter because it will influence the relativesolubility of certain nutrients and can impact thesolubility of certain chemicals or pesticides used inagriculture. From the table 2a and 2b it was foundthat average pH of Indus and Nubra valley was 7.93(range: 7.78-8.10) and 7.90 (range: 7.82-8.02)respectively. Normal range of pH of irrigation wateris considered between pH 6.5-8.4 (Ayers andWestcot, 1994).

The excess of salts content is one of the majorconcerns with water used for irrigation. A high saltconcentration present in the water and soil willnegatively affect the crop yields, degrade the landand pollute groundwater. Electrical conductivity(EC) of water determines soluble salt content in it.EC was measured 265.9 µScm-1 and 156.53 µScm-1

for Indus and Nubra valley respectively. In Nubravalley average EC of irrigation water exists in C1class (low) whereas for Indus valley it is in C2 class(medium) (Table 1). Water salinity hazard is one ofthe most influential water quality guideline on cropproductivity which is measured by EC. The primaryeffect of high EC water on crop productivity is theinability of the plant to compete with ions in the soilsolution for water (physiological drought). Thehigher the EC, the less water is available to plants,even though the soil may appear wet. Besides ECthe other terms that use to report salinity hazard istotal dissolved solids (TDS). TDS quantify theamount of dissolved salts (or ions, charged particles)in a water sample. TDS was found 127.3 and 74.39ppm respectively for Indus and Nubra valley (Table2a and 2b). From the results it was observed thatthere is no salinity hazard of irrigation water ofLadakh region.

Total salt concentration of irrigation waters shouldnot be used as a single criteria to prevent its use inirrigation (Kirda, 1997). Sodium hazard is definedseparately for irrigation water because of sodium’sspecific detrimental effects on soil physicalproperties. The sodium hazard is typically expressedas the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). This indexquantifies the proportion of sodium (Na+) to calcium(Ca++) and magnesium (Mg++) ions in a sample.Calcium will flocculate, while sodium disperses soilparticles. This dispersed soil will readily crust andhave water infiltration and permeability problems.Average SAR of irrigation water of different villages

Tab

le 2

a. I

rrig

atio

n w

ater

qu

alit

y of

dif

fere

nt v

illag

es o

f In

du

s va

lley

Nam

e of

Vill

ages

pHE

CT

DS

(ppm

)N

a(m

el-1

)(C

a +

Mg)

(CO

3+H

CO

3)C

l- (mel

-1)

K(m

el-1

)Z

nM

n (

µScm

-1)

(mel

-1)

(mel

-1)

(pp

m)

(pp

m)

Chu

chot

Gom

a8.

0033

4.7±

6.5

161.

0±8.

51.

00±

0.02

3.06

±0.

073.

13±

0.08

31.

40±

0.04

0.06

9±0.

002

0.01

00.

007

Chu

chot

Som

a8.

0934

0.3±

6.5

163.

3±7.

61.

01±

0.05

3.23

±0.

213.

30±

0.18

71.

40±

0.14

0.06

6±0.

003

0.00

90.

007

Chu

chot

Yog

ma

8.10

337.

3±6.

816

1.6±

8.5

1.00

±0.

043.

06±

0.16

3.27

±0.

122

1.41

±0.

060.

069±

0.00

40.

009

0.00

6

Mat

ho7.

9228

6.7±

6.7

138.

1±6.

60.

24±

0.03

2.78

±0.

132.

93±

0.09

81.

10±

0.09

0.04

1±0.

006

0.00

80.

004

Nim

oo8.

0032

3.6±

7.4

154.

1±7.

41.

00±

0.07

3.08

±0.

113.

29±

0.04

21.

28±

0.08

0.06

7±0.

003

0.00

60.

008

Phe

y7.

9023

2.3±

10.1

111.

4±5.

80.

70±

0.07

2.42

±0.

052.

76±

0.09

00.

86±

0.05

0.03

5±0.

002

0.00

90.

005

Phy

ang

7.82

197.

7±6.

094

.6±

6.0

0.60

±0.

033.

02±

0.16

3.32

±0.

225

1.20

±0.

160.

073±

0.00

20.

007

0.00

6

Sabo

o7.

8514

1.7±

6.5

66.9

±7.

70.

97±

0.04

1.75

±0.

072.

12±

0.09

81.

10±

0.07

0.05

0±0.

003

0.01

00.

005

Shey

7.93

288.

0±10

.013

6.0±

6.0

0.83

±0.

062.

55±

0.11

3.05

±0.

086

1.11

±0.

040.

042±

0.00

20.

008

0.00

9St

oke

7.78

232.

0±11

.511

1.3±

4.0

0.22

±0.

022.

60±

0.06

2.78

±0.

155

0.81

±0.

040.

018±

0.00

20.

005

0.01

2

Tar

u7.

8315

2.0±

7.0

73.0

±6.

80.

18±

0.01

1.76

±0.

102.

31±

0.08

21.

07±

0.12

0.04

6±0.

001

0.00

90.

010

Thi

ksey

7.98

325.

0±5.

015

6.3±

7.8

1.01

±0.

043.

11±

0.18

3.20

±0.

041

1.40

±0.

160.

072±

0.00

40.

011

0.01

0

Ave

rage

7.93

265.

912

7.3

0.73

2.73

2.96

1.18

0.05

40.

0084

0.00

74

39

314 ACHARYA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

of Indus valley was found 0.89 whereas for Nubravalley it was also recorded as 0.89. In Indus valley,highest SAR was recorded in Saboo village (1.47)whereas in Nubra valley, Hunder (1.28) recordedhighest SAR values (Table 3a and 3b).

Tab

le 2

b. I

rrig

atio

n w

ater

qu

alit

y of

dif

fere

nt v

illag

es o

f N

ubr

a va

lley

Nam

e of

Vill

ages

pHE

CT

DS

(ppm

)N

a(m

el-1

)(C

a +

Mg)

(CO

3+H

CO

3)C

l- (mel

-1)

K(m

el-1

)Z

nM

n (

µScm

-1)

(mel

-1)

(mel

-1)

(pp

m)

(pp

m)

Bog

dan

g7.

9616

4.43

±4.

478

.53±

5.2

0.07

±0.

012.

71±

0.11

2.75

±0.

052.

02±

0.15

0.04

4±0.

003

0.00

20.

003

Dis

kit

7.90

365.

67±

4.9

176.

10±

5.5

1.02

±0.

033.

42±

0.07

3.50

±0.

082.

14±

0.25

0.13

2±0.

004

0.01

00.

004

Hu

ndar

7.87

77.8

7±2.

936

.50±

4.6

0.60

±0.

040.

88±

0.07

1.40

±0.

041.

40±

0.15

0.02

6±0.

002

0.00

60.

003

Kha

lsar

7.79

66.4

3±4.

931

.17±

3.1

0.44

±0.

020.

87±

0.06

1.30

±0.

071.

39±

0.16

0.01

0±0.

002

0.00

50.

003

Om

be7.

8294

.80±

3.1

44.9

0±3.

20.

50±

0.06

1.17

±0.

051.

42±

0.06

1.56

±0.

090.

048±

0.00

60.

007

0.00

5

Par

tap

ur

7.92

121.

77±

5.2

57.4

0±4.

40.

94±

0.05

2.10

±0.

052.

32±

0.10

1.73

±0.

080.

099±

0.00

40.

008

0.00

9Sk

um

poo

k7.

9586

.22±

2.9

40.0

7±3.

10.

41±

0.05

1.09

±0.

051.

38±

0.09

1.43

±0.

040.

065±

0.00

60.

006

0.00

5

Sku

ru7.

8588

.83±

3.2

41.8

0±2.

90.

10±

0.02

1.14

±0.

061.

50±

0.08

1.40

±0.

160.

023±

0.00

20.

005

0.00

8

Sum

ur

8.02

282.

20±

5.1

133.

83±

4.9

1.02

±0.

042.

54±

0.10

3.32

±0.

072.

13±

0.21

0.12

6±0.

005

0.00

60.

007

Tir

che

7.95

217.

03±

6.3

103.

57±

3.5

0.83

±0.

062.

74±

0.09

3.22

±0.

072.

08±

0.19

0.08

2±0.

004

0.01

00.

009

Ave

rage

7.90

156.

5374

.39

0.59

1.87

2.21

1.73

0.06

60.

0065

0.00

56

Table 3a. SAR, SSP, RSC and Salt Index value of irrigationwater of different villages of Indus valley

Name of SAR SSP RSC Salt IndexVillages (mel-1) (ppm)Chuchot Goma 1.14 24.2 0.07 -5.2Chuchot Soma 1.12 23.4 0.07 -6.34Chuchot Yogma 1.15 24.3 0.22 -5.45Matho 0.28 7.7 0.15 -19.97Nimoo 1.14 24.2 0.22 -12.75Phey 0.90 22.3 0.34 -6.85Phyang 0.69 16.3 0.30 -11.31Saboo 1.47 35.1 0.37 -22.78Shey 1.04 24.3 0.50 -8.85Stoke 0.28 7.9 0.18 -20.15Taru 0.28 9.2 0.55 -21.27Thiksey 1.15 24.2 0.10 -7.09Average 0.89 20.3 0.25 -12.33

Table 3b. SAR, SSP, RSC and Salt Index value of irrigationwater of different villages of Nubra valley

Name of SAR SSP RSC Salt IndexVillages (mel-1) (ppm)Bogdang 0.08 2.5 0.04 -20.57Diskit 1.10 22.3 0.08 -6.15Hundar 1.28 40.0 0.52 -14.20Khalsar 0.95 33.5 0.43 -17.82Ombe 0.92 29.0 0.26 -13.74Partapur 1.30 30.0 0.22 -6.31Skumpook 0.78 26.1 0.29 -18.65Skuru 0.19 8.2 0.36 -22.70Sumur 1.28 27.6 0.78 -5.85Tirche 1.00 22.7 0.48 -10.01Average 0.89 24.2 0.35 -13.6

The most damaging effects of poor qualityirrigation water are excessive accumulation ofsoluble salts and/or sodium in soil which isexpressed by EC and SAR respectively. From thetable 1 using EC and SAR values, it was found thatirrigation water of Indus valley falls in C2S1 andNubra valley in C1S1 class which is considered asgood quality and there is no sodium hazard persistsin irrigation water of this cold arid region.

However, many factors including soil texture,organic matter, crop type, climate, irrigation systemand management impact how sodium in irrigationwater affects soils. Sodium in irrigation water can

40

October-December 2012] ASSESSMENT OF IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY 315

also cause toxicity problems for some crops,especially when sprinkler applied. Average solublesodium percentage (SSP) of irrigation water of Indusand Nubra valley was found in medium range (20.3and 24.3 respectively).

Residual sodium carbonate (RSC) is anotheralternative measure of the sodium content in relationwith Mg and Ca. When the RSC concentrationbecomes too high, the carbonates combine withcalcium and magnesium to form a solid scale whichsettles out of the water. The end result is an increasein both the SSP and SAR. Average RSC value of Indusand Nubra valley was found 0.25 and 0.35 mel-1

respectively (Table 3a and 3b).RSC values less than 1.25 mel-1 are considered safe

(Table 1). Waters with RSC of 1.25-2.50 mel-1 arewithin the marginal range. These waters should beused with good irrigation management techniques.Salt index sometimes used to determine sodiumhazard in irrigation water. Salt Index values of Indusand Nubra valley found between 0 to -24.5 which isconsidered to be good for irrigation purposes.Chloride levels of irrigation water had also beenmeasured and were detected much below the normalrange in water (<4 mel-1) (Table 2a and 2b). Besidesome trace elements like zinc and manganese werealso measured. The levels of Zn and Mn (0.008 and

0.007 ppm for Indus valley; 0.006 and 0.006 ppm forNubra valley respectively) were found much belowthe recommended maximum concentration(recommended maximum concentration for Zn: 2.0ppm; Mn: 0.2 ppm). In conclusion, it can be said thatthere is no hazard in irrigation water of Ladakhregion in terms of salinity, sodium and bicarbonatelevels, and Zn and Mn concentration and therefore,can be used safely in agriculture for growingcrops.

REFERENCES

Acharya S, Stobdan T and Singh S B. 2010. Seabuckthorn(Hippophae sp. L.): New crop opportunity forbiodiversity conservation in cold arid Trans-Himalayas. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 9(3):201-204.

Ayers R S and Westcot D. W. 1994. Water quality foragriculture. FAO irrigation and drainage paper, 29Rev. 1, FAO, Rome.

Kirda C. 1997. Assessment of irrigation water quality.Options Mediterraneennes. 367-377.

Singh D, Chhonkar P K and Dwivedi B S. 2005. Manualon soil, plant and water analysis. 200 p. Westvillepublishing house, New Delhi.

Will E and Faust J E. 2002. Irrigation Water quality forgreenhouse production. Agricultural ExtensionService, The University of Tennessee. PB 1617.

41

316 BHRIGUVANSHI ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 316-322, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Soil moisture, organic carbon and micronutrient dynamicsand their interrelationship in drip irrigated mango orchard

S R BHRIGUVANSHI1, TARUN ADAK2, KAILASH KUMAR3, VK SINGH4,ACHAL SINGH5 and VINOD KUMAR SINGH6

Received: 19 March 2011; Accepted: 31 August 2012

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted in drip irrigated mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv Dashehari orchard ofCentral Institute for Sub-tropical Horticulture, Rehmankhera, Lucknow experimental farm to assessthe dynamics and interrelationship among soil moisture, organic carbon and Diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) extractable micronutrients under differential soil moisture and fertigation regimes.The study revealed that the drip irrigation system was found to be the best in explaining the functionalrelationship among various components within orchard soils as compared to basin system of irrigation.The functional relationship among soil moisture, organic carbon and micronutrients were statisticallysignificant. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between soil moisture vs micronutrients and organiccarbon vs micronutrients indicated that at 1m horizontal distance, Zn, Cu and Fe showed strongassociation with moisture regime in 70-90% open pan evaporation (OPE) replenishment in drip systemof irrigation while Mn availability showed highly significant correlation with moisture more than 90%OPE replenishment irrespective of method of irrigation. Zn and Fe were mostly non-significantly relatedat 1.5 m distances from the tree trunk. Availability of micronutrients was significantly correlated withorganic carbon content at 1 m distance in all the drip irrigation levels. The relationship among soilmoisture, organic carbon and micronutrients were mostly non-significant in basin application ofirrigation. Linear regression analysis was done using soil organic carbon and soil moisture asindependent variables and micronutrients as dependent variable. The degree of variability inmicronutrient dynamics as a function of soil moisture could be explained to the tune of 51-69% for Zn,72-82% for Cu, 41-68% for Mn and 68-74% for Fe as compared to lower degree in basin irrigation. Whilein case of organic carbon, the magnitude of micronutrient dynamics could be explained of the order 50-61% in Zn, 65-71% in Cu, 52-61% in Mn and 48-51% in Fe as compared to lower degree of basin irrigationapplication. Thus, the application of irrigation water through drip might be the best technology to beadopted in mango orchards for maintaining optimum soil moisture, organic carbon and their significantcorrelation with micronutrient dynamics.

Key words: drip irrigation, mango, micronutrient interrelationship, soil moisture, organic carbon

Division of Crop Production, Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Rehmankhera, P.O. - Kakori, Lucknow-227107, U.P.1Principal Scientist (Soil Science); 2 Scientist (Soil Physics/Soil and Water Conservation, tarunadak@gmail.com); 3Principal Scientist(Soil chemistry/Fert./Microb., kailash1952@gmail.com); 4Principal Scientist (Plant Physiology); 5Senior Scientist (Agril. Statistics);Technical Officer (T-6)6

INTRODUCTION

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is an important fruitcrop of economic importance. Improper nutrient andwater managements along with indiscriminate useof chemical pesticides have led to rapid deteriorationin the nutritional balance of orchards leading to lowfruit yields and thus, production and productivityof this fruit crop is suffering. Not only macro but

also the micronutrients are limiting the fruit yield ofmango across the country (Ravishankar et al. 2010;Kumar et al. 2011).

Soil organic carbon is one of the importantecological indicators of any agroecosystem and haslong been recognized as a source of fertility becauseof its capacity for nutrient storage and release(Tiessen et al. 1994; Craswell and Lefroy, 2001; Lal et

42

October-December 2012] SOIL MOISTURE 317

al. 2004; Sebasti‘ et al. 2008; Adak et al. 2011a). Soilorganic carbon and micronutrients dynamics areinterdependent under differential soil moistureregimes. Soil moisture not only controls the microbialactivity and organic matter decomposition but alsosignificantly influences micronutrients mobility anduptake by fruit crops. As micronutrients are essentialfor improving growth as well as fruit yield,understanding of their interrelationships is essentiallyrequired in case of fruit crops particularly in mango.

Tree response to chemical fertilizers undoubtedlydepends on soil moisture and soil organic carbonstatus. Both moisture and soil organic carbon aresignificantly influencing nutrient release pattern andtheir mobility and interactions with the tree roots.Soils of subtropical regions are mainly deficient innitrogen and inherently low in organic carbonbecause of rapid turnover rates of organic materialwith high soil temperatures and micro-fauna.Therefore, information on soil moisture, organiccarbon and micronutrient dynamics and theirinterrelationship under differential soil moisture andfertigation regimes is essentially required foroptimum water and nutrient management forsustainable fruit production (Labanauskas et al. 1958;Labanauskas et al.1960; Richards et al. 1958;Purushotham and Narasimhan, 1981; Guilivo, 1990;Heck et al. 2003; Srivastava and Singh, 2005; Sujathaet al. 2006; Singh et al. 2009; Adak et al. 2011b). Lackof information in mango orchards of subtropicalregions on the above aspects has led us to undertakethe present study to find out the dynamics andrelationship among soil moisture, soil organic carbonwith micronutrients under differential moisture andnutrient regimes.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe experiment was laid out at the experimental

research farm of Central Institute for Sub-tropicalHorticulture (CISH), Rehmankhera, Lucknow, UttarPradesh during 1998-2002. The soil of theexperimental site was Typic ustochrept having a pHof 8.2, EC; 0.27dS/m, bulk density (BD); 1.44 Mg/m3, water holding capacity (WHC); 30%, infiltrationrate; 3.6 cm/hr, organic carbon; 0.27% with availableP; 11.25 ppm and available K; 74 ppm. DTPAextractable Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe were 0.71, 2.3, 37.3and 29.6 ppm respectively. The experiment wasconducted in a split-plot design consisting of fourirrigations (I1-90%, I2-70% and I3-60% of open panevaporation (OPE) replenishments through drippers

and I4- basin irrigation as control) as main plottreatments and three N levels (F1- 750g N/tree; F2-500g N/tree and F3-Zero N) as sub-treatments. Theirrigation was scheduled on the basis of USWB Class-A Open Pan Evaporation data to create soil moistureregime. Twenty year old trees of mango cv Dasheharihaving spacing of 10 ×10 m were selected. The treeswere fertilized with 1000 g P2O5 and 1000 g K2O pertree during the month of September in 30 cm deeptrenches while N was applied through fertigation.Soil samples were taken at 25 cm interval up to 100cm depth (Z1: 0-25 cm, Z2: 25-50 cm, Z3: 50-75 cmand Z4: 75-100 cm). Soil samples were also collectedfrom horizontal distance of 1.0 m (X1) and 1.5 m (X2)from the tree trunk keeping in view the extent ofvariability under different methods of waterapplication. DTPA extractable Zn, Fe, Mn and Cu(Lindsay and Norvell, 1978) were determined byChemito AA203D model of atomic absorptionspectrophotometer. Organic carbon was estimatedusing wet digestion method (Walkley and Black,1934). The pooled data were analyzed in softwareSPSS version 12.0. The best-fit linear regressionsequations were drawn using MS Excel software.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Soil moisture and organic carbon dynamics

It was revealed that the moisture content washigher up to the effective root zone (up to 30 cm)than in lower soil depth. The horizontal moisturecontent at surface soil depth (Z1) varied from 16.51-17.12, 16.67-16.85, 16.66-17.36 and 15.9-16.90% in I1,I2, I3 and I4 respectively at 1 m distance from treetrunk while at 1.5 m distance, the correspondingvalues were 15.92-16.47, 15.21-16.50, 16.50-17.11 and16.80-17.40% in I1, I2, I3 and I4 respectively. Verticaldistribution (Z2 to Z4) showed 15.09-16.74% acrossdrip irrigated treatments at 1 m horizontal distanceas compared to 15.40-16.54% in basin application (I4).This spatial distribution of irrigation waterrecognizes the need for drip irrigation system so asto ensure optimum moisture regimes within the rootzone and to confine soil moisture within the effectivehorizontal distance. Higher organic carbon (0.49%)was found at the surface soil (up to 25 cm soil depth)and decreased vertically to 0.26% with increasingdepth across irrigation levels at 1 m distance.Relatively lower organic carbon (0.35-0.42%) wasrecorded at 1.5 m horizontal distance from the treetrunk as compared to 1 m distance. The higher

43

318 BHRIGUVANSHI ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

concentration of organic C in surface soil might bedue to decomposition of leaf litter, grasses in thesurface soil. Further, it was inferred that relativelylower organic C prevailed in soils (0.26-0.33%) whereN was not applied than fertilized with N. This maybe due to the fact that addition of N increasedbiomass production and microbial enzymaticactivity. The interrelationship between soil moistureand organic carbon indicated that soil moisture hadsignificant impact on organic carbon contentvariation of the experimental soil; more of it is dueto changes in microbial activation and leafdecomposition (Schroth, 2003; Jha and Mohapatra,2010).

Functional relationship between soil moisture andmicronutrient dynamics

Since soil moisture is an important and essentialfactor controlling mobility and dynamics of

micronutrients in soil, it is necessary to determinethe functional relationship between soil moisture andmicronutrients concentrations. The concentration of1.38-1.64, 2.23-3.74, 21.81-28.96 and 18.73-27.40 ppmof Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe, respectively were observed inthe surface soil (Z1) at 1m horizontal distance whileat 1.5 m distance, the corresponding values were1.16-1.32, 1.83-2.63, 16.06-25.92 and 12.85-24.10 ppm,respectively. The vertical distribution has showed1.11-1.37, 1.25-2.27, 13.22-21.15, 10.91-19.49 ppm ofZn, Cu, Mn, Fe respectively, at 1 m horizontaldistance and 0.89-1.24, 1.04-1.75, 12.4-20.93, 9.44-14.21 ppm of Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe respectively, at 1.5 mhorizontal distance. The regression on soil moistureand micronutrient concentration (Fig. 1 and 2) in X1distances, showed that drip irrigated soils showedbetter response to the functional relation with themicronutrients in general. In case of Zn, thefunctional relationship was found to be the best (R2

Fig.1. Functional relationship (1 m horizontal distance) between soil moisture (%) and micronutrients (ppm)

44

October-December 2012] SOIL MOISTURE 319

= 0.51) in drip irrigated soils (I1) as compared to thebasin irrigation (I4) (R2 = 0.15). The dynamics inavailable Cu could be explained to the tune of 73-82% in drip irrigated soils (I1 and I2) as compared to7.0 % in basin application (I4). Similarly, Fe (R2 = 0.68in I1) and Mn (R2 = 0.74 in I1 and R2 = 0.68 in I2) alsoresponded in a way of better root zone moistureregimes than basin application of irrigation water.Interestingly, at X2 distances I3 is best (Zn: R2 = 0.69,Cu: R2 = 0.72, Fe: R2 = 0.45) while Mn is R2 = 0.1. Thisfunctional relationship stated that any change in theprofile soil moisture will have significantconsequences on the micronutrient dynamics.

Functional relationship between organic carbon andmicronutrient dynamics

Organic carbon is an important soil property that

controls release and dynamics of micronutrients insoil. Linear regression analysis (Fig. 3) showed thatthe drip irrigated system responded in the bestpossible way to the functional relationship betweenorganic carbon variations and micronutrientdistribution within the soil profile. The degree ofvariability in micronutrient dynamics as a functionof organic carbon could be explained to the order of50-61% (I3-I1) in case of Zn, 65-71% in Cu (I3-I1), 52-61% in Mn (I3-I1) and 48-51% in Fe (I3-I1) as comparedto lower degree of basin irrigation application.However, the magnitude of relationship wasdiminishing when the horizontal direction (X2)increased (Fig. 4). This information indicated that themicronutrients along with organic carbon werestrongly influenced with effective root zone ofvertical and horizontal distance of 1m.

Fig. 2. Functional relationship (1.5 m horizontal distance) between soil moisture (%) and micronutrients (ppm)

45

320 BHRIGUVANSHI ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

Fig. 3. Functional relationship (1 m horizontal distance) between organic carbon (%) and micronutrients (ppm)

Fig. 4. Spatial relationship (1.5 m horizontal distance) between organic carbon (%) and micronutrients (ppm)

46

October-December 2012] SOIL MOISTURE 321

Correlation matrix among micronutrientsThe Pearson’s correlation coefficient between soil

moisture and micronutrients; organic carbon andmicronutrients indicated that at 1m horizontaldistance, Zn, Cu and Fe showed strong associationwith moisture regime in 70-90% OPE replenishmentin drip system of irrigation while Mn availabilityshowed highly significant correlation with moisturemore than 90% OPE replenishment irrespective ofmethod of irrigation. Zn and Fe were mostly non-significantly related at 1.5 m distances from the treetrunk (Table 1). Availability of micronutrients wassignificantly correlated with organic carbon contentat 1 m distance in all the drip irrigation levels. Therelationship among soil moisture, organic carbon andmicronutrients were mostly non-significant in basinapplication of irrigation. Analysis of correlationmatrix (Table 2a and b) among micronutrientcontents under differential soil moisture andnitrogen regimes revealed that some of themicronutrients were significant at 1% level ofsignificance and others at 5% level of significancewithin the irrigation and fertigation levels. Non-significance was also found in Mn at I2 in both X1and X2 directions.

Table 1. Statistical significance and Pearson’s correlationcoefficient among different treatments

Soil Micronutrients at Micronutrients atmoisture 1 m horizontal 1.5 m horizontal(%) distance (ppm) distance (ppm)

Zn Cu Mn Fe Zn Cu Mn Fe

I1 0.71** 0.85** 0.82** 0.86** NS 0.72** 0.64* NS

I2 0.65* 0.90** NS 0.82** NS NS NS NS

I3 NS NS NS NS 0.83** 0.85** NS 0.67*

I4 NS NS 0.64* NS NS NS 0.65* NS

OrganicCarbon(%)

I1 0.78** 0.78** 0.77** 0.69* NS 0.72** 0.83** NS

I2 NS NS 0.62* 0.66* NS NS NS NS

I3 0.69* 0.84** 0.72** 0.68* NS NS 0.79** NS

I4 NS NS 0.88** NS NS 0.72** NS 0.78**

**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).I represent irrigation treatments (I1-90%, I2-70% andI3-60% of open pan evaporation and I4- basin irrigationsystem)

Mic

ro-

Irri

gati

onZ

nC

uM

nFe

nutr

ient

sle

vels

I 1I 2

I 3I 4

I 1I 2

I 3I 4

I 1I 2

I 3I 4

I 1I 2

I 3I 4

Zn

I 11

0.68

*N

S0.

59*

0.82

**0.

78**

0.82

**0.

65*

0.68

*N

SN

SN

S0.

89**

NS

NS

0.61

*I 2

10.

66*

0.95

**N

S0.

71**

0.90

**0.

91**

NS

NS

0.69

*N

SN

SN

S0.

58*

0.94

**I 3

1N

SN

S0.

681*

0.70

*0.

73**

0.61

*0.

66*

NS

0.71

**N

S0.

76**

0.97

**N

SI 4

1N

SN

S0.

78**

0.79

**N

SN

S0.

59*

NS

NS

NS

NS

0.96

**C

uI 1

10.

74**

NS

NS

0.85

**N

SN

S0.

79**

0.87

**0.

75**

NS

NS

I 21

0.82

**0.

65*

0.91

**N

S0.

80**

0.65

*0.

70*

0.77

**0.

67*

0.64

*I 3

10.

93**

0.64

*N

S0.

69*

NS

0.61

*N

S0.

63*

0.80

**I 4

1N

SN

SN

SN

SN

SN

S0.

65*

0.77

**M

nI 1

1N

S0.

74**

0.79

**0.

70*

0.89

**0.

66*

NS

I 21

NS

0.76

**N

S0.

81**

0.74

**N

SI 3

1N

SN

S0.

58*

NS

0.67

*I 4

10.

65*

0.87

**0.

79**

NS

FeI 1

10.

66*

NS

NS

I 21

0.84

**N

SI 3

1N

SI 4

1

Tab

le 2

a.C

orre

lati

on m

atri

x am

ong

mic

ronu

trie

nts

und

er d

rip

irri

gati

on c

um

fer

tiga

tion

tec

hniq

ues

at

1 m

hor

izon

tal d

ista

nce

* C

orre

lati

on is

sig

nifi

cant

at

the

0.05

leve

l (2-

taile

d)

and

**

Cor

rela

tion

is s

igni

fica

nt a

t th

e 0.

01 le

vel (

2-ta

iled

).I

rep

rese

nt ir

riga

tion

tre

atm

ents

(I 1

-90%

, I2-

70%

and

I3-

60%

of

open

pan

eva

por

atio

n an

d I

4- b

asin

irri

gati

on s

yste

m)

47

322 BHRIGUVANSHI ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

CONCLUSION

The study recognized the importance ofmaintaining optimum soil moisture and carbonstorage in the root zone through drip irrigationsystem. It also indicated that irrigation waterapplications through drip were essentially requiredto maintain the highest micronutrient availabilityand distribution within the soil profile as well ashorizontally away from the tree trunk. Drip irrigatedsoils showed better response to the functionalrelationships of soil moisture with themicronutrients. Similarly, the degree of variabilityin micronutrient dynamics as a function of soilorganic carbon could be explained of the order50-61% for Zn, 65-71% for Cu, 52-61% for Mn and48-51% for Fe as compared to lower degree of basinirrigation application. Thus, it was concluded thatapplication of irrigation water through drip is thebest technology for maintaining optimum soilmoisture, organic carbon and their significantcorrelation with micronutrient dynamics in mangoorchard soil.

REFERENCES

Adak T, Kumar K, Singha A, Singh VK. 2011b. Soil organiccarbon content and moisture dynamics in a mangoorchard soil as influenced by integrated nutrientmanagement. In: Global Conference on AugmentingProduction and Utilization of Mango: Biotic and AbioticStresses, June 21-24, 2011, CISH, Rehmanhkeha,Lucknow. pp 96-97.

Adak T, Singh VK, Kumar K, Singha A, Singh VK, MishraD, Arun SK. 2011a. Addressing soil health issues underhigh density Mango and Guava orcharding systems.In: Xth Agricultural Science Congress on Soil, Plant andAnimal Health for enhanced and sustained agriculturalproductivity, 10-12 February, 2011 at NBFGR, Lucknow.pp 3.

Craswell E T and Lefroy RDB. 2001. The role and functionof organic matter in tropical soils. Nutrient Cycling inAgroecosystem 61: 7-18.

Guilivo C. 1990. Interactions between mineral nutritionand tree and soil water status. Acta Horticulturae 274:149-67.

Heck R J, Tiessen H, Salcedo I H and Santos M C. 2003.Soil chemical changes under irrigated mangoproduction in the Central Sa˜o Francisco River Valley,Brazil. Journal of Environment Quality 32:1414-21.

Jha P and Mohapatra P K. 2010. Leaf litterfall, fine rootproduction and turnover in four major tree species ofthe semi-arid region of India. Plant Soil 326: 481-491.

Kumar K, Bhriguvanshi SR, Adak T, Singh VK. 2011.Micronutrients status in mango orchards of Uttar

Pradesh. In: Xth Agricultural Science Congress on Soil,Plant and Animal Health for enhanced and sustainedagricultural productivity, 10-12 February, 2011 atNBFGR, Lucknow. pp 60.

Labanauskas C K, Embleton T W, Garber M J and RichardsS J. 1958. Effects of irrigation treatments and rates ofnitrogen fertilization on young Hass avocado trees.V. Micronutrient content of leaves. Proceedings ofAmerican Society of Horticulture Science 71:315-319.

Labanauskas C K, Embleton T W, Richards S J and HandyF M.1960. Effects of nitrogen and irrigation treatmentson the micronutrient concentration in Hass Avocadoleaves. California Avocado Society Yearbook 44: 97-100.

Lal R, Griffin M, Apt J, Lave L and Morgan M G. 2004.Ecology - Managing soil carbon. Science 304: 393.

Lindsay W L and Norvell W A. 1978. Development ofDTPA soil test for zinc, iron, manganese and copper.Soil Science Society of American Journal 42:421-428.

Purushotham K and Narasimhan B. 1981. Depletion ofsoil moisture by young mango trees with and withoutirrigation. South Indian Horticulture 29:68-69.

Ravishankar H, Kumar K, Singha A, Adak T. 2010.Integrated Nutrient Management in Mango andGuava. Indian J. Fert., 6(11):12-21.

Richards S J, Weeks L V and Johnston J C. 1958. Effects ofirrigation treatments and rates of nitrogen fertilizationon young Hass avocado trees. I. Growth response toirrigation. Proceedings of American Society of HorticultureScience 71: 292-297.

Schroth G.2003. Decomposition and nutrient supply frombiomass. In: Schroth G, Sinclair FL (eds) Trees, cropsand soil fertility-concepts and research methods. pp 131-150,CABI publishing.

Sebasti‘ M T, Marks E and Poch R M. 2008. Soil carbonand plant diversity distribution at the farm level inthe savannah region of Northern Togo (West Africa).Biogeosciences Discuss. 5: 4107- 4127.

Singh R K, Chakraborty D, Garg, R N, Subba Rao Y V,Sharma, D K and Sharma U C. 2009. Soil organiccarbon and nutrient uptake vis-à-vis growth and yieldof pearl millet as influenced by water and nitrogen inTypic Haplustept soil. Indian Journal of AgriculturalSciences 79: 359-63.

Srivastava A K and Singh Shyam. 2005. Zinc nutrition, aglobal concern for sustainable citrus production.Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 25(3): 5-42.

Sujatha S, Rao J V and Reddy N N. 2006. Effect of dripirrigation and nutrient management on mango inalfisols of semi-arid tropics. Indian Journal ofAgricultural Sciences 76(10): 618 - 622.

Tiessen H, Cuevas E, Chacon P. 1994. The role of soilorganic matter in sustaining soil fertility. Nature 371:783-785.

Walkley A C and Black T A. 1934. Estimation of soilorganic carbon by the chromic acid titration method.Soil Science 47: 29-38.

48

October-December 2012] RAINWATER HARVESTING 323

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 323-328, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Rainwater harvesting inNorth-Western himalayan region- A case study

ROHITSHAW KUMAR1, DEEPAK JHAJHARIA2, D. RAM3, S. CHAND4, MUKESH KUMAR5 and R. M SHUKLA6

Received:15 April 2012; Accepted: 14 September 2012

ABSTRACT

IIn North Western Himalayan region, most of the water received through torrential and high intensityrainfall, out of which mostly goes as a surface runoff. The surface runoff causes problems of soil erosionin the hills and flood in downstream. In the region rainfall distribution is uneven and erratic whichresults in moisture stress for the crop production. The present study revealed that in- situ runoffmanagement is most efficient and cheapest way of conserving rainwater, which also reduces soil lossesand increases the opportunity time for groundwater recharging. The earthen embankment for rainwaterharvesting has cost benefit ratio of 1.38:1. In addition, good results of harvesting and storage also achievedthrough ferro-cement water storage tanks of different dimensions. The paper describes traditional andnew techniques for rainwater harvesting and a case study of Makkowal and Takarla projects.

Key words: In-situ runoff management, poly lined farm ponds, water harvesting structures

1Associate Professor & Head, 6Assistant Professor, Division of Agricultural Engineering 3&4Assistant Professor, Division of Soil Science,SKUAST- Kashmir, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar (J&K). 2Assistant Professor, NERIST, Itanagar, 5Assistant Professor, School ofAgriculture, IGNOU, New Delhi-India. Corresponding author: mail- rohituhf@rediffmail.com

INTRODUCTION

In North-West Himalayan region of India, theannual rainfall varies 1500-3000 mm with averageof 1750 mm. Out of which 71% is received duringtropical monsoon period i.e. July-August and 79%of the total rainfall goes as runoff and stream flow.The rainfall distribution is erratic and uneven bothspatially and temporally which results into acutewater shortage for the use of both domestic andagriculture. To combat this problem, on farmrainwater harvesting is a common practice in theregion with traditional and new methods whichcontribute 10% of water availability for agricultureand 40% for the domestic use. The site specifictechniques which include construction of nalabandhan, farm pond, embankment-cum-dugstructures/surface ponds, check dams for aquiferrecharge and “Johar” or tanks for water storage toincrease water potential for the crop production.Water harvested from roof top is stored in smalldug out structures which are excavated in the hardrock and are commonly called as “Khattis” or

“Dighis”. Due to acute shortage of water the cropyields are significantly low and unstable which hasadversely affected the socio-economic status of thepeople. Moreover, due to undulating topographycanal irrigation system is not feasible andgroundwater is inadequate and not accessibleeconomically in this region.

The average depth of runoff at 80% probabilitylevel was found to be about 14 cm. Due to climaticchange and increase in population the traditional andnew techniques are being upgraded to harvest themaximum rainwater. To combat this acute shortageof water in the region, traditional and new techniquesof on farm rainwater harvesting are prevailed, wherein the natural rainwater is stored in augmentedstorage structures and further used for domestic andirrigation purposes, hence such type practiceseconomically can be replicated.

It has also observed that earthen check dam/reservoirs which are recommended across thestreams to regulate runoff for flood control, trappingsilt, collecting water for irrigation and fish

49

324 KUMAR ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

production and to recharge groundwater has goodpotential for replication. The different methods andobjectives for rainwater harvesting in different areasvis-à-vis groundwater recharges excellentlydescribed by Suraj Bhan (2009). This study revealedtraditional and new techniques of on-farm rainwaterharvesting and their impact on sustainableagriculture production.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Taking into account the topography (hilly),climatic conditions and occupation of people of theNorth Western Himalayan Region of India,traditional and new techniques of on-farm rainwaterharvesting play an important role to meet irrigationand domestic water requirement. These includeconstruction of contour bunds, semi-circular hoops,trapezoidal bunds, nala bandhan, graded bunds anddifferent types of check dams. The foothills areaswere selected to develop new on farm rainwaterharvesting techniques. The study area facing landdegradation problem due to high amounts of rainfallreceived and unscientific way of land and watermanagement. Numbers of researcher has beeninvestigated of various water harvesting techniquescarried out at different sites in the region.

2.1 Rainwater Harvesting TechniquesTraditional TechniquesSmall Ponds

Locally called “Talabs”, these ponds exist asnatural depressions, where run-off water fromrainfall gets collected which used for irrigation,domestic and livestock requirements. These pondsare also constructed artificially, which are of twotypes:

a) Dammed PondThe small soil ponds constructed against a stream

of water. These ponds are suitable for steeptopography area. These ponds are fed by run-offwater. It is suitable in areas having heavy soils thathave low percolation rate of water.

b) Cemented / Stoned PondsThese small ponds are also locally called as

“Haug”. In hilly areas due to steep slope, it is noteasy to construct big ponds. In these areas, rainwateris carried through “Kuhls” to the agriculture fieldsand stored water in small ponds having storagecapacity of 2—35 cum. These ponds are made up by

cement and stone masonry. LDPE lined small pondsare also constructed due to their low cost ofconstruction.

c) Construction of “Bauris” The “Bauris” are actually cemented storage

structures, which are used to collect water fromnatural resources. In this case cemented storagestructures are constructed across a natural point offlow of water and automatically considerablequalities of water get collected. The storage water isused for drinking domestic and irrigationrequirements.

2.2 New Techniques2.2.1 Run –off harvesting short-term storage

Contour bunds constructed along the contourlines, trap the water and retain water behind thebunds, whose height and slope determine the waterstorage capacity. Crops or trees are grown withinthe bunded area. Height of contour bunds rangefrom 0.3 to 1.2 m and length of the bunds may varyfrom 10 m to 100 m. This technique has been usedespecially in hilly areas.

2.2.2 Semi- Circular HoopsSemi circular hoops consist of earth embankments

which are constructed in the shape of a half moonwith the tips of the semi-circle on the contour. Thewater is collected within the hoop from the area justabove it and impounded to a maximum depthdefined by the height of the bund. In a field, thehoops are staggered in rows so that the wateroverflowing from the upper row is intercepted in thelower row. The height of bunds ranges from 0.1 to0.5 m and the radius vary from 5 m to 30 m. Semi-circular bunds generally used for irrigation of grass,fodder, shrubs and trees.

2.2.3 Trapezoidal bundsThe trapezoidal earthen embankments bunds

constructed on the tips of the bund of contour. Wateris collected from the slopes above the bunded areaand excess water overflows around the tips. The rowsof bunds are staggered to intercept overflow fromthe above rows. The layout of trapezoidal bundsfollows the same principles as those for semi-circularbunds, but they usually enclose a large bounded area.The height of bunds ranges from 0.3 m to 0.6 m andtheir width across the tip ranges from 40 m to 160 m.Trapezoidal bunds are used where rainfall intensitiesare high, causing surface water to flow at high

50

October-December 2012] RAINWATER HARVESTING 325

discharges which would cause damage to contourbunds. These bunds are used extensively forirrigation of crops, grasses, shrubs or trees and enableintercropping within the large enclosed areas.

2.2.4 Nala Bandhan (Mini earthen check dams)Various gullies and ravines originating from hills

are transformed into the shape of “nala” small streamat the foothill and divide the agricultural and non-agricultural land in to various segments. These“nalas” could be conveniently converted into seriesof mini water reservoirs with suitable structures suchas earthen check dams. For constructing the checkdam’s trenches of size 1 m depth and 0.75 m widthare excavated and filled with puddle clay. Stonepitching on the upstream side is done to preventdamage of the dam. To drain out the excess rainwaterside spillways at suitable height are provided withstone pitching. The loose boulder wall is constructedbetween the earthen check dams for strengtheningof minimizing the run-off cutting effect due to itsvelocity.

2.2.5 Off-contour bunds or graded bundsOff-contour bunds consist of earthen or stone

embankments build along 0.5-2% slopes. The contourbunds constructed where rainfall intensity is highand soils are such that large amount of water whichrequire safe drainage through the field is intercepted.The height of the bunds ranges from 0. 3 m to 0.6 m.The off- contour bunds or graded bunds look like anopen ended trapezoidal bund and commonly knownas modified trapezoidal bund.

a) Rock catchmentExposed rock surfaces are used for the collection

of water. The rainfall on the exposed rock is drainedtowards the lowest points, sometimes beingchanneled along low walls. The runoff is collectedin a storage tank or reservoir of earth fillembankments; gravel stone fill embankments, stonemasonry dams or concrete dams. The storage waterused for domestic and irrigation purposes.

b) Ground catchmentThe ground surface is used to collect water into

storage tanks or reservoirs. The ground is clearedfrom vegetation, compacted and then reshaped tocreate a series of channels leading to the reservoir.The surface compacted and sometimes covered withgravel. These are called roaded catchments.

2.2.6 Flood water harvesting-short term storageLevel flooded terraces are re-shaped to form a

series of broad level terraces. Water is collected viathe valley from the watershed above and it flows bymeans of stone, gabion or concrete weirs, from oneterrace to the next. Terraces are used to grow treesor crops. This system is used to grow trees along themain roads.

2.2.7 Diversion of run-offIn hilly area contour bunding diversion of flood

water for direct application on field by flooding iscommon practice. Water may be diverted by adiversion dam and led through channels to basinswhere the crops are irrigated by flooding.

2.2.8 Check dams for aquifer rechargeSmall rocks or concrete dams are built across the

depressions to slow down the velocity of flow toenable a large amount of water to infiltrate into thesoil under the channel bed. This added infiltrationhelps replenish the aquifers. Water is stored in theaquifers and utilized through wells or borehole. Thissystem permits less evaporation losses than a surfacereservoir, less problem of siltation and cheaperconstruction as the peak flows are not interceptedbut are allowed to discharge over the check dam.

2.2.9 Sub-surface damsSub-surface vertical barriers are constructed

across the channel in downstream to intercept waterflowing within the alluvium. This water flows alongthe surface and it is collected in sub-surface reservoircreated by the barriers. Barriers are constructed ofclay stone masonry, concrete or steel sheet and piles.Water is utilized by gravity or by shallow wells orboreholes. It is common practice to construct sub-surface dams together with sand dams.

2.2.10 Roof top water harvestingTo encourage rainwater harvesting and its

supplementary use for irrigation and domesticpurpose, a technique of roof top harvesting has beenevolved. Under the scheme all the Government andprivate buildings must have the provision of rooftop harvesting and its storage. With these practicesrainwater collected from the roof tops is stored inthe dug wells/ponds and used for washing, drinkingof livestock and irrigation.

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326 KUMAR ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

2.3 Reservoirs /Tanks/Ponds2.3.1 Earthen check dam reservoirs

At some places, there are big gullies andephemeral streams in watersheds originating fromhills and flowing down through cultivated lands.Earthen check dams across these gullies/ streams canbe constructed at suitable sites to store runoff withmulti-purpose benefits like:● to regulate runoff for checking land damage and

flood downstream,● to trap silt and for safe disposal of runoff,● to collect water for irrigation /fish production,

and● to recharge groundwater.

The earthen dam reservoirs to be constructed inthe watershed may be designed for fulfilling one ormore of the objectives based on the location specificsituations.

2.3.2 Excavated tanksExcavated / dug- out tanks are most suitable for

storage of runoff in cultivated lands but seepagelosses are very high and thus need lining.

3. Makkowal project- A case studyMakkowal is situated in the state of Punjab (India)

about 30 km from Hoshiarpur at the foothills ofShivaliks. The village has a habitation of 300 housesand an area of 243 ha. On Northern side of the villagethere is hilly area and western part of the village hasleveled lands with moderate slope. Soils are sandyto sandy loam and are good for agriculture, butbecause of scarcity of irrigation water, the productionof agriculture crops was very low. Although theaverage rainfall is about 1000 mm, its distribution iserratic and uneven. About 80% of the rainfall isreceived in three monsoon months. Heavy soilerosion due to flash floods and torrential rain andthere are frequent crop failures due to drought arecommon. The problem of water scarcity can bejudged from the fact that a 100 m deep open wellwas dug in the village long ago, could not provideenough water for drinking. The villagers had totraverse 2 to 3 km in the hilly terrain to fetchwater from wells located along the side of streams,where perennial flow existed for most part of theyear. A sketch layout map of drainage line treatmentof Mokkowal watershed has been shown inFigure 1.

Fig. 1. Layout map of drainage line treatment of Mokkowaland Takaral Watersheds

The project was launched in the year 1986 forseven years function for tapping of surface flow inthe stream bed emanating from hill seepage from apoint located at 3 km from village. Three existingshallow open wells on the bank of the stream werecharged with seepage water connected with eachother by cement concrete pipes. The village pond wasdeepened, widened and renovated to have a storagecapacity of 2.4 ha-m. From the pond a network ofunderground pipeline of cement concrete was laidto convey water to the agricultural fields forirrigation. Just before the village pond, separate tapswere also provided for drinking, bathing washingand for cattle. Surplus arrangement was made onthe other side of the pond. The entire catchment areaof choes was treated with different engineering andbiological conservation measures. The cost ofconstruction of earthen check dam and is effectivelife depend upon the location, proper design andproper maintenance. The earthen dams constructedin the area cost about Rs 2.5 to Rs 27.0 per m3 ofcapacity.

Prior to the implementation of the project, thefarmers did not use fertilizer, high yielding varietiesand weedecides etc. Only FYM was applied to theindividual farmers. After the project, the farmershave started using seed of high yielding verities ofmaize and wheat. Use of chemical fertilizers,weedecides and pesticides has also been started after

52

October-December 2012] RAINWATER HARVESTING 327

the project. The fertilizer use, yield of major cropsviz. wheat, maize, gram, fodder and gross returnshas been increased due to implementation of project(Figures 2-3).

Fig. 2. Pre and post-project average yields (Qt ha-1)

4. Takarla project-A case studyThe Takarla, surface flow harnessing project has

been designed on the similar lines of Makkowalproject but with slight modification. This project islocated in foothills of Indian Shiwaliks at a distanceof 13 km from Balachaur; district Nawashahar in thestate of Punjab and the project was functioned forseven years. The area is sloppy and undulating. Thesoils are loamy sand to sandy loam in texture and atsome places silt loam, sub angular to angular blockyin structure, very deep and erodible. The area istotally rainfed. The area is affected from torrentialrain and the surface runoff flow is due to seepagefrom the side hills. The flow remains 3-4 month even

after the rainy season and thereafter flow ratedecrease but remains in the sub-surface sand bed ofchoe. In the channel a concrete toe wall wasconstructed at the stream bed. A weir of suitablesection was made on the barrier wall and flowreleased over the structure close to the water pool.On one side of the stream, a stilling basin wasconstructed to create head of water. The inlet wasconnected to the stilling basin through a pipe. Abovethe weir, a filter of local stones and grits wasprovided in the choe bed to facilitate infiltration ofwater when surface flow diminishes during the leanperiod. An underground pipeline has been laid fromthe stilling basin to the agricultural fields located atlower level. Therefore, the system works on gravityflow. This system is providing supplementalirrigation to about 100 ha farm lands of the village.The major crops grown in the study area and theirpre and post project yields and return have shownin Table 1 and Figure 4 &5. The gross returns frommajor crops have shown increasing trends due toadoption of new water saving techniques. Similarlystudies of water resources in Shaheed Bhagat SinghNagar- A Case Study was concluded by R. Agrawalet al. (2010).

Table 1: Pre and post project average yields of major crops

Name of Crop Pre-project yield Post-project yield (Q ha-1) (Q ha-1)

Wheat 10.0 25.0Maize 5.0 12.5Gram 2.5 7.5Fodder 40.0 100.0

Fig. 3. Pre and post-project average returns (Rs. ha-1)

Fig. 4. Pre and post-project average yields (q ha-1) of majorcrops

53

328 KUMAR ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

Fig. 5. Pre and post-project gross returns (Rs. ha-1) of majorcrops

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Tradition and new techniques is tool of on farmrainwater harvesting in Northern Himalayan region.In lower Himalayan regions, it is viable to designand construct earthen dams, gully plugging, andloose stone check dam at suitable locations formultipurpose uses fulfilling numbers of objectives.Following results have emerged from the detailedstudies on earthen dams in the Northern Himalayanregion• Drainage line treatment should be designed and

developed in the catchment first and then therunoff and silt should be estimated at the sitefor treated catchments /sub watershed fordevelopment of land, crop and vegetation.

• The storage volume should be designed for 60 to80% probability level of lowest assured runoff.

• There is no economically viable method to reduceseepage from porous bed of the reservoir areaexcept self sealing by silting.

• It is not economically viable to construct earthendams for irrigation purpose only.

The research investigation carried out in Kandiarea on excavated tanks emerged as:1) Tanks with inverted truncated pyramid shape

having 1:1 side slope and lined withpolyethylene sheet of 200 micron, buried under20 cm thick soil at bottom and brick cement onside found suitable.

2) The tank capacity should be designed on the basisof lowest assured monsoon runoff at 50 to 80%

probability in such a way that it gives fullcapacity water in the end of monsoonconsidering seepage and evaporation lossesduring collection period.

3) The stored water in tank is used for life savingirrigation of wheat crop during pre-sowingirrigation for maximum returns per unit ofstorage capacity of tank.

CONCLUSION

The erratic and uneven distribution of rainfallboth spatially and temporally, necessitates rainwaterharvesting to increase and sustain the agriculturalproductivity. Excavated dug-out pond tanks arefound most suitable for storing runoff in cultivatedlands with inverted truncated pyramid shape having1:1 side slopes with lining of polyethylene sheet of200 micron buried under 20 cm thick soil at bottomand pitched with bricks. The earthen embankmentfor rainwater harvesting has cost benefit ratio of1.38:1. The rainwater harvesting during monsoonand its use for irrigation during scarcity period wasfound to increase the crop yield by 25-35% duringRabi season and additional water for domestic useby 55% population of the area. There is urgent needfor flood protection and irrigation on farm landsbelow the hills through control and utilization ofrunoff. Rehabilitation of upper watersheds throughreduced run off and erosion from the hills throughsoil conservation measures. For successfulimplementation of traditional and new on farmrainwater harvesting techniques, strengthening ofproject implementing agency’s capacity should bedone for undertaking investigations and research ofsurface hydrology, groundwater and micro-watershed studies.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Authors are thankful to Dr. Tej Pratap,Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST- Kashmir and HeadCSWCRTI, Chandigarh for encouraging andproviding information about the case study.

REFERENCES

Aggrawal, R., Kaur, S. and Pamela M. (2010). Assessmentof water resources in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar-A case study. Journal of Soil and WaterConservation.9:288-292.

Suraj Bhan (2009). Rainwater harvesting. Journal of Soiland Water Conservation.8:42-48.

54

October-December 2012] EFFECT OF LOW NITROGEN 329

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 329-333, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Effect of low nitrogen on productivity andnitrogen economy of maize (Zea mays) cultivars

MAHENDRA SINGH PAL1

Received: 27 March 2012; Accepted: 20 September 2012

ABSTRACT

A field study was carried out during kharif season 2006 and 2007 at Crop Research Centre, G.B. PantUniversity of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) with the objective to screen out highernitrogen efficient maize cultivars under low nitrogen fertilization in Mollisols of Uttarkhand. Theexperiment consisted of 3 nitrogen levels in main plot i.e. 40 (N40), 60(N60) and 80(N80) kg/ha and fourmaize cultivars i.e. ‘VL Amber’ (Pop corn), ‘Him -129’ (Hybrid), ‘Vivek-1’1 (Hybrid) and ‘Pragati’(Composite) in sub plot, was planted on 25th July, 2006 and 25th June, 2007 under split plot design andreplicated thrice. Besides nitrogen, basal application of 60kg P205 and 40kg K20/ha was also made.Application of 80 kg N recorded 14.3 and 44.7% higher grain yield compared to 60 and 40 kg N,respectively, while 60 kg N gave 26.6% higher grain yield than 40 kg N level. Hybrid ‘Him-129’ alsogave 16.4 and 26.2% higher grain yield than ‘ViveK-11’ and ‘Pragati’, respectively. N40 had the highestNUE 76.9 kg grain yield/kg N applied and reduced with increasing N rates as N60 had 51.3 and N8038.3 kg/kg N applied. Similarly, hybrids had better NUE as ‘Him-129’ and ‘Vivel-11’ had 66.67 and57.9 kg/kg N applied, respectively. The research findings revealed that maize hybrids ‘Him-129’ and‘Vivek-11’ might be grown with application of 80 kg nitrogen/ha in addition to 60 kg P205 and 40 kgK20/ha for higher productivity and nitrogen economy under low nitrogen environments includingMollisols of Uttarakhand.

Key words: zea mays, cobs, tasseling, silking, leaf area index, nitrogen economy

1 Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology,Pantnagar-263145 (Uttarakhand), India (Email: drmspal1@gmail.com)

INTRODUCTION

Maize (Zea mays) is the third most importantcereal of the country with 8.17 m ha area, 19.73 m tproduction and 24.15 q/ha productivity. It is a fastgrowing very exhaustive C4 plant and also veryresponsive to inputs including nutrients and water.Maize, in general, removes 161kg N, 34 kg P and 110kg K from one hectare land per season, hence, itrequires higher doses of balanced fertilization buthigher application of chemical fertilizers have showndeleterious effect on soil health leading tounsustainable productivity particularly in intensivecropping systems of irrigated environments in Indo-Gangetic plains of India (Swarup, 2002). Among theessential plant nutrients, nitrogen is the mostimportant one and farmers invariably applynitrogenous fertilizers in imbalanced manner withlittle or almost no amount of phosphatic and potassic

fertilizers that leads negative NPK ratio in the soil.In the present scenario of soaring fertilizers cost, theemphasis is required to have crop cultivars of highernitrogen use efficiency. Further, higher applicationof nitrogen leads to loss of nitrogen with poornitrogen use efficiency and wastage of energy.Therefore, the present study has been made to screenout high nitrogen use efficient maize cultivars underlow nitrogen fertilization environments.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The experiment was carried out during kharifseason 2006 and 2007 at Crop Research Centre, G.B.Pant University of Agriculture and Technology,Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) with the objective to findout the effect of low nitrogen on productivity andnitrogen economy of maize (Zea mays) cultivars inTarai region of Uttarakhand, India. The experimental

55

330 PAL ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

site was sandy loam in texture having soil pH 7.33,organic carbon 0.57 % and available P and K 19.9and 147.8 Kg/ha, respectively. The experimentconsisted of 3 nitrogen levels in main plot i.e. 40 (N40),60(N60) and 80(N80) kg/ha and four maize cultivarsi.e. ‘VL Amber ‘(Pop corn), ‘Him -129’ (Hybrid),‘Vivek -11’ (Hybrid) and ‘Pragati’(Composite) in subplot, was planted on 25th July, 2006 and 25th June,2007 under split plot design and replicated thrice.The crop was harvested on 31th October, 2006 and21st September, 2007, respectively. The plantinggeometry 60cm x 30cm was mainlined during bothyears. Full amount of P and K was applied as basalbut the nitrogen was applied as 20% basal, 25% at 4leaf, 30% at 8 leaf, 20% at tasseling and 5% at earlygrain filling stage. The crop was irrigated at kneeheight, silking and grain filling stages. The uniformspray of Endosulphan @ 0.2 % was made twice in allexperiments at silking and 15 days after silking.

The randomly selected samples of five plants weretaken from every plot at all growth stages for analysisof growth and yield parameters. The net plot washarvested for grain yield and expressed in kg/ha.The nitrogen use efficiency was calculated as grainyield divided by applied nitrogen and expressed inkg grain yield/kg N applied.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONEffect of nitrogen levels

Growth attributesThe plant height increased with crop age and

significantly tallest plants were observed at harvestduring both years except at harvest in 2006 (Table.1).The plant height increased with increased level ofnitrogen and the tallest plants were also noticed athighest N level i.e. N80 that remained significantlysimilar to N60 level during both years. The dry matteraccumulation was also affected significantly bynitrogen levels and improved with increment of Nlevels during both years. The maximum dry matterper plant was recorded at N80 level and the lowestat N40 during both years. The plant dry matter wasweighed significantly highest at N80 at 30 days aftersowing (DAS) during both years, while at 60 DASand also at harvest, N80 level had significantly similardry matter compared to N60 level during both yearsexcept in 2006 where the dry matter was observedsignificantly highest at N80 level. The leaf area indexwas also increased up to 60 DAS and then reduced,therefore, the lower leaf area index was recorded at

harvest during both years. The leaf area index wasmeasured significantly highest at N80 level at 30 and60 DAS during both years but at harvest, the N80and N60 levels had significantly same leaf area indexduring both years. The higher plant height, drymatter and leaf area index at higher N levels mightbe due to better N availability that improved thegrowth and development of the plant (Pathak, et al.,2005).

Yield and yield attributes

Nitrogen level did not influence the days takento 50% tasseling as well as silking during both years(Table.2). The cob length was significantly affectedby nitrogen levels and the largest cobs were foundat N80 levels that did not differ with N60 level duringboth years. The cob girth, however, did not differsignificantly with N levels but the highest cob girthwas measured at N80 level. The cob yield wasweighed significantly higher at N80 level that hadsignificantly equal cob yield at N60 level during bothyears. The pooled average indicated that N80 had 8.2and 23.4% higher cob yield than N60 and N40,respectively, while N60 had 14.1% higher than N40level. The 100 grain weight was also influenced byN levels and the highest values were recorded at N80levels that gave significantly equal 100 grain weightto N60 level during both years. Singh et al. (2003) alsoconcluded that higher dose of fertilizers improvedthe values of yield contributing attributes. The grainyield was also affected significantly by N levelsduring both years and N80 recorded two year pooledaverage of 14.3 and 44.7% higher grain yield thanN60 and N40 levels, respectively, while N60 gave26.6% higher than N40 level. Khanday and Thakur(1990) also reported that grain yield of maizeincreased significantly with increase in N levels upto 80 kg/ha. The higher dose of N improved thegrowth and yield attributes resulted in to more sinktranslocation from source and finally bolder seed andgreater grain yield and supported by Kumar (2008).However, Sutaliya and Singh (2005) noticedimprovement in yield and yield attributes of maizeup to 180 kg N/ha.

Effect of cultivars

Growth attributes

The cultivars had significant effect on plant heightonly at 30 DAS during both years (Table 1). Hybrid‘Vivek-11’ had the tallest plants at 30 DAS but at

56

October-December 2012] EFFECT OF LOW NITROGEN 331

harvest, ‘Pragati(composite)’ produced the tallestplants during both years. The plant dry matter wasaffected significantly by cultivars at all growth stagesduring both years. The highest dry matter wasrecorded under ‘VL Amber’ in 2006 and ‘Pragati’ in2007 at 30 DAS, while at 60 DAS, ‘Pragati’ gave thehighest values during both years, however it did notdiffer significantly with ‘Vivek-11’ and ‘Him 129’during 2006 and 2007, respectively. At harvest, ‘Him-129’ had significantly higher dry matter thatremained non significant with ‘Vivek-11’ and‘Pragati’ cultivars during both years. The leaf areaindex was also influenced by cultivars at all thegrowth stages during both year. The cultivar ‘VLAmber’ and ‘Him-‘129’ gave significantly highest leafarea index at 30 DAS during both years, while at 60DAS, ‘Pragati’ and ‘Him-‘129’ produced the highestleaf area index in 2006 ad 2007, respectively. Atharvest, ‘Him-129’ had the highest leaf area indexduring both years, however, it remained nonsignificant with ‘Vivek-11’ and ‘Pragati’ in 2006 andVivek-11 in 2007. Both hybrids had higher leaf areaindex than composites at harvest indicating thathybrids utilized natural resources better thancomposites and converted energy in form of grainyield. Similarly, Pop corn ‘VL Amber’ gave thelowest leaf area at harvest during both years.

Yield and yield attributes

The days taken to 50% tasseling and silking stagesdiffered greatly with cultivars during both years. ‘VLAmber’ took maximum days to 50% tasseling andsilking during both years followed by ‘Vivek-11’.Thecob length did not influenced significantly by thecultivars, however the largest cobs were recorded in‘Him-129’ followed by ‘Vivek-11’. The cob girth wasaffected significantly by cultivars during both years.The highest cob girth was noticed under ‘Pragati’that had significantly equal values to ‘Him-129’ and‘Vivek-11’.

Significantly maximum cob yield was recordedin ‘Him-129’ that did not differ significantly with‘Vivek-11’ and ‘Pragati’ during both years. Thepooled average of two years revealed that ‘Him-129’gave 3.6 and 10.5% greater cob yield than ‘Vivek-11’and ‘Pragati’, respectively but ‘Vivek-11’ had 6.2%higher cob yield than ‘Pragati’. Similarly, the 100grain weight also differed significantly with cultivarswith on an average the highest value was recordedin ‘Pragati’ followed by ‘Hime-129’. The cultivars had

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)ns

nsns

nsns

1ns

ns1

nsns

nsns

nsns

nsns

nsns

ns

Tab

le 1

. Eff

ect

of n

itro

gen

leve

ls a

nd c

ult

ivar

s on

pla

nt h

eigh

t, d

ry m

atte

r an

d le

af a

rea

ind

ex (

LA

I) o

f m

aize

du

ring

200

6 an

d 2

007

57

332 PAL ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

significant effect on grain yield of maize as evidencedwith significantly highest grain yield under ‘Him-129’ during both years. Hybrid ‘Him-129’ also gaveon an average 16.4 and 26.2% higher grain yield than‘ViveK-11’ and ‘Pragati’, respectively. ‘VL Amber’produced significantly lowest grain yield duringboth years due to low values of cob length, cob girth,cob yield and also 100 grain weight. The interactioneffect between nitrogen rates and cultivars on growthand yield attributes and also on grin yield remainednon significant during both years.

Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE)

The nitrogen use efficiency (N Economy) wasaffected significantly by both nitrogen rates as wellas cultivars during both years (Table 2). Significantlyhighest NUE was found at N40 and followed by N60and the lowest at N80 levels during both years. Thepooled data indicated that the N40 had the highestNUE of 76.9kg grain yield of maize per kg nitrogenapplied. The NUE was reduced at higher levels ofapplied nitrogen as evidenced with NUE of 51.3 and38.3 kg grain yield/kg N applied at N60 and N80 kg/ha, respectively (Fig.1).

Figure 1. Effect of nitrogen rates on nitrogen economy (kg/ha)

Nitrogen use efficiency varied significantly withmaize cultivars during both years (Table 2 and Fig.2).Significantly highest NUE was observed underhybrid ‘Him 129’ followed by hybrid ‘Vivek-11’,composite ‘Pragati’ and the lowest in VL Amber (popcorn) during both years. The average NUE was alsorecorded maximum under ‘Him-129’ with 66.6 kggrain production per kg nitrogen applied followedby ‘Vivel-11’ with 57.9 , ‘Pragati’ with 53.4 and ‘VLAmber’ with 44.6 kg /kg N applied. The hybrids hadhigher nitrogen economy because of better utilization T

reat

men

tD

ays

toD

ays

toC

ob le

ngth

Cob

gir

thC

ob y

ield

100-

grai

nG

rain

yie

ldN

yie

ld50

% T

asse

ling

50%

Silk

ing

(cm

)(c

m)

(kg

/ha

) w

eigh

t (g)

(kg

/ha

) (

kg g

rain

/K

g N

app

lied

)20

0620

0720

0620

0720

0620

0720

0620

0720

0620

0720

0620

0720

0620

0720

0620

07

a) N

itro

gen

leve

ls(k

g/ha

) (

N)

N40

4745

4947

14.2

13.2

11.4

11.1

6146

5060

21.4

818

.34

2732

2238

82.5

71.2

N60

4644

4947

15.7

14.9

11.9

11.2

6840

5945

22.5

619

.41

3434

2858

55.9

46.6

N80

4644

4948

16.3

15.5

11.9

11.4

7299

6530

23.8

620

.78

3864

3325

42.4

34.1

SEM

±0.

40.

20.

30.

20.

40.

40.

40.

320

731

20.

600.

4957

104

0.8

0.7

CD

(p

=0.

05)

nsns

nsns

1.3

1.3

nsns

620

905

2.00

1.45

170

405

2.5

2.2

b) C

ult

ivar

s (

C )

VL

-Am

ber

4845

4949

15.6

14.6

9.7

9.7

4552

3810

16.6

114

.64

2900

2068

‘52.

236

.9H

im-1

2946

4348

4616

.414

.611

.811

.878

0870

4824

.29

21.5

839

9434

1072

.261

.0V

ivek

-11

4644

4947

15.6

14.6

11.6

11.6

7453

6532

23.6

420

.53

3437

2925

62.2

53.6

Pra

gati

4745

4847

15.4

14.4

11.9

11.9

7232

6209

26.0

021

.29

3044

2824

55.8

51.0

SEm

±0.

70.

20.

60.

20.

60.

50.

40.

424

033

60.

770.

5166

105

0.6

0.7

CD

(p=

0.05

)ns

0.7

ns0.

7ns

ns1.

21.

171

697

52.

301.

619

631

11.

92.

0In

tera

ctio

n(N

x C

)ns

nsns

nsns

nsns

nsns

nsns

nsns

nss

s

Tab

le 2

. E

ffec

t of

nit

roge

n le

vels

and

cu

ltiv

ars

on y

ield

att

ribu

tes,

gra

in y

ield

, moi

stu

re c

onte

nt a

nd n

itro

gen

use

eff

icie

ncy

of m

aize

du

ring

200

6 an

d 2

007

58

October-December 2012] EFFECT OF LOW NITROGEN 333

of inputs due to its genetic make up compared tocomposites. The interaction effect between N ratesand cultivars found significant on N economy duringboth years.

CONCLUSION

The research findings revealed that maize hybrids‘Him-124’ and ‘Vivek-11’ had higher nitrogen useefficiency, hence, these hybrids might be grownwith application of 80 kg N/ha in addition to 60 kgP205 and 40 kg K20/ha for higher productivityand nitrogen economy under low nitrogen

Figure 2. Effect of cultivars on nitrogen economy (kg/ha)

fertilization environments including Mollisols ofUttarakhand.

REFERENCES

Khanday B A and Thakur R C. 1990. Response of rainfed maize to fertilization. Indian J. Agric. Res. 60: 631-633.

Kumar Ashok. 2008. Direct and residual effect of nutrientmanagement in maize (Zea mays)-wheat (Triticumaestivum) cropping system. Indian J Agron. 53: 37-41.

Pathak S K, Singh S B, Jha R N and Shrma R P. 2005. Effectof nutrient management on nutrient uptke andchanges in soil fertility in maize (Zea mays)- wheat(Triticum aestivum) cropping system. Indian J. Agron.50: 269-273.

Singh R N, Sutaliya R, Ghatak R and Sarangi S K. 2003.Effect of higher application of nitrogen andphosphorus over recommended level on growth, yieldand yield attributes of late sown winter maize (Zeamays L.). Crop Res. 26: 71-74.

Sutaliya R and Singh R N. 2005. Effect of planting time,fertility level and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria ongrowth, yield and yield attributes of winter maize (Zeamays) under rice (Oryza sativa)- maize croppingsystem. Indian J. Agron. 50: 173-175.

Swarup A. 2002. Lessons from long term fertilizerexperiments in improving fertilizer use efficiency andcrop yields. Fertilizer News 47: 59-66 & 71-73.

59

334 JHA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4):334-338, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Influence of value added fertilizer on production andproductivity of wheat (Triticumaestivum L.) inIndo-gangetic plains of eastern Uttar Pradesh

A.K. JHA1, K.K. SINGH 2 and MAYANK RAI3

Received: 18 March 2012; Accepted: 26 September 2012

ABSTRACT

Beneficial effect of value added fertilizers on production and productivity of rice is well established.There is a need to test the applicability of neem coated urea in irrigated wheat to obtain maximum yieldin minimum input without impairing soil fertility. In view of above facts, field experiments wereconducted at ten locations in Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Sultanpur and Barabanki districts of easternUttar Pradesh during the year 2005-06 and2006-07 to evaluate the effect of neem coated urea on growth,yield and nutrient uptake of wheat and residual fertility of soil. Seed germination of wheat was notaffected significantly by the levels and doses of nitrogenous fertilizers. However, plant populationafter 90 days of sowing increased by 1.04-4.43% due to substitution of prilled urea (PU) by neem coatedurea (NCU). NCU was found to be superior over PU in augmenting height of the plants at differentstages of plant growth. Grain and straw yields of wheat also increased by 6.47% and 7.56% respectivelywhen PU was substituted by NCU. Grain yield obtained with NCU80(4.18 t ha-1)was at par with thatrecorded with PU100(4.19 t ha-1). Total uptake of nitrogen (81.0 Kg ha-1), phosphorus (16.47 Kg ha-1) andpotassium (66.2 Kg ha-1) by wheat crop withNCU80 was at par with those recorded with PU100 atharvesting stage of the crop. Available nitrogen and phosphorus content in experimental soil increasedby 3.7% and 2.8% respectively whereas available potassium content decreased by 0.17%when crop wastreated with NCU80.

Key words: wheat, neem coated urea, prilled urea, growth and yield attributes of wheat, nutrientuptake by wheat, change in soil fertility

1 & 2 Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour-813210, Bhagalpur, Bihar3 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Murad Nagar-201206, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

INTRODUCTION

Nitrogenous fertilizers have the kingpins of greenrevolution which transformed the Indian agriculturefrom subsistence to surplus. But, there is a negativebalance between consumption and production ofnitrogenous fertilizers in India. The poor nitrogenuse efficiency (30-40% only) due to higher loss ofnitrogen through runoff, leaching, denitrificationand ammonia volatilization is an importantfactor answerable for this negative balance(Masthanareddy, 2009). Huge nitrogen requirementof major cereals of India is another vital cause of thisnegative balance. Both economic and ecologicalground of chemical fertilizer application invitesintroduction of slow release nitrogenous fertilizersin Indian agriculture.

Production and productivity of wheat has showndeclining trends in past few years and it is probablydue to deterioration in soil health (Tomar, 2008). So,application of slow release nitrogenous fertilizersmay be considered as a component to sustain cropyield by restoring soilfertility (Kabat and Panda,2009). As this material releases the nitrogen slowly,so it becomes available to the crops for longerperiodand assures nutrient availability throughout thegrowing period. Fertilizer related soil, water andenvironmental pollution also emphasizes the use ofvalue added fertilizers and organic sources of plantnutrients in agriculture(Tiwari, 2008). Thus, there isa need to test the applicability of slow releasenitrogenous fertilizers in wheat crop under assuredirrigated condition.

60

October-December 2012] INFLUENCE OF VALUE ADDED FERTILIZER 335

In view of above facts, an effort was made to studythe effect of levels and types of nitrogenous fertilizerson growth, yield and nutrient uptake of wheat. Effectof applied fertilizers on available N, P and K statusof the experimental soil was also studied.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To study the relative suitability of NCU and PUfor wheat crop, experiment was conducted in normaland salt affected soilsof eastern Uttar Pradesh.Exactlocation of field along with characteristics ofexperimental soil has been depicted in table 1. Thepresent investigation was carried out in randomizedblock design (RBD) with four treatments and tenreplications. Area of each plot was 0.2 hectare.Treatment details are as under:T1: PU80- 80% of recommended N through prilled

ureaT2: NCU80- 80% of recommended N through neem

coated ureaT3: PU100- 100% of recommended N through prilled

ureaT4: NCU100- 100% of recommended N through neem

coated urea

Wheat cv. PBW-343 was selected for fieldexperiment at Auliapur, Gopalpur, Jaraikala andKumarganjand cv. PBW-154 forRaghupur andMadhupurwhereas cv. PBW-373, UP-2425 and HD-2285 was grown atTahwapur, Haidergarh andHaliapur respectively. At most of the locations,sowing was done in between last week of Novemberto first week of December but atKumarganj andHaidergarh crop was sown in second fortnight ofDecember.

Half dose of nitrogen along with full doses ofphosphorus and potassium was applied at the timeof sowing. However, one fourth of recommended Nalong with 25 Kg ZnSO4ha-1 was applied after firstirrigationand remainingone fourth of recommendedN was top dressed after second irrigation at propersoil moisture.

To study the effect of value added fertilizer onseed germination and tillering, number of plantsavailable in one meter length of sample row wascounted at three different places (after 15 and 90days of sowing) and averaged. Vertical length fromground surface to top of the randomly selected fiveplants from every experimental unit was measuredafter 30 and 60 days of sowing and averaged todetermine the plant height. Spike length, number ofspikelets per spike, number of grains per spikelet infive randomly selected plants were recorded andaveraged. Weight of 1000 grains was also recordedto determine the test weight. Grain and straw yieldswere recorded on net plot basis and expressed interm of tonne per hectare.

Nitrogen content in grains and straw wasdetermined by colorimetric method developed byLinder (1944) and these values were multiplied bygrain and straw yields to find out N uptake.Phosphorous and potassium contents in plants weredetermined by colorimetric and flame photometricmethods respectively(Tandon, 1993) and thesecontents were multiplied bygrain and straw yieldsof wheat to find out uptakes. Available nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium contents in experimentalsoil were determined as per AOAC (1970). Restproperties of experimental soil Viz. pH, E.C., ESP andOrganic Carbon were determined by the slanderedmethods discussed by Jackson (1973).

Table 1. Location of experiment and properties of experimental soils

Repl. Location pH(1:2.5) E.C. Organic ESP AvailableN Available AvailableNo. (dsm-1) Carbon(%) (%) (Kg ha-1) P2O5 K2O

(Kg ha-1) (Kgha-1)

R1 Auliapur, Ambedkar Nagar 7.03 0.34 0.489 12.8 167.2 29.2 287.2R2 Raghupur,Ambedkar Nagar 7.12 0.37 0.426 13.6 141.0 18.8 265.8R3 Gopalpur,Faizabad 9.76 0.43 0.315 18.4 117.8 19.6 280.4R4 Madhupur,Faizabad 9.45 0.40 0.222 17.1 113.6 16.4 190.0R5 Masodha,Faizabad 7.05 0.35 0.259 13.1 115.4 15.7 210.7R6 Kumarganj,Faizabad 9.08 0.48 0.462 21.6 165.3 20.8 285.2R7 Haliyapur,Sultanpur 9.63 0.49 0.482 18.2 152.0 17.3 272.6R8 Jaraikala,Sultanpur 9.41 0.38 0.444 15.8 150.6 16.8 255.6R9 Haidergarh,Barabanki 7.08 0.36 0.389 13.8 138.2 17.0 185.4R10 Tahwapur,Barabanki 7.16 0.32 0.296 14.6 122.4 15.2 192.6

61

336 JHA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Neem coated urea had no significant effect onseed germination where astillering was enhanced bythe application of value added fertilizer andconsequently, plant population per running meterin NCU80 treated plot was significantly higher after90 days of sowing(79.61) than that recorded in PU80treated plot(76.23). Plant population recorded withNCU80 and PU100 were statistically at par. It wasprobably due to slow but continuous supply ofnitrogen to the plants treated with NCU (Blaise andPrasad, 1996).Levels and type of nitrogenousfertilizer also affected height of the plantssignificantly (Table 2). NCU was found significantlysuperior over PU in increasing plant height. Plantheights recorded with NCU80after 30 and 60 days ofsowing (60.5 cm and 81.5 cm respectively) weresignificantly higher than those recorded with PU80(56.5cm and 79.1cm respectively). Height of theplants recorded with PU100 after 30 and 60 days ofsowing(60.9cm and 82.6cm respectively) was at parwith those recorded with NCU80.It was probably dueto continuous supply of mineral N to the plants inNCU treated plots (Nayyar,2002).

augmenting yields and yield attributes. The highestvalues of yields and yield attributes were recordedwith NCU100, but, these values were at par with thoseobtained with NCU80.These findings were in theclose conformity with the results of Gandezaet al.(1991).

Nitrogen uptake by grain and straw of wheatincreased by >12 % when PU80 was replaced byNCU80(Table 4). Total uptake of nitrogen recordedwith NCU80 (80.8 Kgha-1) and PU100(82.0 Kgha-1)were found at par. This finding was in the closeconformity with the results of Kabat and Panda(2009).Total uptake of phosphorus by PU100 treatedcrop (16.92 Kg ha-1) was at par with phosphorusuptake by NCU80treated wheat (16.47 Kg ha-1) and9.6% lesser than that by NCU100treated crop. It wasprobably due to synergistic effect ofN availabilityon production of wheat and availability ofphosphorus in soil.This finding is similar to the resultobtained by Ramamoorthy and Velayutham (1976).In contrast of nitrogen, phosphorusandpotassiumconcentration in grain & strawof wheatdid not varysignificantly due to thevariation in levelsand type of nitrogenous fertilizer.However,uptakeof potassium increased significantly due to higheryield of wheatin case of NCU treatment.

Available nitrogen and phosphorus status ofexperimental soil improvedat cropharvest due to theapplication of higher doses of chemicalNandsubstitution of PU by NCU(Table 5). However,available potassium in experimental soil remainedunaffected even after the application of value addedfertilizer. N status of experimental soilincreased by3.69 % due to application ofNCU100, however, NCU80could only sustain N status of experimental soil.Similar kind of result was obtained by Blaise andPrasad (1996)when working with polymer coated

Number of effective tillers, spike length, spikeletsper spike, test weight, grain and straw yields ofwheat were also affected greatly by the levels andtype of nitrogen sources. Slow release nitrogenousfertilizer was found to be superior to PU inaugmenting yield and yield attributes (Table 3).NCU80 resulted statistically equal number of effectivetillers per meter, spike length(6.72cm), spikelets perspike(10.07), test weight(36.97 g), grain yield (4.18 tha-1) and straw yield (5.28 t ha-1) of wheat comparedto those obtained with PU100 (77.6, 6.77 cm, 10.08,36.99 g, 4.19t ha-1 and 5.37 t ha-1 respectively). NCU80was found significantly superior to PU80 in

Table 2. Effect of neemcoatedurea on population and heightof wheat plants

Treatment Plant population Plant height (m-1 row length) (cm)

15 DAS 90DAS 60DAS 90DAS

PU80 45.2 76.2 56.5 79.1NCU80 45.8 79.6 60.5 81.5PU100 45.7 80.9 60.9 82.6NCU100 45.7 81.8 61.4 82.8SEm± 0.5 1.1 0.9 0.6LSD (P=0.05) NS 2.3 1.9 1.3

DAS= Days after sowing

Treatment No. of Spike No. Test Grain Straweffective length of weight yield yield

tillers (cm) spikelets (g) (t ha-1) (t ha-1) (m-1 row spike-1

length)

PU80 71.7 6.1 8.5 35.4 3.93 4.91NCU80 76.6 6.7 10.1 37.0 4.18 5.28PU100 77.6 6.8 10.1 37.0 4.19 5.37NCU100 78.9 6.9 10.6 37.5 4.29 5.45SEm± 1.1 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.48 0.39LSD (P=0.05) 2.3 0.4 0.9 1.0 0.98 0.80

Table 3. Effect of value added fertilizer on number ofeffective tillers, yieldattributing characters andyield of wheat

62

October-December 2012] INFLUENCE OF VALUE ADDED FERTILIZER 337

urea. NCU80 increased available phosphorus contentof experimental soil by 5.59%. NCU80, NCU100andPU100 were found equally effective to Increaseavailable P content of experimental soil. It wasprobably due to synergistic effect of available N onavailability of phosphorusin soil Ramamoorthy andVelayutham, (1976). Availability of potassium inexperimental soil remained unaffected even afterharvesting of the crop. It was probably due to lackof direct relationship between availabilities ofnitrogen and potassium. This result was in closeconformity with the findings of Dargan (1979).

CONCLUSION

It is concluded that, 20% of chemical Ncan besaved during wheat cultivation if prilled urea issubstituted byneem coated urea. Both, vegetativeand reproductive growth of wheat treated withNCU80 was at par with that obtained with PU100.NCU80was found slightly inferior to PU100but,superior to NCU80to increase nitrogen, phosphorusand potassium uptake by the crop at maturitystage.Uptake of nitrogen by wheat crop at maturitystage increased by >12 % when PU80 was substitutedby NCU80. NCU80 was found superior over all other

Table 4. Influence of value added fertilizer on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake by wheat at maturity stage

Treatment Nutrient Nutrient Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium content in content in uptake uptake uptakegrain (%) straw (%) (Kg ha-1) (Kg ha-1) (Kg ha-1)

N P K N P K Grain Straw Total Grain Straw Total Grain Straw Total

PU80 1.48 0.29 0.54 0.293 0.02 0.68 57.6 14.4 72.0 11.41 0.98 12.38 21.1 33.4 54.6NCU80 1.55 0.33 0.58 0.306 0.05 0.75 64.7 16.3 81.0 13.83 2.64 16.47 24.3 41.8 66.2PU100 1.57 0.34 0.60 0.307 0.05 0.79 65.6 16.6 82.2 14.22 2.69 16.92 25.2 42.6 68.0NCU100 1.68 0.36 0.65 0.328 0.06 0.83 71.7 18.1 89.8 15.31 3.25 18.55 27.9 45.2 73.2SEm± 0.03 0.02 0.06 0.005 0.01 0.06 3.239 0.809 4.97 0.731 0.239 0.941 1.513 1.610 3.121LSD 0.07 0.04 NS 0.011 0.02 NS 6.64 1.66 8.40 1.51 0.49 1.93 3.1 3.3 6.4(P=0.05)

Table 5. Effect of levels and type of nitrogenous fertilizeron availability of nitrogen, phosphorus andpotassium in experimental soil

Treatment Available Available Availablenitrogen phosphorus potassium(Kg ha-1) (Kg ha-1) (Kg ha-1)

PU80 131.48 19.3 242.8NCU80 139.05 18.5 242.2PU100 139.84 18.2 242.4NCU100 143.54 18.4 242.6Initial value 138.35 17.9 242.6SEm± 0.93 0.09 0.13LSD(P=0.05) 1.91 0.23 0.28

treatments to improve available nitrogen andphosphorus status of experimental soil. Available Nand P2O5statusof experimental soil improved by3.7% and 2.8% respectivelywithin two years due toreplacement of PU80by NCU80. PU100and NCU80werefound to be equally effective to improve nutritionalstatus of experimental soil.

REFERENCES

AOAC 1970. Official Methods of Analysis, Association ofOfficial Analytical Chemists. 11th Edition, AOAC P.B.No. 540, Washington D.C., pp. 19-20.

Blaise, D. and Prasad, R. 1996. Mineralization pattern ofdifferent urea sources under flooded soil condition.Fertilizer News 41(11): 67-69.

Dargan, K.S. 1979. Agronomic and cultural practices forcrop productionin salt affected soils. Curr. Agric.,3(1-2):1-20.

Gandeza, A.T., Shoji, S. and Yamuda, I. 1991. Simulationof crop response to polyolfin coated urea, 1.Fielddissolution. Soil Science Society of American Journal55: 1462-1467.

Jackson, M.L. 1973. Soil Chemical Analysis, Prentice HallIndia Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India.

Kabat, B. and Panda, D. 2009. Nitrogen releasecharacteristics of controlled release N fertilizer andtheir effect on yield and N nutrition of rice in alluvialand laterite soils. Journal of the Indian Society of SoilScience 57(2):154-160.

Linder, R.C. 1944. Rapid analytical methods for some ofthe more common inorganic constituents of planttissues. Plant Physiology 19:76-89.

Masthanareddy, B.G., Manjunath, H., Patil, V.C. and Patil,S.G. 2009. Response of transplanted rice to levels,splits and timing of NPK application. Journal of theIndian Society of Soil Science 57(2):183-190.

Nayyar,V.K. 2002. Soil fertility management. InFundamentals of Soil Science, Indian Society of SoilScience publ. pp 489-498.

Ramamoorthy, B. and Velayutham, M 1976. Nitrogen,Phosphorus and potassium in soil-Chemistry, forms

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338 JHA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

and availability. Soil fertility- theory and practice (Ed.J.S. Kanwar): 156-201.

Tandan, H. L. S. 1993. Methods of Analysis of Soils, Plants,Water and Fertilizers. Fertilizer Development andConsultation Organization, 204-204 A, Bhanot Corner,1-2 PamposhEnclave, New Delhi.

Tiwari, K.N. 2008. Future plant nutrition research in India,Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science 56(4): 327-336.

Tomar, S.S. 2008. Conservation agriculture for rice- wheatcropping system. Journal of the Indian Society of SoilScience 56(4):358-366.

64

October-December 2012] RESERVOIRS 339

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 339-345, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Reservoirs – Sink or sources of greenhouse gases?SOMEN ACHARYA1*, TARUN ADAK2 and R.B. SRIVASTAVA3

Received: 1 May 2012; Accepted: 26 October 2012

ABSTRACT

Reservoir surfaces were widely viewed as a carbon-free source of energy during past few centuriesbecause of non availability of data on CO2 and CH4 emissions from reservoirs. However, recentdevelopment and research studies indicated that greenhouse gas production per unit of power generatedis not zero and should depend on the amount of organic carbon flooded to create the electricity.Henceforth, global effect of all types of reservoirs surfaces (both tropical and temperate reservoirs) onthe atmosphere needs to be evaluated and these fluxes should be included in greenhouse gas inventoriesby each country and in models of global carbon cycling. A first estimate indicated that for a global largedams area of 1.5x106 km2, about 10x1014 g/yr of CO2 and 69.3 Tg CH4 (1 Tg=1012g) can be annuallyreleased by bubbling and diffusive processes. Based on a theoretical model, bootstrap resampling anddata provided by the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), it was estimated that globallarge dams might annually release about 104±7.2 Tg CH4 to the atmosphere through reservoir surfaces,turbines and spillways. In view of novel technologies to extract CH4 from large dams, it was furtherestimated that roughly 23±2.6, 2.6±0.2 and 32±5.1Tg CH4 could be used as an environmentally soundoption for power generation in Brazil, China and India, respectively. For the whole world this numbermay increase to around 100±6.9 Tg CH4. Although there are uncertainties in both flux measurementand surface area information, however based on initial available data globally, these emissions may beequivalent to 7% of the global warming potential of other documented anthropogenic emissions ofthese gases. Therefore, a thorough rethink is essentially required for a newly established reservoirs andthe process of reservoir development for the mitigation options available. Innovative engineeringtechnologies are essentially needed to avoid these emissions, and to recover the non-emitted CH4 forpower generation.

Key words: Reservoirs, global emission estimates, Indian scenario, techniques of fluxmeasurements, emission process and dominant factors

1 Address: Scientist, Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), DRDO, C/o 56 APO, Leh Ladakh-901205.2 Address: Scientist, Division of Crop Production, CISH, Rehmankhera, Lucknow; email: tarunadak@gmail.com).3Address: Director, Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), DRDO, C/o 56 APO, Leh Ladakh-901205.*Corresponding author: someniari@gmail.com

INTRODUCTIONGlobal climate is changing and is believe to be

changing slowly yet progressively than ourimagination. Although, the green house effect makesthe Earth suitable for living, release of excessiveamount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into theatmosphere due to anthropogenic activities causeglobal warming. According to an estimate (Sharmaet al., 2006), total amount of GHGs emitted in India,was 1228 million tonnes, which accounted for only3% of the total global emissions, and of which 63%was emitted as CO2, 33% CH4, and the rest 4% asN2O. Moreover, the projected trends of GHGs

emissions in India in 2020 will be below 5% of globalemissions and the per capita emissions will still below compared to most of the developed countries aswell as the global average. However, the problemlies in Indian estimate is that emissions fromreservoirs and large dams are not included as thesesources were thought to be emission free resources.

The general impacts of climate change on waterresources indicate an intensification of the globalhydrological cycle affecting both ground and surfacewater supply (Gosain et al., 2006). Significantchanges in total amount, frequency, intensityand distribution of precipitation have also been

65

340 ACHARYA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

predicted. Such spatio-temporal changes may createdrought-like situations and will have drastic impacton ground water recharge, reservoir storage capacityand thereby emissions of gases.

Reservoirs or dams are generally man-madebodies of open water serving as public water supplysources, as winter storage for crop irrigation or asflood storage facilities in association with rivercorridors. Upland reservoirs are commonly knownas impounding reservoirs since they are built acrossriver valleys. A common form of lowland reservoiris known as a pumped storage reservoir since wateris pumped from a nearby river source rather thanfilling naturally as in the case of an impoundingreservoir. Water supply reservoirs have developedinto important nature conservation assets.

Reservoirs are believed to be the sources ofgreenhouse gases to the atmosphere and their surfaceareas have increased to the point where they shouldbe included in global inventories of anthropogenicemissions of GHGs (Keller and Stallard, 1994;Fearnside, 1997; Duchemin et al., 1999). Recentresearch indicates that reservoirs and hydroelectricdams (Table 1) may be significant sources of GHGs

The first studies of greenhouse gas fluxes fromreservoirs focused on hydroelectric generation (Kellyet al., 1994; Duchemin et al., 1995) because it was,and still is, widely viewed as a carbon-free source ofenergy (Hoffert et al., 1998). This view likelyoriginated because before 1994, there were no dataavailable on CO2 and CH4 emissions from reservoirs,even though it was well known that oxygendepletion resulting from active decomposition offlooded organic matter was common in waters ofnewly constructed reservoirs (Baxter and Glaude,1980). The first discussion of greenhouse gasemissions from reservoirs pointed out thatgreenhouse gas production per unit of powergenerated (e.g., in kWh) is not zero and shoulddepend on the amount of organic carbon flooded tocreate the electricity.

Estimation of global flux of GHGs from reservoirsEstimation of the global surface area of reservoirs

and average flux of GHGs is itself a very difficulttask due to incomplete databases of the InternationalCommission on Large Dams (ICOLD, 1998). Nonregistering of dams and reservoirs by differentcountries is attributed to the possibility of fairestimation of surface area. However, consideringboth the incomplete listing of large dams in manycountries and the overall lack of data on smallreservoirs, the global surface area of all reservoirstoday is estimated to be approximately 1.5 millionkm2, or approximately three times the documentedarea behind large dams and this area is equivalentto the estimated global surface area of natural lakes(Shiklomanov, 1993). Thus, combining the averageareal fluxes with the estimated surface area ofreservoirs in temperate and tropical regions yieldsannual global fluxes of 10 x 1014 g/yr of CO2 and 0.7x 1014 g/yr of CH4 (Abril et al., 2005; Soumis et al.,2005). It was estimated that a total of approximately70% and 90% of global reservoir fluxes of CO2 andCH4, respectively, occurred from tropical reservoirseven though these reservoirs were only accountedfor approximately 40% of the global surface area. Ona global basis, the CO2 flux from reservoirs was onlyequivalent to 4% of other anthropogenic emissionsof CO2, but the CH4 flux was equal to approximately20% of other anthropogenic CH4 emissions. Theselarge estimated CH4 fluxes from reservoirs exceedestimated fluxes from rice paddies or biomassburning worldwide. When CO2 and CH4 fluxes arecombined and converted to a flux of total carbon to

Table 1. Global warming impact of various electricity options

Power plant type Emissions(g CO2-eq/kwh)

Hydro (tropical) 200 – 3000*Hydro (temperate/boreal) 10 – 200*Coal (modern plant) 790 - 1200Heavy oil 690 - 730Diesel 555 - 880Combined cycle natural gas 460 - 760Natural gas cogeneration 300

*Represents gross emissions and does not include emissions producedwhen water is released from the reservoirSource: International River Network (IRN)

since these gases are emitted from both naturalaquatic (lakes, rivers, estuaries, wetlands) andterrestrial ecosystems (forest, soils) as well as fromanthropogenic sources (Cole et al., 1994; Lima, 2005).Hydropower is generally considered “clean” incomparison with fossil fuel combustion which sincewell ago is acknowledged an important source ofGHGs (IRN, 2002). However, dams are know toproduce large environmental and social problems,particularly the larger ones (Rashad and Ismail,2000). Dams may emit considerable amounts of GHGas CO2 and CH4 (Fearnside, 2004; Bambace et al.,2007).

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the atmosphere, the fluxes from reservoir surfacesare equal to 0.3 Gt/yr of carbon, or 4% of otherdocumented anthropogenic fluxes of carbon as CO2and CH4. Average emission fluxes of GHGs fromdifferent ecosystems are tabulated in the table 2 and3 to indicate the mean emission rate, net emissionand net consumption by the ecosystem (Aselmannand Crutzen, 1989; Kelly et al., 1997).

carbon. Between these extremes are reservoirslocated in wet, humid or dry tropical environments.

The major dams and water reservoirs in Indiainclude:• Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Andhra Pradesh• Sardar Sarover Project build on river Narmada,

Gujarat• Bhakra Nangal Dam build on river Sutlej,

Himachal Pradesh• Maharana Pratap Sagar Dam, Himachal Pradesh• Krishna Raja Sagara Dam on Cauvery River,

Karnataka• Tunga Bhadra Dam• Neyyar Dam, Kerala• Narmada Dam Project, Madhya Project• Hirakund Dam Build on Mahanadi River, Orissa• Farakka Barrage

Ocular inspections of satellite photos (GoogleEarth) in combination with information on prevalentclimatic conditions indicate that reservoirs inUttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Rajasthan,Punjab, Karnataka, Jammu/Kashmir, HimachalPradesh, Gujarat, and Arunachal Pradesh representcategories of surface waters where net emissions ofgreenhouse gases, to judge from experiences fromother parts of the world, are generally low, andprobably comparable to those from natural lakes.These reservoirs represent about 40 percent of thetotal storage capacity occupied by reservoirs in thecountry.

On the other hand, latest scientific estimates showthat large dams and reservoirs in India areresponsible for about a fifth of the countries’ totalglobal warming impact (Lima et al., 2008). Studyconducted by National Institute for Space Research,Brazil estimates that total methane emissions fromIndia’s large dams could be 33.5 million tonnes (MT)per annum, including emissions from reservoirs (1.1MT), spillways (13.2 MT) and turbines ofhydropower dams (19.2 MT). Total generation ofmethane from India’s reservoirs could be 45.8 MT.The difference between the figures of methanegeneration and emission is due to the oxidation ofmethane as it rises from the bottom of a reservoir toits surface. The methane emission from India’s damsis estimated at 27.86 % of the methane emission fromall the large dams of the world, which is more thanthe share of any other country of the world. Brazil

Ecosystem Areal flux (mg/m2/d)

CO2 CH4

Temperate reservoirs 1500� 20�Tropical reservoirs 3000� 100�Boreal/temperate forests 2100� 1.0�Tropical forests 710� 0.2�Northern peatlands 230� 51�Lakes (worldwide) 700� 9�

aDownward arrows indicate net consumption by ecosystem.Upward arrows indicate net flux to the atmosphere. bAveragedover 365 days assuming 1.5 million km2 of lake surface areaglobally.

(Kelly et al, 1997)

Table 3. Average fluxes of CO2 and CH4 from the surfacesof different ecosystems

Category Emission Period ofmean rate production

(mg CH4-C/m2/day) (days)

Wetlands with 11 (11-38)* 178decomposingvegetationMarsh 60 (21-162) 169Swamp 63 (43-84) 274Bog 189 (103-299) 249Floodplains 75(37-150) 122Lakes 32(13-67) 365

* the numbers in brackets are the range

Table 2. Average emissions of CH4 from natural areas (Kellyet al., 1997)

Indian scenario

Indian reservoirs represent the whole spectrumof different reservoir types found in the world. Someare located in alpine environments and shares thesame features that are typical of northern temperatereservoirs, i.e., can be assumed to release insignificantamounts of greenhouse gases. On the other extremeone finds reservoirs in arid environments, wheresequestration probably dominates over release of

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342 ACHARYA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

comes second with the emission of methane fromBrazil’s reservoirs being 21.8 MT per annum, whichis 18.13% of the global figure. Looking at the availablefigures for dams in India, total emission of methanefrom Indian dams may be somewhat over estimated,but it is still likely to be around 17 MT per annum.Even this more conservative figure means thatIndia’s dams emit about 425 CO2 equivalent MT(considering that global warming potential over 100years of a T of methane is equivalent to GWP of 25 Tof CO2, as per the latest estimates of IPCC). This,when compared to India’s official emission of 1849CO2 MT in year 2000 (which does not includeemission from large dams), the contribution ofmethane emission from large dams is 18.7% of thetotal CO2 emission from India. Based on a theoreticalmodel, bootstrap resampling and data provided bythe International Commission on Large Dams, it wasestimated that global large dams might annuallyrelease about 104 ± 7.2 Tg CH4 to the atmospherethrough reservoir surfaces, turbines and spillways.In view of novel technologies to extract CH4 fromlarge dams (Table 4), it was further estimated thatroughly 23 ± 2.6, 2.6 ± 0.2 and 32 ± 5.1 Tg CH4 couldbe used as an environmentally sound option forpower generation in Brazil, China and India,respectively (Lima et al., 2008). For the whole worldthis number may increase to around 100 ± 6.9 TgCH4. Researchers are in opinion that Indian damsare the largest global warming contributorscompared to all other nations. The problem lies inIndian estimate is that emissions from reservoirs andlarge dams are not included even in the IPCCestimation as these sources were thought to beemission free sources. Henceforth, there is an urgentneed to set up a coordinated research programmeand its implementation owing to have an idea ofGHGs emission from our own reservoirs so that anydiscrepancies/claims by other sources are sorted outeffectively and in an efficient scientific manner.

Techniques for Measuring Emissions from Reservoirs

Fluxes of greenhouse gases from water surfacescan be quantified using a number of techniques:1. Gas Sampling Method for Bubbles Using Funnels

Table 4. Estimation of CH4 production (emission + oxidation) and potential recovery from large dams in the world, Brazil,China and India

Country Upstream Downstream Total Production Potential RecoveryTg CH4 Tg CH4 Tg CH4 Tg CH4

Brazil 8.28 ± 0.72 25.12 ± 3.027 33.41 ± 3.752 23.38 ± 2.626China 0.45 ± 0.06 3.248 ± 0.235 3.703 ± 0.300 2.592 ± 0.210India 5.33 ± 1.91 40.49 ± 5.402 45.82 ± 7.312 32.07 ± 5.118World 17.4 ± 1.15 125.9 ± 8.730 143.4 ± 9.880 100.4 ± 6.916

Tg- Terra gram (1012 gram)

Funnel Bubble Collector Coupled to aGas Collecting Bottle

Group of Collecting Funnels Placedin a Shallow Region

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October-December 2012] RESERVOIRS 343

2. Sampling of Gases by Diffusion Chambers compounds (phenol polymers) originate principallyfrom lignin, present in woody material. Thus part ofthe carbon is emitted as gas, and another part iscarried by the water as humic and fulvic acids. Thereis also the insoluble and inert phenol residue, thehumus, that can be incorporated into the bottom ofthe reservoir as sediment, and which, together withthe silica and clay sediments, can proceed tofossilization.

At the bottom of the reservoir, there are theflooded terrestrial biomass, the organic matter thatcoming from the watershed and some fresh sedimentformed by plankton detritus. The decomposition ofsediment, carried out principally by bacteria,demands oxygen at higher rates than diffusion cansupply, and an anaerobic regime is established. Inthe first stage of decomposition, organic acidsreleased, which are then decomposed leading to theformation of CH4 and CO2, as can be exemplifiedwith acetic acid subject to methanogenesis.

CH3 – COOH = CH4 + CO2The gas emitted from the decomposition of

flooded biomass constitutes only a fraction of thetotal of gas emitted by the reservoir, because there isanother source of gas emissions: the zooplankton andphytoplankton contained in the water of thereservoir. Phytoplankton, consisting principally ofalgae, carries out photosynthesis using carbondioxide dissolved in the water. The phytoplanktonbiomass grows at a typical rate of 80 mg of carbonper m2 per day, a value confirmed in the largeAmazon reservoirs.

The decomposition of the flooded biomassprogressively reduces the stock of carbon, andbecause of the resulting biological inertia, itsproportion of the emissions of gases diminishes overtime. The gas emitted as a result of plankton has anessentially constant rate over time because its sourceis constantly renewing.

Factors affecting emissions from existing reservoirs

The range of average fluxes from reservoirsaround the world is expected because fluxes of CO2and CH4 depend on a number of factors (Bastvikenet al., 2004), including the amount of organic carbonflooded, age of the reservoir, mean annualtemperature etc.1. Organic carbon: The flux per unit area of GHGs

from reservoir surfaces should be proportional tothe amount of decomposable organic carbon thatis flooded to create the reservoir. The largest

A static floating chamber measuring therate of buildup of CO2 and CH4 gases over time

inside the chamber

Floating static chambers have been used toestimate the diffusive flux of CO2 and CH4 from thesurface of reservoirs by calculating the linear rate ofgas accumulation in the chambers over time.Diffusive flux of CO2 and CH4 from reservoirsurfaces has also been estimated using the thinboundary layer method.

Gas emission process in tropical reservoirs

The pattern of gas emissions from a hydroelectricreservoir is totally different from a fossil-fuelledpower plant. While CO2 emissions from thecombustion of fossil fuels in a thermal power plantare released uniformly over the entire period ofoperation of the plant, important part of theproduction of both CH4 and CO2 from the bacterialdecomposition of organic matter in a hydroelectricreservoir can be concentrated in time and can decayover a period much shorter than the lifespan of thereservoir. There will also be CH4 and CO2 long-termemissions due to the (Delmas et al., 2004)1. decomposition of residual stored biomass

remaining in the reservoir after an initial intensedegradation,

2. new biomass produced over time inside thereservoir

3. alocthonous organic matter from the watershed.

The bottom of the reservoir contains floodedbiomass that after decomposition emitted principallyCO2, CH4 and N2 resulting from anaerobicdecomposition. In aerobic decomposition only CO2and N2 are emitted. Along with the gases emitted,during decomposition biologically inert residues areformed (humus, humic and fulvic acids) can beleached out and carried by the water. These inert

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344 ACHARYA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

amounts of organic carbon per unit area are foundin peatlands. CH4 fluxes in temperate regionswere highest in reservoirs that flooded at least 80%peatlands.

2. Age: The age of reservoirs also affect GHGs fluxesbecause newly flooded labile carbon, such as thatfound in leaves and litter, should decomposerapidly, followed by slow decomposition of older,more recalcitrant organic carbon such as soilcarbon and peat (Kelly et al., 1997).

3. Water temperature: Higher rates ofdecomposition in tropical reservoirs because ofannual water temperatures are much higher ascompared to temperate environments.

4. Water residence time5. Size and nature of watershed6. Climate and hydrological fluctuations7. Primary production8. Operating regime of dam9. Depth of the reservoir10. Size and shape of reservoir (bathymetry)11.Anthropogenic activities around the reservoir and

in the catchments

Alternative energy generation options

Alternative future energy sources for electricitygeneration have become an increasingly popularsubject as more emission of GHGs into theatmosphere due to anthropogenic causes. Manysources of alternative energy have been proposeddue to global concern for cleaner electricityproduction. The most important of these are solar,wind, geothermal and nuclear energy. According torecent projections, alternative energy will becomeincreasingly more important over the next 50 to 100years. For developing countries, nuclear energypromise to produce the most electricity withpractically no CO2 emissions. For rural parts ofdeveloping and undeveloped countries wind, solar,wave and tidal channel power are the most viablealternatives to fossil fuels for electricity production.These simple technologies can be implementedcheaply and quickly without the investment andplanning required for nuclear and hydroelectric.

CONCLUSION

Reservoirs were widely viewed as a carbon-freesource of energy since most reservoirs are developednot for hydroelectric production but rather for floodcontrol, water supply, irrigation, navigation,

recreation and aquaculture purposes. However, arecent concern is whether reservoirs emits significantamount of GHGs and contributing to global climatechange; is of practical significance. The slow yetsteady accumulation of scientific data on GHGsemissions indicates that reservoirs can emit GHGsdue to the anaerobic decomposition of biomass andCO2. Tropical reservoirs that are shallow and unclearof biomass appear most at risk. The uncertainty liesin the estimates; the main scientific controversycentres on the extrapolation of measured emissionsper m2 in selected parts of the reservoir to the wholereservoir area. Emissions almost certainly varyaccording to depth and the distribution of thesubmerged biomass. They also vary through time,with a rapid peak occurring shortly after submersionafter which they tail off at an unknown rate. Studieshave not yet been carried out over long periods tocharacterize the full life-cycle curve of the emissions.Thus, this has to be assessed on a case by case basis.Although, the science base is not yet able to giveaccurate guidance to planners on whether a newreservoir will or will not emit GHGs. More researchis needed in order to be able to do this, and thisshould focus on the following areas: i) spatio-temporal variability of CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes inreservoirs, ii) correlation of trace gas emissions withthe major environmental variables (water levels,temperature, air pressure, nutrients) and the keybiogeochemical process (primary production,denitrification, methane generation and oxidation),iii) application of remotely sensed data and newtechniques to evaluate trace gas fluxes and biogenicchemical process from reservoir and lake ecosystemsand finally iv) to build a GHG emission networkincluding reservoirs and lakes in different agro-climatic zones involving study on carbon budgetingin reservoirs.

REFERENCE

Abril G, Gue´rin F, Richard S, Delmas R, Galy-Lacaux Cand Gosse P. 2005. Carbon dioxide and methaneemissions and the carbon budget of a 10 year oldtropical reservoir (Petit Saut, French Guiana). GlobalBiogeochem Cycles 19: 1-16.

Aselmann I and Crutzen P. 1989. Global Distribution ofNatural Freshwater Wetlands and Rice Paddies, TheirPrimary Productivity, Seasonality and PossibleMethane Emissions. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry8: 307-358.

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Bambace L A W, Ramos F M, Lima I B T and Rosa R R.2007. Mitigation and recovery of methane emissionsfrom tropical hydroelectric dams. Energy 32: 1038-1046.

Bastviken D, Cole J, Pace M and Tranvik L. 2004. Methaneemissions from lakes: Dependence of lakecharacteristics, two regional assessments, and a globalestimate, Global Biogeochemical Cycles 18: 1-12.

Baxter R M and Glaude P. 1980. Environmental effects ofdams and impoundments in Canada: Experience andprospects. Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and AquaticSciences 205: 1-34.

Cole J J, Caraco N F, Kling G W and Kratz T K. 1994.Carbon dioxide supersaturation in the surface waterof lakes. Science 265: 1568-1570.

Delmas R, Richard R, Guérin F, Abril G, Galy-Lacaux C,Delon C and Grégoire A. 2004. Long term greenhousegas emissions from the hydroelectric reservoir of PetitSaut (French Guiana) and potential impacts. In:Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Fluxes and Processes.Hydroelectric Reservoirs and Natural Environments.A. Tremblay, L. Varfalvy, C. Roehm and M. Garneau(Eds) Environmental Science Series, Springer-Verlag,Berlin, Heidelberg, New York. pp 293-312.

Duchemin E, Lucotte M and Canuel R. 1999. Comparisonof static chamber and thin boundary layer equationmethods for measuring greenhouse gas emissionsfrom large water bodies. Environmental Science andTechnology 33: 350-357.

Duchemin E, Lucotte M, Canuel R and Chamberland A.1995. Production of the greenhouse gases CH4 andCO2 by hydroelectric reservoirs of the boreal region.Global Biogeochemical Cycles 9: 529-540.

Fearnside P M. 2004. Greenhouse gas emissions fromhydroelectric dams: controversies provide aspringboard for rethinking a supposedly ‘clean’energy source. Climatic Change 66: 1-8.

Fearnside P M. 1997. Greenhouse-gas emissions fromAmazonian hydroelectric reservoirs: The example ofBrazil’s Tucuruí Dam as compared to fossil fuelalternatives. Environmental Conservation 24: 64-75.

Gosain A K, Rao S and Basuray D. 2006. Climate changeimpact assessment on hydrology of Indian riverbasins. Current Science 90: 346-353.

Hoffert M I et al. 1998. Energy implications of futurestabilization of atmospheric CO2 content. Nature 395:881-884.

ICOLD. 1998. International Commission on Large Dams.World Register of Dams, Paris: InternationalCommittee on Large Dams.

IRN. 2002. Flooding the land, Warming the Earth.Greenhouse gas emissions from dams. InternationalRiver Network (IRN).

Keller M and Stallard R F. 1994. Methane emission bybubbling from Gatun Lake. Panama. J Geophys Res 99:8307-8319.

Kelly C A, Rudd J W M, St. Louis V L and Moore T. 1994.Turning attention to reservoir surfaces, a neglectedarea in greenhouse studies. EOS 75: 332-333.

Kelly C A, Rudd J W M, Bodaly R A, Roulet N P, St. LouisV L, Heyes A, Moore T R, Schiff S, Aravena R, Scott KJ, Dyck B, Harris R, Warner B and Edwards G. 1997.Increases in fluxes of greenhouse gases and methylmercury following flooding of an experimentalreservoir. Environmental Science and Technology 31:1334-1344.

Lima I B T. 2005. Biogeochemical distinction of methanereleases from two Amazon hydroreservoirs.Chemosphere 59: 1697-702.

Lima I B T, Ramos F M, Bambace LW A and Rosa R R.2008. Methane Emissions from Large Dams asRenewable Energy Resources: A Developing NationPerspective. Mitig Adapt Strat Glob Change 13: 193-206.

Rashad S M and Ismail M A. 2000. Environmental impactassessment of hydro-power in Egypt. Applied Energy65: 285-302.

Sharma S, Bhattacharya S and Garg A. 2006. Greenhousegas emissions from India: A perspective. CurrentScience 90: 326-333.

Shiklomanov I A. 1993. World fresh water resources.Pages 13-24 in Gleick PH, ed.Water in Crisis: A Guideto the World’s Fresh Water Resources. OxfordUniversity Press.

Soumis N, Lucotte M and Canuel R. 2005. Hydroelectricreservoirs as anthropogenic sources of greenhousegases. In: Lehr JH, Keeley J (eds) Water encyclopedia:Surface and agricultural water. Wiley-Interscience,Hoboken, N. J. pp 203-210.

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Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 346-355, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Addressing social and gender issues –A key to exploit fullpotential of watershed development programmes in rehabilitating

Shivalik ecosystem-Northern IndiaSWARN LATA ARYA1 AND R. P. YADAV2

Received: 19 September 2012; Accepted: 31 October 2012

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) season of 2010 at the research farm of theIARI, New Delhi to study the influence of methods of rice transplanting and varieties on crop growth,methane emission pattern in soil and to determine the correlation between different genotypic andphenotypic characters and yield. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design(FRBD) with nine treatments combinations comprising three methods of crop establishment viz.,conventional transplanting (CT); system of rice intensification (SRI) and double transplanting (DT) andthree rice varieties viz., ‘Pusa Basmati 1401’; ‘Pusa 44’ and ‘PRH 10’. In CT, SRI and DT seedlings of21, 12 and 41 days, respectively were transplanted in puddled fields. Results showed that watermanagement through alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in SRI led to one week early maturitycompared to CT in all the three cultivars. Rice hybrid ‘PRH 10’ in SRI gave the highest grain yield (5.36t/ha) and per day productivity (46.2 kg/day/ha). Rice grain yield had significant positive correlationswith root volume (r = 0.816), effective tillers (r = 0.917), dry weight (r = 0.432) and filled grain (0.412).Crop growth rate (CGR) at 60-90 DAT was higher in ‘Pusa Basmati 1401’compared to other varieties.Significant temporal variations in the individual methane ûuxes were observed during rice growingperiod. Flux of methane was higher in early stage of crop and peaked about 21 days after transplantingcoinciding with tillering stage of crop. Methane flux was drastically increased when observation wastaken after N fertilizer (urea) application. However, methane flux declined gradually from 75 daysafter transplanting and stabilized at the harvest stage of rice in all the 3 methods of transplanting.

Key words: correlation, methane emission pattern, per day productivity, phenology, riceyield, SRI

1 Principal Scientist (Agricultural Economics) and 2 Principal Scientist (Soils), respectively, Central Soil and Water ConservationResearch and Training Institute, Research Centre, Sector 27-A, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh, INDIA-160019

INTRODUCTION

In fact, the concept of integrated and participatorywatershed development has emerged as the cornerstone of rural development in entire dry and rainfedregion of the country. The country has so far, mademassive investment on the watershed managementprogrammes through own and external resources.Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP), DesertDevelopment Programme (DDP), NationalWatershed Development Programme for RainfedAreas (NWDPRA), Integrated Watershed (IWDP)and Wasteland (IWDP) Development Programmeare the few implemented over large areas (Sharda et

al. 2006). Till March 2005, 45.48 m ha has been treatedunder various watershed programmes with a totalinvestment of about Rs.170 billion (GOI 2006). Evenmore ambitious plans are there in pipeline for thefuture.

During the first generation of watershed projects,we have realized gains in the forms of increase inproductivity, cropping intensity, ground waterrecharge and employment coupled with favorablecrop diversification and reduced soil loss. As weenter second generation of watershed baseddevelopmental projects with such massiveinvestment and high targets and expectations,

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October-December 2012] ADDRESSING SOCIAL AND GENDER ISSUES 347

lessons learnt from first generation widelyimplemented watershed developmental projectsneeds to be well understood and policy guidelinesand mechanisms be redrawn. People’s participationis the key to sustainability of natural resourcesmanagement projects. Hence, the issues influencingtheir participation level becomes more important.Aspects like social and gender equity need to beaddressed to ensure involvement of all sections ofthe society for fair participation as well as to seeksustainability in the projects. Success of Sukhomajriand similar other watershed managementprogrammes has led to implementation of 170, 130and 60 numbers of projects in Shivalik region ofHaryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh,respectively (Arya and Samra 2001). The presentpaper argues for certain basic re-thinking in thepolicy options for viable watershed management onthe basis of experiences gained from the study of 53water harvesting structures in 27 villages covering2070 families of Haryana Shivaliks, Northen India,during past 24 years. The study examined differentaspects of integrated watershed managementprojects including social, institutional and the mostimportant, gender issues. In the last, someapproaches and strategies for resolving these issuesand integrating them into national policies have beensuggested.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To draw useful inferences regarding social andgender issues, the study was conducted during 2005-2009 in 27 villages representing entire Shivalik regionin Haryana state (Fig. 1). In these villages, 53 waterharvesting structures were constructed in 1980s byHaryana Forest Department on the pattern ofSukhomajri. In depth interviews, informants andobservations were used to study impact of watershedmanagement projects. Farmer respondents wereselected on the basis of land holding from eachvillage for the impact since inception of watershedprojects i.e. for 20-25 years. Background informationabout villages and watershed project details weretaken from implementing agencies and related stateagencies.

Qualitative information on user’s perception wasalso solicited. PRA and RRA techniques were utilizedwherever needed to quantify benefits accrued fromprivate as well as common property resources likewater harvesting structures, forest and pasture lands.

Separate information on various activities in whichwomen participated predominantly were collectedfrom all households and their proportionalcontribution was worked out. Labour utilisation indifferent operations of crop cultivation and livestockmanagement was computed on the basis of averageworking hours spent on different operations by maleand female labourers. A labour day of 8 hours forfemale was converted into men equivalent day. Oneday’s work of women was taken as equivalent to 0.75of a man’s work day (Singh et al. 1981). This alsomatched the ratio of their respective wage rates. Thecollected information was synthesized scientificallyto draw conclusions from the study in the followingsection.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Profile of the project villages

Table 1 presents demographic characteristics ofthe villages covered under these projects. In thirtypercent of the cases, projects were highly successful.Hill Resource Management Societies formed in thesevillages are still working efficiently since their

Fig. 1. Location map of studied villages

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348 ARYA ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

inception. In case of nineteen percent of the projects,moderate level of success was achieved, whereas infifty two percent of the cases projects turned out tobe failures.

Total cultivated area in all the 27 villages was2980.33 ha. Nineteen per cent of the total familieswere reported to be landless. The households havingagricultural land less than 2 ha constituted 57.7 percent of the total number, whereas only 4.3 per centpossessed more than 4 ha of land. Remaining 18.9per cent of the households were operatingagricultural land between 2 to < 4 ha. The datarevealed that most of the farmers in the Shivalikfoothill region belonged to small and marginalcategory. Occupational distribution of workingpopulation was also worked out which indicated that60 percent of the working population was exclusively

engaged in agriculture and animal husbandryactivities. Eighteen percent of the workingpopulation was engaged in either private orgovernment jobs, which was their regular source ofincome. Proportion of the working force employedoutside the village varied widely from village tovillage from as low as 14 percent to as high as 58percent. This seems to indicate that village economieswere highly influenced by outside income, thoughinter-village differences in economic structure mayalso exist. In case of majority of the villages (44percent) per hectare farm income was less thanRupees 4000. Only five out of 27 villages had farmincome more than Rupees 8000 per annum. Averageper capita income (per annum) also followed thesame pattern.

However, by and large, agriculture cultivation

Table 1. Socio-economic characteristics of the households ( No. of villages-27)

Variables Categories Frequency PercentageOverall effectiveness(Scale of 0-10) Unsuccessful (0-3) 14 51.9

Moderate (4-6) 5 18.5Successful (7-10) 8 29.6

Distribution of households < 50 7 25.950-100 14 51.9> 100 6 22.2

Land holding wise distribution of families Landless 395 19.1< 1 hectare 749 36.21-2 hectare 447 21.52-3 hectare 210 10.13-4 hectare 181 8.8> 4 hectare 88 4.3

Number of affected communities < 22 8 29.6-5 12 44.5> 5 7 25.9

Irrigated area as percentage to total Unirrigated 7 25.9operated area < 25% 5 18.5

25-50% 6 22.250-75% 7 25.9>75% 2 7.4

Occupational distribution of the Agriculture and animal Service Dailyworking population husbandry Business wagesAverage farm income per hectare of < 4000 13 48.1operational holding (Rupees) 4000-8000 9 33.3

>8000 5 18.6Contribution of animal husbandry towards < 40 % 4 14.8total income in the selected villages (%) 40 to 60 % 12 44.5

> 60 % 11 40.7Average per capita income (per annum ) < 4000 12 44.1

4000-8000 10 37.1> 8000 5 18.5

Present status of Hill Resource Not constituted 13 48.2Management Societies Successfully working 10 37.4

Not working 4 14.8

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was the mainstay of economic living in these villagessupplemented by dairying. Economic activities inthese villages were influenced by the caste biases onone hand and by the ecological and economicconditions prevailing in the region on the other.Wherever irrigation facilities were not available orinsufficient, large number of cattle migration wasalso prevalent. Apart from these land- basedactivities, there were no major cottage or householdlevel activities within these villages. In certainvillages, which are quite near to cities, large numbersof men were employed either on regular or casualbasis. The village life in a way was influenced byboth the cultural and social identities within thevillage and by the urban links through theemployment opportunities available in nearby cities

Organizing ‘inequity’: the key to sustainability

Judicious distribution of the economic benefitsfrom the project among various stakeholders hasbeen the most challenging issue. So far, the projectshave aimed at bringing equity at enterprise or thesegment level. At the most, water rights wereestablished for landless in the initially implementedprojects, which however, could not sustain for toolong. The data from 27 villages revealed that theproportion of landless households towards total was21 percent whereas their representation in the HillResources Management Societies was only 9 percent(Fig. 2) The review established that watersheddevelopment favours the landed and thedownstream lands as well as those who have thewherewithal to invest in wells and pump (Arya andSamra 1995; Adolph and Turton 1998; Kerr et al. 1998;Arya and Samra 2001; Reddy et al. 2001). In somecases, measures like bans on grazing and cuttingtrees, closing of commons, ban on keeping goats,which are imposed from above, have hit the rural

poor very hard, especially the backwards andlandless lot. To cite another example from the twomost successful watersheds named Dhamala andBunga villages, it was reported that number oflivestock units kept by landless reduced considerablyin comparison with landed after the implementationof the projects (Fig. 3). The equity has to be achievedat portfolio level and not at the enterprise level or ata segment level because the latter is neither feasiblenor viable and sustainable. The portfolio approachto participative watershed development impliesattention to inter-sect oral linkages, which manifestin the form of interactions among enterprises andsocial classes over time and space. The portfolio willinclude land and non-land based investments, farmand non-farm activities, and short term and longterm based transfers of benefits. Thus equity mayalso have to be achieved over time (Gupta 1996).

Fig. 2. Membership of Hill Resource Management Societies

Fig. 3. No. of animals with landed and landless households

Livestock is a key component of the householdeconomy in rural India. It is a source of additionalincome to farming households especially the poorestof poor. About 70 million households (73 percent ofrural households) in India keep and own livestockof one kind or other and drive on average 20 percentof their income from this source (Walker and Ryan1990). Landless and marginal farmers constitutealmost two-thirds of total population in Shivalikfoothill villages. Animal husbandry sector wascontributing more than 50 percent towards totalincome in more than 50 percent of the selectedvillages (Table 2). Seasonal migration of pastoralmigratory graziers, which constitutes a majorproportion of human population in this region isbeing practiced since long, still continue in many ofthe villages as a survival mechanism. It was foundthat even in most successful watershed developmentprojects namely Bunga and Gobindpur -Mandappa,

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market infrastructure, fragmented and small size ofland holdings and lack of fodder (Table 3). Thus, oneshould aim at generating ‘iniquitous’ situation byproviding greater access and share to such livestockdependent communities in the biomass produced inthe Common as well as Government lands. The NGOor another agency may help trigger experiments withregard to decentralized fodder banks at least in eachwatershed so that stake of landless communities inthe conservation can be institutionalized. Thecommon water points, particularly, for drinkingpurpose have to be inalienable feature of watershedprojects. It is pity that National Drinking Missiondoes not seem to coordinate well with the watershedwing of Department of Rural Development as wellas Ministry of Agriculture to ensure this. The credit,input and marketing support for non-farmemployment opportunities once integrated in thewatershed projects can also be used to offset someof the inequities linked with land based investments.

Institutions

The economic benefits are necessary but not thesufficient inducement for triggering chain reactionsof watershed projects. The institutions provide theself-regulating character to any human endeavour.Institutional building for watershed managementhas been one of the most neglected parts of all thewatershed projects. The very concept of ‘handingover’ of the project to people implies that theownership has changed. Contrary to this, if officialswere to participate in people’s plans, the question of‘handing over’ would not arise. The institutionalbuilding process involves generation of self-renewing capability in the organization and alsoability to align mission and goals with the emergingchanges in the overall environment without losingbasic ethics and spirit. During the present study, itwas found that of the 53 micro-watershed

Table 2. Contribution of various sectors (sources) towardstotal income (gross) in selected villages

Villages Percentage income from various sourcesAgriculture Animal Outside Within

husbandry village villagesources sources*

Sukhomajri 11.8 49.9 35.3 3.0

Dhamala 25.2 35.1 35.9 3.8Nada 11.6 23.9 62.2 2.3Bunga 32.2 55.0 11.3 1.5Lohgarh 21.0 44.1 31.5 3.4Gobindpur & 19.5 74.8 4.1 1.6MandappaChowki 26.0 44.8 24.9 4.2Masoompur 22.5 64.6 10.8 2.1Raina 24.0 64.0 7.0 5.0Nandpur 14.8 49.0 30.3 5.9Kedarpur 36.5 46.6 13.9 3.0Ambwala 28.5 58.9 10.6 2.0Damdama 19.7 45.3 31.3 3.7Bhud 46.5 42.0 8.9 2.6Rattantibbi 23.7 62.8 10.9 2.6Trilokpur 26.0 30.6 35.5 7.9Ganouli 27.4 59.1 10.7 2.8Bhavana 34.1 47.7 15.2 3.0Jattanmajri 25.5 55.8 16.2 2.5Kera & Basaula 18.0 34.5 41.8 5.7Tibbi 13.0 71.2 13.6 2.2Aasrewali 3.3 80.0 10.2 1.5Dullopur 31.2 49.1 16.3 3.4Moginand- 6.1 59.0 32.2 2.7Naggal**Khetparali 28.4 43.0 25.3 3.3Mirpur 18.6 63.5 14.7 3.2

* Within village sources does not include income from animal husbandry and agriculture** Moginand and Naggal have been combined

Table 3. Income (Rs) from cattle migration activities

Villages Gross income from Gross income from Income during % income all sources animal husbandry migration period from migration

Bunga 25,657,972 14,106,297 2,819,114 11.0Gobindpur-Mandappa 6,577,823 4,915,774 1,373,710 21.0Rattatibbi 3,426,910 2,153,594 862,896 25.0Masoompur 4,421,358 2,733,215 871,007 20.0Raina 8,934,648 5,746,891 1,822,668 20.0Tibbi 5,754,888 4,102,574 1,671,683 29.0Aasrewali 3,298,822 2,200,120 1,468,860 45.0Ambwala 3,306,350 1,948,232 471,808 14.0Dullopur 709,876 320,218 100,827 14.0Khetpurali 5,943,304 2,555,265 919,201 16.0

the contribution of income from cattle migration was11 and 21 percent, respectively towards the totalincome of these villages and cattle are being migratedfor 6 to 8 months in a year mainly due to lack of

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development projects implemented in 27 villages,local institutions were constituted only in 14 cases.Only 10 were functioning at the time of survey.However, there is lack of modus operandi in almostall the communities. These institutions lack thetraining and technical know-how regarding repairand maintenance of dams and pipelines. Dammaintenance is costly, requiring access to financialresources greater than that generated through thesale or auctioning of irrigation water. To fully exploitthe potential of the water-harvesting dams, farmersmust have the economic information on which theycan make rational and informed decisions. Farmersmust have the institutional mechanisms to acquire,process and transform (calculate) the information.Information is required from different sources oncrop profitability, crop water use, animalproductivity and fodder production. Availability ofeconomic information will allow the farmers todetermine which irrigation models, they wish to optfor, and finally, relationships to existingadministrative structure and issues of land tenureneed to be explored and developed.

Gender issues

It has been noticed that women carry out much ofthe increased agricultural, dairying and foddercollection tasks whereas men have control the incomegenerated (Arya and Samra 2006; Gopalan 1993; Rani2004; Arya 2007; Hiraway 1996; Singh 1996; Visaria1999). Further, stall feeding takes more of thewomen’s time than grazing; consequently, theirlabour inputs into livestock have increased since thewatershed projects were initiated. A survey of sevenvillages revealed that female participation increasedfrom 163 to 418 hrs/annum/acre of cropped areaafter watershed implementation. The figure 4 reveals

that female contribution increased by 157 percentwhereas of men by only 85 percent in agriculturalactivities. The time spent on social and leisureactivities decreased by 32 percent. About 71 percentof animal related activities were performed bywomen which increased by 38 percent after theproject period whereas of men increased by 6percent.

It has been observed from the experience of evenmost successful watershed management projects thatwomen participation is synonymous with theirtraining in sewing and embroidery, carpet weavingand other art and craft activities. Even in nurserytrainings, women are used as labour and rarelyallowed to contribute to the selection of species tobe raised in nursery. Knowledge and skills determinean individual’s position in the hierarchy set up toimplement project activities. Unfortunately, trainingprogramme in watershed management target menrather than women.

Even if the presence of women in meeting isconsidered as criteria for their participation inproject, the study revealed that on an average, 6 to22 male members participated in a meeting whereasfemale member’s participation varied from 0.3 to 2per meeting (Table 4).

Fig. 4. Relative contribution of farm men and women invarious activities in project and non-project villages

In the nutshell, it is quite common to find thefollowing gaps in watershed development projectsin relation with gender issues:1. Lack of clear understanding of the concept of

gender and lack of an analysis of gender rolesand responsibilities.

Table 4. Details of meetings held by Hill ResourceManagement Societies (HRMS)

Name of No. of Period Attended byHRMS meetings

held Male Female

Sukhomajri 42 1992-99 936 (22.0) 97 (2.0)Dhamala 28 1993-99 518 (18.0) 40 (0.4)Bunga 712 1985-99 8494 (12.0) NilLohgarh 131 1984-99 1834 (14.0) 102 (0.8)Gobindpur 35 1990-99 496 (15.0) 22 (0.6)Masoompur 75 1987-99 1220 (16.0) NilRaina 64 1993-99 1302 (24.0) 15 (0.3)Mirpur 66 1993-99 905 (14.0) 114 (1.7)Khera & Basaula 45 1995-99 992 (22.0) 89 (2.0)Nada 12 1994-99 196 (16.0) Nil

Note: Figures in parenthesis indicate average participation of maleand female per meeting

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2. Lack of policies and strategies, which foster agender sensitive approach and affirmativegender action in favour of women.

3. Misconceptions on development issues relatingto women as;(a) that economic and environmental

development automatically mean animprovement in the quality of life andstatus of women.

(b) that specific activities targeted purely atwomen are likely to succeed.

(c) that the women’s development issynonymous with material benefits orphysical project outputs such as thecreation of assets.

Reasons for failure of watershed projects

An attempt was made to find out various reasonsfor non-functioning /partial functioning of variouswatershed structures, which can be broadly, putunder three categories namely technical,administrative and organizational. The same havebeen discussed in detail in the following section.

Technical issues: The major reason behind the poorperformance of water harvesting structures was theclogging of inlet well (tank) and thereby choking themain outlet pipe with silt coming heavily from thecatchment area. Out of 53 structures covered underthe study, in 31 cases, silt entered into the inlet pipeand in the other nine cases the reservoirs were filledwith silt in the first year itself. The main reason beingthat the catchment area was not treated either withvegetative or mechanical measures beforeconstructing water harvesting dams.

Next important factor was the poor performanceof spillways provided in the bodies of dams. Out of53, in 24 cases the spillways broke (and continued tobreak) every year even after expensive repairs eitherby the society or by the department. In 15 cases thespillways were damaged beyond repair. The otherreason for heavy damage to spillways was theclogging of inlet well and outlet pipeline due todeposition of silt as the catchment areas were hardlytreated except in a few cases. In another 14 cases, thedistribution pipelines for providing water to thefarmers’ agricultural fields were not laid down at allwhereas in 9 cases, the pipelines were not providedto the required length. Since very few farmers weregetting the irrigation benefits, majority who weredenied the facility intentionally damaged the

pipelines beyond repair and also took away the sluicevalve. In 9 of the cases, the reservoirs were filled withsilt in the first year itself because the catchment areaswere not treated with either vegetative orengineering measures, which further clogged theinlet tanks and main pipelines. The other importantreasons included were, high seepage losses and thelevel of agricultural fields being at higher elevationas compared to the body of the dam.

Administrative issues: The most typical of all theadministrative problems faced by the forest officials,when contacted was that they did not get funds forrepair and maintenance of previously constructedstructures or left in between. Once the existing fundsexhausted, they were not able to lay down thepipelines for distribution of water to the farmers’fields. Next time, when the department got morefunds under a different scheme and from differentsource, it was always for the construction of newdams. In most of the cases, the local labour was notutilized for the construction purposes, while inothers, labour was not paid fully. The labourers evenhad to go to the court to recover their payments.

Selection of sites, designing and execution ofdrainage line works is a specialized activity andshould have received closed co-ordination of expertsin the fields. Most of these programmes wereimplemented by State Forest Department because ofterritorial consideration. They had no priorexperience and the field functionaries especiallytrained for the purpose Soil and Water ConservationProgramme encompass a wider range of disciplines,whereas in the present case study, the watershedmanagement activity was taken as a sectoral activity,without giving any consideration to other fields.Neither the catchment areas were treated nor did thearable land get any attention.

Organizational issues: In all the villages, wherewater-harvesting structures were constructed by theHaryana Forest Department, constitution of HillResource Management Societies (HRMS) wasconsidered imperative to manage and distribute theresources equitably. However, HRMS wereconstituted and registered only in few cases. About102 water-harvesting structures were constructedduring 1976 to 1996 in 60 villages. The resultsrevealed that out of 27 villages surveyed, HRMS wereconstituted in 14 villages. In some of the villageswhere one structure was serving the irrigationpurpose of two adjoining villages, only one HRMS

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was formed for both the villages. Out of 14 societiesconstituted, 10 were working at the time of survey,which very clearly indicated the active, positive andcontinuous interest of the village community in thesesocieties.

HRMS’s also could not be formed and registeredin those cases where the farmers could not get evena drop of water. On the other hand, wherever peoplewere taken into confidence, HRMSs had shownremarkable initiative and resilience in keeping ormaking their dams functional despite poor deliveryby the service-providing department. In such cases,the farmers seeing the benefits of irrigation, tried toclear the blocked outlets with little bit of technicalknowledge they had, repaired faulty sluice valvesand replaced damaged sections on their own. It wasonly when the dams finally breached and needed aninvestment of two to three lakh rupees, that they hadto give up.

At many places, farmers were not even consultedbefore the selection of dam sites as well as forconstruction. These villagers repeatedly suggestedthe officials that the selection of sites was wrong, asthey have been staying in these villages since agesand water cannot be stored at the selected sites.,.Dam sites were largely selected even withoutassessing their potential for motivating villagersliving near them to protect their catchments in returnfor getting the water. The principle of linking equalrights to water with equal responsibility forprotecting the dam watersheds was not evendiscussed; leave aside being used as a preconditionfor the dams being built. Obviously, in such cases,where the authors visited, most of the villagers didnot have the knowledge about the dams in theirvillages. The limited success achieved in the matterraises serious questions about the ability of theimplementing agencies to function withaccountability to community institutions, which is apre-condition for initiating durable Joint ForestManagement partnership with villagers.

Policy implication

The present study examined different aspects ofintegrated watershed management projects andinstitutions related with the management, protectionand distribution of common property resources. Thefindings very clearly revealed that communities withfunctioning societies established social fencing, waterharvesting and grass lease agreements which raised

both biomass production as well as income fromprivate agricultural holdings and state forest lands.However, where communities were not able todevelop effective management system, the desiredgoals could not be attained. Based on experiencesgained from Sukhomajri, Nada, Bunga, Relmajravillages and lessons learnt from evaluation studiesover a period of 30 years, certain thumb rules forensuring People’s Participation in watersheddevelopment programmes have been framed and arelisted here.

Integrating benefits to resource conservation: Highestpriority needs to be given to ‘water resourcedevelopment’ as it provides immediate and directeconomic benefits to local people. Economic factorshold the key to generate momentum in conservationworks. The poorest of the poor dare to improve theirland and participate only when it pays for them todo so. Watershed development is essentially aresource-base approach to environmental protectionand livelihood enhancement. Unless adequatesafeguards can be built in, the danger is that, as thecommons become more productive, better-offfarmers are tempted to take control of them andcustomary access rights of the poor are denied(Farrington et al 1998).

Issue of equity: A resource system need to bedesigned so that all community members benefit.Considerable attention need to be given todeveloping water sharing arrangements so as toallow landless families to benefit from it. Given thepressure of landless families and uneven spatialdistribution of land holdings in the region, it washowever, difficult to achieve equitable arrangementfor sharing benefits from irrigation development forprivate lands, but in cases, where this arrangementcould be worked out; a great amount of success wasachieved.

Institutional arrangements/ formation of society:Transferring to grass roots organization, theresponsibility of running the participating processwithin their communities is a key requisite forensuring the sustainability of Integrated WatershedManagement process. Community awareness,knowledge, support and public participation in thedecisions that affect the environment and economicoutcomes are equally important. This is, best securedby creating centralized systems of regulation, use andmanagement of resources upon which localcommunities depend and giving these communities

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an effective control over the use of these resources(WCED 1987).

Integrating local knowledge and culture into improvedsystem: Formulation of resource based developmentpolicies should take into considerable local people’sknowledge and culture for its sustainable use. Ourevaluation studies’ results revealed that water-harvesting structure failed wherever the localpeople’s wisdom and experiences were not taken intoconsideration. Rural people have a strong capacityto make sound judgment about their work andresults. Thus, special attention need be paid toestablish a synergy between departmental andindigenously evolved practices.

Gender issues: Women carry out much of theincreased agricultural, dairying and fodder collectiontasks. Further stall feeding takes more of thewomen’s time than grazing; consequently theirlabour input into agricultural and livestock activitieshas increased since the projects were initiated. Morerepresentation need to be given to women in orderto gain leadership positions in the local institutionalset up especially where women are the primary usersof grass and forest lands. At the same time, projectauthorities need to understand the difference inwomen’s and men’s roles and responsibilities relatedto the use of forest produce for sustaining livelihoodsystems.

Holistic and sustained development: Long termcontinuity is a vital ingredient in the strategy forsustainable development. Comprehensive smallwatershed management should be an integration ofoverall planning and development of hilly lands,water resources, farmlands, forest, agriculture,livestock and fisheries. It should facilitatecombination of forest and grasses as vegetativemeasures along with the engineering measures tocontrol surface and gully erosion and to protect soiland water resources for short as well as for long termeconomic benefits to the farmers.

Sharing of income/benefits from CPR: Participationis basically a political process concerned withredistribution of power in a society. This usuallyinvolve transfer of administrative and financialpowers from ‘haves’ to ‘have not’ and sharing ofbenefits with local people whose participation issought.

The basic philosophy behind the super success ofSukhomajri Model was to tie the economic interestsof villagers, living adjacent to forestland for

sustainable management of CPRs. This was achievedby identifying water, fodder, bhabbar grass and treesas the catalyst which motivated the villagers toimprove the productivity of forest areas while forestdepartment agreed to give HRMS a major share inthe increased production resulting from theirparticipation in management.

Insensitive handling of these issues is likely tojeopardize the successful functioning of any localsystem, as this only holds the key to ensuresustainability and productivity of the hillyecosystem, which could lead to fulfillment oflongterm social objectivity. The strength of JointForest Management is that it should be organizedfrom which the community has been and willcontinue to derive benefits either in cash or in kind.Given the right environment and encouragement, thelocal communities have the potential to emerge intostrong institutions with a high level of financial andinstitutional sustainability.

CONCLUSION

The present study examined different aspects ofintegrated watershed management projects andinstitutions related with the management, protectionand distribution of common property resources. Thefindings very clearly revealed that communities withfunctioning societies established social fencing, waterharvesting and grass lease agreements which raisedboth biomass production as well as income fromprivate agricultural holdings and state forest lands.However, where communities were not able todevelop effective management system, the desiredgoals could not be attained. More representationneed to be given to women in order to gainleadership positions in the local institutional set upespecially where women are the primary users ofgrass and forest lands. At the same time, projectauthorities need to understand the difference inwomen’s and men’s roles and responsibilities relatedto the use of forest produce for sustaining livelihoodsystems. Long term continuity is a vital ingredientin the strategy for sustainable development. Failureof watershed management projects was due to manytechnical reasons viz. clogging of pipeline,malfunctioning of spillway, heavy siltation etc.administrative issues viz. lack of maintenance funds,technical know how, non-treatment of catchment ororganizational hindrances. Sustainability can beensured by integrating benefits to resource

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conservation, addressing social and gender equityissues, strengthening grass root level institutions,blending indigenous technical knowledge withmodern technology and sharing benefits among allfrom common property resources.

REFERENCES

Adolph, B. , Turton. C. 1998. Community Self-help Groupsand Watersheds Partnerships and Policies ProgrammeSeries. Overseas Development Institute, London.

Arya Swarn Lata. 2007. Women and watersheddevelopment in India: issues and strategies. IndianJournal of Gender Studies, 14 (2): 199-230.

Arya, Swarn Lata, Samra, J.S. 1995. Socio-EconomicImplications and Participatory Approach of IntegratedWatershed Management Project at Bunga. TechnicalBulletin No. T-27/C-6, Central Soil and WaterConservation Research and Training Institute,Research Centre, Chandigarh, India.

Arya Swarn Lata, Samra, J.S. 2001. Revisiting WatershedManagement Institutions in Haryana Shiwaliks, India.Central Soil and Water Conservation Research andTraining Institute, Research Centre, Chandigarh,India.

Arya, Swarn Lata , Samra, J. S. 2006. Impact analysis ofwatershed development projects in Shiwalik foothillvillages in Haryana State. Agricultural Situation inIndia. 62 (2): 711-722.

Arya, Swarn Lata, Agnihotri Y, Samra, J.S. 1994.Watershed management: change in animal populationstructure, Income and cattle Migration, Shiwaliks,India. Ambio , 23 (7): 446-450.

Farrington J, Gilbert E H, and Khandelwal R. 1998. ProcessMonitoring in India Agriculture: Implications of aRajasthan Case Study, Chapter 8, In Mosse, D.,Farrington, J. and Rew, A. (eds.), Development asProcess, Routledge, London.

Gopalan Sarala. 1993. Women and Employment in India. Har-Anand Publications. New Delhi.

GOI (Government of India). 2006. Report of the TechnicalCommittee on Watershed Programmes in India .Department of Land Resources, Ministry of RuralDevelopment, New Delhi, India.

Grewal, S.S. , Mittal, S.P., Singh, G. 1990. Rehabilitationof degraded lands in the Himalayan foothills: People’sparticipation. Ambio 19 (1): 45-48.

Gupta, A.K. 1996. Rethinking Policy Options for Watershed

Management by Local Communities: Combining Equity,Efficiency and Ecological-Economic Viability. IIMAWorking Paper No. 1341.

Hiraway, I., 1996. Economic reforms and gender issues inIndia. Indian Journal of Labour Economics. 39 ( 8): 577-590.

Kerr, J.M., Pangare, G., Lokur- Pangare, V., George, P.J.,Kollavalli, S. 1998. The Role of Watershed Projects inDeveloping India’s Rainfed Agriculture. Report submittedto the World Bank. IFPRI, Washington.

Rani, K.U. 2004. Empowering Women through Natural andSocial Resource Management MANAGE CYBERARY, 7.Available at http://www.manage.gov.in/managelib/faculty/uma.htm; accessed on 3.8.2006.

Reddy, V., Ratna, M., Gopinath, G.S., Springate-Baginski,O. 2001. Watershed Development and Livelihood Security:An Assessment of Linkages and Impact in Andhra Pradesh,India. Draft Report, CESS / University of Leeds.

Sharda, V.N., Sikka, A.K., Juyal, G.P. 2006. ParticipatoryIntegrated Watershed Management – A Field Manual.Central Soil and Water Conservation Research andTraining Institute, Dehradun.

Sidhu, G.S., Walia, C.S., Sachdeva, C.B., Rana. K.P.C.,Dhankher, R.P., Singh, S.P., Velayutham, M. 2000.Soil resources in N-W Shivaliks for perspective land useplanning. In: Fifty Years of Research on SustainableResource Management in Shivaliks (Eds. S.P. Mittal, R.K.Aggarwal and J.S. Samra), Central Soil and WaterConservation Research and Training Institute,Research Centre, Chandigarh, pp 23-34.

Singh, S. 1996. Occupational participation of women inPunjab: 1961 – 1981. Indian Journal of Labour Economics,39 (4) : 817-826.

Singh, C.B., Dhaka, J.P, Sharma, S.P. 1981. Labourabsorption and factors influencing levels ofemployment in crop, dairy and poultry enterprises.Indian Journal of Agricultural economics. 36 (4): 1-14..

Visaria, P. 1999. Level and Pattern of Female Employment :1911-1994. In: Gender and Employment in India. (eds.)T.S. Papola and Alakh N. Sharma, Indian Society ofLabour Economic Growth in association with VikasPublishing House Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi. pp. 23-51.

Walker, T., Ryan, J. 1990. Village and Household Economiesin India’s Semi-arid Tropics. John Hopkins UniversityPress.

WCED (World Commission on Environment andDevelopment). 1987. Our Common Future, OxfordUniversity Press, Oxford.

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Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 356-364, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Farmers’ perception about climate change and itsimpact on agriculture in Panna distrct of Bundelkhand region

(Madhya Pradesh), Central India

RAJENDRA PRASAD1, A. K. PANDEY2, S. K. DHYANI3, N. K. SAROJ4 and V. D. TRIPATHI 5

Received: 24 May 2012; Accepted: 12 October 2012

ABSTRACT

In present study we assessed farmer’s perception about climate change and its impact of on agricultureand allied activities by conducting survey of 10 selected villages in Panna district of Bundelkhandregion. The findings revealed that the farmers of Panna district have clear perception of changing climaticscenarios and realized wide scale impact of climate change on agriculture and related activities. Thedeviation in weather pattern, on set and withdrawal monsoon rain, wind and dust storm, and increasein unusual weather extremes was unanimously felt by farmers. Change in phenology of crops manifestedby deviation in flowering time & intensity, fruit-bearing pattern, and shape, size and quality of grainwas perceived by surveyed respondents in Panna. Livestock productivity was perceived to be at riskand became more vulnerable due to change in climate. Conclusively, it is reported that the local farmersof Panna district of Bundelkhand appears to have a clear cut perception about climate change and itsimpact on agriculture. Their mindset is ready for climate resilient adaptations.

Key words: climate resilience, adaptations, climate impact assessment, indigenous knowledge

1-5 National Research Centre for Agroforestry, Pahuj Dam, Gwalior Road, Jhansi-284 003 (U.P.) E-mail: drrajendraprasad2@yahoo.co.in

INTRODUCTIONIn spite of green revolution in post- independence

era leading to five times increase in food grainproduction, India still continues to face a persistentchallenge of feeding growing population amidstclimatic uncertainties. Climate is one of the keycomponents influencing agricultural production andoverall economy in India. The impact of climatechange on agriculture is an issue of great significanceto the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor peoplein India who depend on agriculture for food andlivelihood. Today, Climate change has beenrecognized globally as the most pressing critical issueaffecting the mankind survival in the 21st century.The most obvious manifestation of climate changeis the rising of average worldwide temperature,popularly termed as global warming. The meanglobal annual temperature increased between 0.4 to0.7 oC (Singh, 2008). Most of the countries are facingthe problems of rising temperature, melting of

glaciers, rising of sea-level leading to inundation ofthe coastal areas, changes in precipitation patternsleading to increased risk of recurrent droughts anddevastating floods, threats to biodiversity, anexpansion of plant diseases and a number ofpotential challenges for public health. Several globalstudies have indicated that India is particularlyvulnerable to climate change, and is likely to sufferwith damage to agriculture, food and water security,human health and cattle populations.

The realization and understanding of climatechange is pre-requisite to take appropriate mitigationand adaptation initiatives at local level (Prasad et al,2011). Local communities have been coping withenvironmental change since millennia and haveconsiderable knowledge about environmentalchange and means to cope up with its consequences(Salick and Byg, 2007). Documentation of suchknowledge can propel scientific inquiry and at thesame time help design mitigation and adaptation

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measures for resilience. In Bundelkhand, there isscarce documentation of traditional knowledgeconcerning the impact of climate change onagriculture and related activities. Thus, the presentstudy was undertaken in Panna district ofBundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh to assessfarmers’ perception about changes in climate andpotential impact of such changes on agriculture andlivelihoods at local level.

METERIALS AND METHODS

The present study was conducted in Panna distrctof Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, centralIndia. The average annual rainfall of Bundelkhandin Madhya Pradesh is 990.9 mm with a range of 767.8to 1086.7 mm. For Panna district the normal rainfallin 1069.6 mm. About 90% of the rainfall is receivedin the monsoon season of July to September in about30-35 events or spells (Samra, 2008). Rainfallvariation within the season is important for cropproduction and rain in September is crucial for thematurity of Kharif crops and sowing of Rabi crops.Delayed on set of rains, early withdrawal or longdry spells in between also lead to drought likesituation (Table 1).

Panna is located in north-eastern part of MadhyaPradesh with its head quarter at Panna city/town.

Table 1. Distribution of recent meteorological droughtin Panna district and Bundelkhand region ofMadhya Pradesh

District Normal 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08Region rainfall

(mm)% % % %

Devia- Devia- Devia- Devia-tion tion tion tion

Panna 1069.6 12.0 33.0 -46.0 -67.0Region 0990.9 -16.5 10.0 -37.0 -46.0Total

(Source: Samra, 2008)

Panna is known as diamond city of India. The totalgeographical area is 702924 ha out of which 59535ha is arable land, and 299647 ha is forest.Administratively, it is divided in to five Tehsils viz.Ajaygarh, Panna, Gunar, Pawai and Shahgarh. Themain crops grown in the district are wheat, paddy,sorghum, maize, chick pea, pigeon pea, urd, lentil,til, groundnut, mustard, soybean and sugarcane.

Among the domestic animals cattle, buffalo, goat andsheep are the dominant.

For survey and collection of data, descriptivesurvey research design was utilized. Panna districtrepresenting Bundelkhand region was purposivelyselected for the study. Out of five, two tehsils vizPanna and Ajaygarh, and from each tehsil fivevillages were selected for assessing potential impactof climate change in the area. The samplerespondents were drawn from above selected tenvillages randomly. In Ajaygarh thesil, Ramnai,Kharoni, Jigni, Chandora and Rajpur villages wereselected. In Panna tehsil, Hardua, Janakpur,Purshottam pur, Rajapur and Sunhera villages wereselected. General information on number ofhouseholds, their economic status, animalpopulation, and literacy status of selected villageswas collected from secondary sources (Blockheadquarter) and given in Table 2, 3 and 4.

Door-to-door survey was done through personalinterview with individual households

Table 2. Economic status households in selected villages ofPanna district in Bundelkhand

Village Distribution of householdsTotal SC ST BPL

Sunehara 242 22 103 212Janakpur 314 74 80 267Purushottampur 241 16 36 74Rajapur 437 106 20 88Hardua 205 18 81 90Jigni 286 70 - 140Chandaura 387 70 - 197Kharoni 231 30 - 156Ramnai 251 75 5 187Rajpur 326 92 18 290

Table 3. Livestock population in selected villages of Pannadistrict in Bundelkhand

Village Cows Buffaloes Sheep/GoatSunehara 610 302 301Rajapur 1398 342 241Purushottampur 382 124 142Janakpur 687 218 166Hardua 445 236 38Ramnai 374 244 55Jigni 480 256 45Chandaura 442 521 64-14Kharoni 361 379 40-Rajpur 510 374 160-

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(N = 50) covering various age groups and gendermixes, with emphasis on older persons. An open-ended questionnaire was designed to identify theevidences of changes in weather and climate for thepast decade, impact of climate change on agricultureand animal husbandry. The respondents wereinterviewed with help of a well structured interviewschedule. Besides, in all these villages 2 or 3 focusedgroup consisting of at least five elderly farmers wereinterviewed to analyze and refine the perception onclimate change. The collected information was basedon farming status and its history, past memory ofextreme climate events and their impact, andmanagement responses to those adverse situations,present-day scenario and likely future consequences.In focused group discussion which, consisted of atleast five elderly farmers of the village, other farmerswere allowed to participate and involve freely forrefinement of information recorded on interviewschedule. All the refined information was compiled/analyzed and interpreted for results.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Before presenting and discussing results, somecaveats of perception studies are mentioned. Cautionis necessary in conducting surveys and interpretingthe results of participant surveys and responses. Bothsampling (selection of sites and sampling ofrespondents) and non-sampling (phrasing ofquestions, choosing interview tools, and consistencyin delivering questions and recording responses)errors can occur. Hence, efforts were made tominimize the errors by drawing the samplerandomly from a larger population, includingmaximum possible households in discussion,framing questions in a manner to reduce theprobability of respondents making certainpresumptions or showing biases, and minimizinginterviewing bias in recording information.

1.1 General farming status

The data pertaining to general status of farmingin studied area revealed (Table 5) that majority (64%)of respondents owned 1.0 to 2.0 ha land. Only 12%

Table 4. Literacy of studied blocks of Panna district in Bundelkhand

Block Rural Literacy (%) Urban Literacy (%) TotalMale Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

Ajaygarh 67.42 37.72 53.59 79.13 58.64 69.48 66.43 39.78 55.18Panna 65.22 39.03 52.92 87.60 69.02 79.45 72.26 49.69 61.00

farmers had land holding of more than 5.0 ha.Maximum respondents (56%) had less than 5domestic animals and only 8% farmers had morethan 20 animals on their farm. Among livestock, cowsand goats were most common and accounted majorshares. Wide range of food grain production amongrespondents was observed. Maximum farmers (56%)produced 5.0 to 10.0 q of food grain annually. Only4% respondents had annual production of more than40 q food grain. All the respondents have plantedtrees on their farm land. However, majority (56%)of farms had less than 5 trees. More than 40 treeswere present on only 4% farms. Among fruit treesber, mango and guava were most common andprovided fruits for sustenance of farm families.Majority of farmers (68%) harvested less than 1.0qfruit annually whereas, more than 5.0 q fruits were

Farming Characteristic Distribution % of totalrespondents

Size of farm holding ( ha) 0 to 1 41 to 2 642 to 5 20

Ã5 12Number of animal / farm Â5 56(buffalo, cow, oxen, goat 5 to10 24and sheep) 10 to 20 12

Ã20 8Annual food grain 2 to 5 20production (q/farm) 5 to10 56

10 to 20 820 to 40 12

Ã40 4Total numbers of Â5 64trees/farm 5 to10 20

10 to 20 8Ã20 8

Total fruit yield from Â1 68farm trees (q/farm) 1 to 2 8

2 to 5 20Ã5 4

Total fuel wood yield from Â1 52farm trees (q/farm) 1 to 2 8

2 to 5 32Ã5 8

Table 5. Distribution of respondents according to theirfarming status in Panna district of Bundelkhand

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harvested by only 4% respondents. Trees alsoprovided fuel wood to farmers and majority (52%)received less than 1.0 q fuel wood annually from theirfarms. Only 8% farmers received more than 5q fuelwood annually from their farm. The dominant cropsand trees grown in the area are listed in Table 6.Among cereals wheat and paddy are the main cropswhile chickpea pigeon pea, lentil, black gram andgreen gram are the pulses. Among oil seed,groundnut mustard and soybean are dominant.Among fruit trees, ber, mango and guava are themain fruits.

3.2 Perception about climatic change and its impact

Crops Tree speciesPaddy (Oryza sativa ) Ber (Zizphus mauritiana)Wheat (Triticum astivum) Babool (Acacia nilotica)Chick pea (Cicer arietinum) Mango (mangifera indica)Ground nut (Arachis hypogea ) Guava (Psidium guajava)Sorghum (Sorghum bulgaris ) Koha (Terminalia arjuna)Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Aonla (Emblica officinalis)Pigion pea (Cajanus cajan) Neem(Azadirachta indica)Sugercane (Secarum officinerum) Mahua (madhuca indica)Green gram (Vigna radiata) Sissoo(Delbergia sissoo)Barley (Hordeum vulgare) Katahal (AtrocarpusLentil (Lens esculenta) heterophyllus)Soybean (Glycine max) Bamboo (DendrocalmusBlack gram (Vigna mumgo) strictus) Peepal )Mustard (Brassica species) (Ficus religiosaBattery (Mentha pipertia) Ashok (Polyalthia lougifoua)Sesame (Sesanum indicum) Teak (Tectona grandis)

Table 6. Dominant crops and agroforestry tree species onfarmers field in Panna district of Bundelkhand

Perception about change in weather pattern: The resultof respondent’s perception regarding change inrainfall temperature, winds etc. are presented inTable 7. All respondents have perceived changes inrainfall pattern. In comparison to past, 68%respondents believed that onset of monsoon isdelayed. However, 16% perceived that now monsoonsets in early, while another 16% perceived no changein arrival of monsoon season. On withdrawal,majority (84%) of respondents agreed for earlywithdrawal of monsoon rains, whereas 8% for latewithdrawal and another 8% find no change. Except12% of respondents, all perceived that the numberof rainy days and their distribution over season havechanged. Reduction in number of rainy days isperceived by 44% while 32% believed that thedifference in rain events or intermittent dry spell hasincreased. On rainfall intensity, respondents were

Table 7. Distribution of respondents according to perceivedchange in rainfall, temperature and wind in Pannadistrict of Bundelkhand

S.No. Perceived impact by respondent % of totalrespondents

1. Deviation in onset of monsoonEarly 16Late 68Normal /no change 16

2. Deviation in withdrawal of monsoonEarly 84Late 8Normal/ no change 8

3. Deviation in rainy days and distribution over season No variation 12Variation 12Rainy days reduced 44More difference in rain events/ 32intermittent long dry spell

4. Change in rainfall intensity and frequencyNo Change 4Slow/ less intensity 36Fast/ more intensity 8Alternate slow and fast 52

5. Change in droughts/ dry spells yearsDrought for 1 year 0Consecutive drought for 2 year 0Consecutive drought for 3year 64Consecutive drought for 4year 36

6. Change in pattern of winter rainNormal rain/ no change 40Low rain 36Very low 4No rain 20

7. Variation in winds speed and directionNormal Easterly wind 44High speed Easterly wind 20 High speed western wind 8Normal wind 12North-east wind 16

8. Change in pattern of dust stormsDust storm increased 76Dust storm decreased 0Normal/ no change 16Other 8

9. Variation in seasonal windsNo change 48Hot wind blow in summer 20Very hot wind blow in summer 28Other 4

10. Unusual variation in seasonsNo Change 0Very hot summer 24Temperature in summer increasing 72More hot summer and more cold winter 4

11. Event of weather extremesIncreasing summer 88Increasing winter 12No change 0

12. Harmful effect of weather extremesDisease increase 48Tree/crop is badly affected 40No change 12

13. Beneficial effect of extreme weather eventsNo beneficial effect 100Beneficial effects 0

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divided and 36% felt that rainfall intensity hasreduced while 8% perceived increase in it. All therespondents perceived increase in drought and 64%opined consecutive drought for 3 years while, 36%felt drought for 4 years. Regarding change in patternof winter rain, the respondents were divided in theirperception and 40% felt no change. However, 36%respondents perceived that rain in winter hasreduced and 4% opined negligible rain in winter.Considerable section of respondents (20%) says thatthere was no rain in winter. The farmers of the studyarea have also perceived changes in wind pattern.Majority of respondents (44%) felt normal easterlywinds continued in monsoon while, 20% perceivedincrease in speed of easterlies. Shift in pattern of duststorms was perceived by 76% of respondents while16% felt no change in dust storms.

Variation in seasonal wind was perceived bymajority of respondents, however, 20% perceived nochange. For summer wind, 28% respondentperceive blowing of very hot wind while 20% sayit was just hot. All farmers unanimously perceivedunusual variation in seasons. Maximum respondent(72%) perceived that temperature in summer isincreasing due to which this season has becomeunbearable. Only 4% believed that both winters andsummers are increasing in severity. Majority ofrespondent (88%) perceived that events of hotweather extremes have increased while 12% believedincrease in winter. On harmful impact of weatherextremes, majority (48%) perceived increase indiseases, while 40% felt bad effect on trees and crops.Only 12% respondents believe that extreme weatherevents have no effect on human or plant ecosystem.None of the respondents perceived beneficial effectof extreme weather events.

The results on perceived impact are consistentacross the space and in conformity with manyprevious scientific findings. The farmers of Pannahave clearly perceived changes in weather andclimate. Delayed onset and early withdrawal ofmonsoonal rains, decrease in number of rainy days,increase in dust storm and droughts, temperatureand extreme weather events in summer as well as inwinter have multitude of impacts on livelihood andbio diversity of the region. As per historical recordsthere have been only twelve drought years inBundelkhand during the whole of 19th and 20th

century i.e. once in 16 years (Samra, 2008). Frequencyof drought increased from one to three in 16 years

during 1968-1992. Tiwari et al., (1998) analyzedrainfall data of the region and found that in a cycleof 5 years, 2 are normal, 2 drought years and 1 inexcessive rainfall year. However, with the analysisof fifty years (1946-1995) rainfall data of Jhansidistrict of Bundelkhand region, it was observed that18% of the years were drought, 68% normal and 14%were surplus years, implying that there is likelihoodof one drought year in a span of 5 year (Singh et al.,2002). Out of last 8 years, 6 are severe drought years(2002, 2004-07 and 2009) in the region (Palsaniya etal., 2012). In a study conducted in KangchenjungaHimalayas, for assessing farmers’ perceptions aboutclimate and weather change, Chaudhary et al (2011)reported that overall temperature is increasing witha multitude of impacts on weather and precipitation,snowfall and retreat, and water availability.Similarly, Dhaka et al (2010) reported that mostfarmers perceived a shift in temperature distributionand its overall increase in Bundi district of Rajasthan.Ecological knowledge in relation to climate held bythe indigenous people has also been documentedfrom other parts of the world, mainly North Americaand Europe. These studies have looked at “nativeoral tradition” or indigenous knowledge to assesschanges in local climate.

Perception about impact on phenological behavior ofcrops/plants: The farmers of the study area perceivedmany effects on phenological behavior of crops /grasses and trees (Table 8). A large section ofrespondents perceived that flowering initiation doesnot occur timely but, not sure whether initiation wasearly or late. Contrary to this, 32% respondentsperceived that there is no change in time of flowerinitiation. Only 12% respondents favored early andanother set of 12% respondents perceived lateinitiation in flowering of various crops/ plantspecies. Majority of the respondents perceived, shiftin flowering intensity as well. Reduction in floweringintensity was perceived by 36% respondents, while20% perceived the increase or more flowers. Asizeable number of respondents (16%) perceivedmore flower drop even though flowering intensitywas satisfying. Some respondents (24%) perceivedthat flower intensity was normal and no changeoccur.

There was a general perception about the changein flower’s shape, size and smell in study area.Decrease in fragrance of mustard flower wasperceived by 40% respondents, while 16% believed

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S. No. Perceived impact % of total respondents Remark1. Deviation in flowering time

Early 12Late 12Normal/ no change 32Not timely 44

2. Deviation in flowering intensityLow/ less flower 36 Flowering in guava is heavy but fruit set is minimum

due to flower dropHeavy/ more flower 20Normal/ No change 24More flower but fall down 16

3. Change in flower shape/size/ smellNo difference 12 Earlier smell of mustard flower was very intense but

now-days it became very light Fragrance of mustardflower is reduced

Shape/size and smell changed 32 Small flower 16Less smell 40

4. Deviation in fruit bearing patternNo change 40 In summer early and in winter late bearing.Changed 60

5. Deviation fruit shape/size/tasteNo change 8 Mango, guava and ber became less sweet.

The taste of jamun is changed and now it gives moredryness in throat

Small size 52Bad taste 28Change in taste 12

6. Deviation in maturity duration of crop No Change 28 wheat and chick pea mature early due to increase in

temperature and water stressEarly 28Late 44

7. Change in keeping quality of fruit/vegetablesNo Change/ normal 32 Easily decay of tomato and pea within 6 to 8 days

Less decay of potato and onionEasily decay 52Less decay 12other 4

8. Change in grain quality of grain/pulses/cereals/oil seedsGrain size reduced 72 Grain size of wheat and mustard reduced

The grain of wheat shrinkReduction of oil content inmustard

Changed grain shape 8Decrease in oil content 12Increase in oil content 4Normal 4

9. Change in sowing or harvesting time of cropNormal sowing 20 Late sowing & late harvesting of paddy due to rainfall

variationEarly sowing & late harvesting 8Late sowing & early harvesting 44Late sowing & late harvesting 28

10. Change in germination time of cropNormal 36 Germination time of maize reducedEarly 12Late 52

11. Change in productivity of crop/ fruits/ vegetablesNormal/no change 0 Production of wheat, rice and tomato is decliningFood grain decreasing 92Vegetable decreasing 8

Table 8. Perception of farmers’ about impact of climate change on phenological behavior of crops /plants

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that flower size has become small. Only 12% ofrespondents did not perceive any change in flower’sshape, size and smell. There was a general perceptionamong respondents (60%) that the fruit bearingpatterns has been affected while 40% perceived nochange in fruit bearing pattern. The reduction in fruitsized is perceived by 52% respondent while 12 % feltthat taste has altered. A sizeable number ofrespondents (28%) perceived that taste of fruits hasgone bad while 8% believed that there was nodeviation in shape size or taste of fruits.

In respect of maturity duration of crops, 44%respondents perceived delay in maturity time while28% said that crop mature early. About 28%respondent did not feel any change in maturity timeof crops. The keeping quality of fruits and vegetablesis undergoing a shift as perceived by majority offarmers. Easy decaying in tomato and pea wasperceived by 52% respondents. However, 32%respondent did not see any change in keeping qualityof vegetable or fruits. Except 4% of respondents, allother have perceived changes in grain quality ofcereals, pulses and oil seeds. Reduction in grain sizeof wheat and mustard was perceived by 72% ofrespondents while 8% realized that wheat grainshrinks. Decrease in oil content in mustard wasperceived by 12% of respondents, while 4%perceived the increase. Farmers in study areaperceived shift in sowing and harvesting time ofcrops. The majority of respondents (44%) perceiveddelayed sowing and early harvesting while 28%opined late sowing and late harvesting of crops.Farmers perceived that germination time of crops isgetting altered. Majority (52%) felt that germinationget delayed while 12% perceived early germination.About 36% respondent did not perceive any shift ingermination time. The general perception of farmersis that the productivity of crops, fruits and vegetableis decreasing. The decrease in yield of wheat and riceis perceived by 92% while in tomato by 8% .

Impact of climate change on phenologicalbehavior plants was reflected in responses of farmersof Panna district. Deviation in flowering time, flowerintensity, shape, size and smell of flower, fruitbearing pattern, and shape, size, and taste of fruitshave been observed. In crops, change in maturitytime, quality of grain, sowing and harvesting time,and yield are the key indicators reflecting impact ofunusual weather and climate. According torespondents the changes which have already

occurred include increase in fruit drop in guava,decrease in size and taste of mango, jamun and otherfruits, reduction in oil content and fragrance inmustard flower, early harvesting of wheat and chickpea, shrinkage and reduction in grain size of wheatetc. Decline productivity of all crops wasunanimously felt by villagers. Our findings onphenological behavior of plants corroborates withfindings of Moza and Bhatnagar ( 2005) whosuggested changes in plant phenology (likeadvancement of flowering in Rhododendron arboreum)and movement of species (like Tagetis minuta, Lantanacamara and Eupatorium spp.) to higher ridges maybe the earliest responses to modest climate changein Himalayan region. Another study by Joshi andJoshi, (2011) reported that flowering in Rhododendron(R. arboreum) occured 1–2 months earlier (January–February instead of March–April) and the size of theflower reduced from about 7–8 inches to 4–5 inches.Early ripening of berries in the Kaphal tree (Myricasapinda, Myrica nagi), from May–June to March–Aprilalso reflected the phenological changes in tree speciesof Himalayan region.

Perception about impact on Livestock: Distributionof respondents according to their perceptionregarding impact of climate change on livestock ofthe study area has been presented in Table 9. Theperception data revealed that a steady shift in feedinghabit of domestic animals is taking place. Majorityperceived (44%) increase in stall feedings, 8%perceived decrease in grazing while 32% believedthat both stall feeding and grazing have increased.The entire respondents perceived change in age of1st calving of cattle heifers. Majority of respondentperceived increase of age at 1st calving while 12%perceived decrease. Majority of respondentsperceived that calving pattern have changed due toclimate change whereas 44% respondents perceivedno impact. Increased demand of veterinary doctordue to complications at the time of calving isperceived by 32% of respondents. In absence ofveterinary help, calves die hence increasing calf deathrate is perceived by 24% respondents. The generalperception (96%) of farmers is reduction in milkproduction. However, 4% respondents perceivedincrease in milk production due to climate change.Poultry was not domesticated in the region.

Farmers perceived that livestock productionsystem is also at risk due to changing weather andclimate. In comparison to earlier time now the cattle

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Table 9. Perception of farmers’ about impact of climate change on behavior of livestock/domestic animals

S. No. Perceived impact by farmers % of respondents Remark

1. Change in feeding habit of domestic animalsNormal / no change 16 Increase in stall feeding 44 Decrease in grazing 8 Both stall feeding and grazing have increased 32

2. Change in age of 1st calving of cattleNo change 0 Heifers of cross bred animal come early (2-3

years) in calving.Earlier desi breed heifers usedto come at 1st calving in 3 years, but now morethan 3 years (3-4 year)

Age of 1st calving reduced 12 Age of 1st calving increased 88

3. Change in calving pattern of cattleNormal/ no change 44 Veterinary doctor to be consulted as

complications at the time of calving areincreasing

Changed 32Increase in calf death rate 24

4. Change in milk ProductionNo Change 0Decreased 96Increased 4

5. Unusual behavior of poultryNot domesticated 100 Rearing of poultry is not in practice.

are to be more stall fed, which indicate that bothgrazing lands and the quality of fodder/ browse havedecreased. The poor quality fodder is manifested inpoor health of animals which, consequently increasesage of heifers to reach at 1st calving. Further, poorhealth also invites more complications in calvingprocess resulting in more deaths of newly bornecalves. The ultimate result is decrease in milkproduction. The changing trends in livestock rearingin the form of more stall feeding due to lack ofgrazing lands has also been reported by Maharjan etal (2011). They reported decrease in livestocknumber, outbreak of new disease and decrease ingrazing land in Nepal. The reduction milkproduction as an impact of climatic alteration hasalso been observed by Joshi and Joshi (2011) inmiddle Himalaya and Sarkar and Padaria (2010) incoastal ecosystem of West Bengal.

CONCLUSION

The present study concludes that the localcommunities in the Panna district of Bundelkhandseem to have extensive knowledge and clear cutperception about climate change and its impacts onagriculture, animal husbandry and biodiversity.

Their knowledge conforms to the findings generatedby other studies in different parts of the country.Delayed onset and early withdrawal of monsoonalrains, decrease in number of rainy days, increase indust storm and droughts, temperature and extremeweather events in summer as well as in winter havemultitude of impacts on livelihood and bio diversityof the region. Deviation in flowering time, flowerintensity, shape, size and smell of flower, fruitbearing pattern, and shape, size, and taste of fruitshave been observed. In crops, change in maturitytime, quality of grain, sowing and harvesting time,and yield are indicated. Decline in productivityof all crops was unanimously felt by villagers.The livestock production system appears to be atrisk due to changing weather and climate. Incomparison to earlier time, now there is increase install feeding, age of heifers to reach at 1st calving,complications in calving process resulting in moredeaths of newly borne calves and decrease in milkproduction.

REFERENCES

Chaudhary P., Rai, S., Wangdi,S., Mao,A., Rehman, N.,Chettri, S. and Bawa, K.S. 2011. Consistency of local

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perceptions of climate change in the KangchenjungaHimalayas landscape. Current Science, 101 (3): 1-10.

Dhaka, B.L., Chayal, K. and Poonia, M.K. 2010. Analysisof Farmers’ Perception and Adaptation Strategies toClimate Change. Libyan Agric. Res. Cen. J. Intl., 1 (6):388-390.

Joshi, A.K. and Joshi, P.K. 2011. A rapid inventory ofindicators of climate change in the middle Himalaya.Current Science 100(6): 831-833.

Maharjan S. K., Sigdel E. R. , Sthapit B. R. and Regmi, B.R 2011. Tharu community’s perception on climatechanges and their adaptive initiations to withstandits impacts in Western Terai of Nepal. InternationalNGO Journal Vol. 6(2):35-42.

Moza, M. K. and Bhatnagar, A. K. 2005. Current. Science89, 243–244.

Palsaniya, D.R., Dhyani, S.K., Singh, R. and Tewari, R.K.2012. Changing agro-ecological scenario with climatechange as perceived by farmers in Bundelkhand, India.Indian J. Forestry 35(1): 21-28.

Prasad, R., Ram Newaj and S.K. Dhyani 2011. LocalInnovations for Supporting Climate Resilient

Agriculture. Agroforestry Newsletter 23 (1):3-4.Salick, J. and Byg, A., Indigenous peoples and climate

change.Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research,Oxford.

Samra, J.S. 2008. Report on Drought mitigation strategyfor Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and MadhyaPradesh. Inter - Ministerial Central Team, pp144.

Sarkar, S. and Padaria, R.N. 2010. Farmers’ Awarenessand Risk perception about Climate Change in CoastalEcosystem of West Bengal. Indian Res. J. Ext. Edu. 10(2):32-38.

Singh, G. 2008. Challenges of climate change and optionsto overcome them. Intensive Agriculture, pp.9-16.

Singh, Ramesh, Rizvi, R.H., Kareemulla, K., Dadhwal, K.S.and Solanki, K.R. 2002. Rainfall analysis forinvestigation of drought at Jhansi in Bundelkhandregion. Indian J. Soil Cons. 30(2): 117-121.

Tiwari, A.K., Sharma, A.K., Bhatt, V.K. and Srivastav,M.M. 1998. Drought estimation through rainfallanalysis of Bundelkhand region. Indian J. Soil Cons.26(3): 280-283.

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Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 365-371, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Crop growth and methane emission dynamics ofsoil under different methods of transplanting of rice

PRIYANKA SURYAVANSHI1, Y. V. SINGH2, K.K. SINGH3 and Y.S. SHIVAY4

Received: 28 June 2012; Accepted: 10 October 2012

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) season of 2010 at the research farm of theIARI, New Delhi to study the influence of methods of rice transplanting and varieties on crop growth,methane emission pattern in soil and to determine the correlation between different genotypic andphenotypic characters and yield. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design(FRBD) with nine treatments combinations comprising three methods of crop establishment viz.,conventional transplanting (CT); system of rice intensification (SRI) and double transplanting (DT) andthree rice varieties viz., ‘Pusa Basmati 1401’; ‘Pusa 44’ and ‘PRH 10’. In CT, SRI and DT seedlings of21, 12 and 41 days, respectively were transplanted in puddled fields. Results showed that watermanagement through alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in SRI led to one week early maturitycompared to CT in all the three cultivars. Rice hybrid ‘PRH 10’ in SRI gave the highest grain yield (5.36t/ha) and per day productivity (46.2 kg/day/ha). Rice grain yield had significant positive correlationswith root volume (r = 0.816), effective tillers (r = 0.917), dry weight (r = 0.432) and filled grain (0.412).Crop growth rate (CGR) at 60-90 DAT was higher in ‘Pusa Basmati 1401’compared to other varieties.Significant temporal variations in the individual methane ûuxes were observed during rice growingperiod. Flux of methane was higher in early stage of crop and peaked about 21 days after transplantingcoinciding with tillering stage of crop. Methane flux was drastically increased when observation wastaken after N fertilizer (urea) application. However, methane flux declined gradually from 75 daysafter transplanting and stabilized at the harvest stage of rice in all the 3 methods of transplanting.

Key words: correlation, methane emission pattern, per day productivity, phenology, riceyield, SRI

1 & 4 Agronomy Division2 Centre for Conservation and Utilization of Blue Green Algae (E mail: yvsingh63@yahoo.co.in)3 Seed Production Unit, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

INTRODUCTION

Rice is not only a food commodity but also asource of foreign exchange earning of about Rs 11,000crores annually in India. Based on the populationgrowth (1.4%) and per capita consumption (215-230g/day), the projected demand for rice in India by2025 would be around 130 million tonnes(Mahendra,2000). Irrigated rice production is the largestconsumer of water in the agricultural sector, and itssustainability is threatened by increasing watershortages. Such water scarcity necessitates thedevelopment of alternative irrigated rice systems thatrequire less water than traditional flooded rice(Bouman et al. 2005). Rice crop is known to have verylow water use-efficiency and under irrigated

conditions it consumes 3,000 to 5,000 litres of waterto produce one kilogram of rice. The high waterdemand for lowland rice cultivation is due to highunproductive water losses (> 80% of water applied),evaporation (16-18%), surface run-off andpercolation (50–72%) (Stroosnijder, 1982). Globally,about 90% of the fresh water is used for irrigatedagriculture and of this >50% is used in ricecultivation. Water scarcity is becoming more andmore a global concern and in India signs of waterscarcity are already evident in agricultural areas.Global availability of water has declined from 3,500m3 person-1 year-1 in 1,950 to 1,250 m3 person-1 year-

1 in 2003 and is estimated to be 760 m3 person-1 year-

1 in 2050. So there is a need to grow rice with lesswater without compromising yield.

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Paddy fields are considered as a significant sourceof methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions,which have attracted considerable attention due totheir contribution to global warming (Hadi et al.2010). Paddy cultivation occupies about 44 millionha in the Indian subcontinent, the largest in Asia,and is one of the major sources of methane emission.Indian rice fields are often blamed to be majorcontributors of atmospheric methane (Bhatia et al.,2004). CH4 emissions are controlled by variousfactors under ûeld conditions, including the waterregime and soil characteristics (Yan et al. 2009). Inpermanent ûooded ûelds, methane emissions aremuch higher than those in mid-season drained ûelds(Cai et al. 2003; Mosier et al. 2004). The developmentof efficient irrigation water management minimizesthe emission of these gases from paddy soil andintermittent drainage has been proposed as arecommended water management to reduce CH4emission from paddy soil (Hadi et al. 2010). Systemof Rice Intensification (SRI) has been proposed as astrategy which is more efficient, resource-saving, andproductive way to practice rice farming. SRI,developed in Madagascar with the help of Malagasyfarmers, involves reduced water application,including adoption of alternate wet and dryIrrigation (AWDI) as a part of a new strategy of riceintensification i.e. growing rice under mostly aerobicsoil conditions(Uphoff et al. 2011). Doubletransplanting has been reported as promisingmethod of transplanting, especially under contingentconditions (Routray, 2006; Akter et al. 2008) however,it has not been evaluated in terms of greenhouse gasemission potential. Considering these facts, theexperiment was undertaken to study the effect ofdifferent transplanting methods on plant growth ofrice and methane emission pattern from soil.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The experiment was conducted during rainy(kharif) season (June-November) of 2010 at theresearch farm of Indian Agricultural ResearchInstitute, New Delhi, situated at a latitude of 28o40’N and longitude of 77o12’ E, altitude of 228.6 metersabove the mean sea level (Arabian Sea). The meanannual rainfall of Delhi is 650 mm and more than80% generally occurs during the south-westmonsoon season (July-September) with mean annualevaporation 850 mm. However during the year 2010,more than normal rainfall was received. There was

929.8 mm rainfall during June to November and July,August and September months had 9, 11 and 15number of rainy days, respectively. The soils ofexperimental field had 139.9 kg ha-1 alkalinepermanganate oxidizable N, 15.64 kg ha-1 availableP, 283.2 kg 1 N ammonium acetate exchangeable Kand 0.56% organic carbon. The pH of soil was 7.8 (1:2.5 soil and water ratio).

The experiment was laid out in factorialrandomized block design with nine treatmentscombinations comprising of three methods of cropestablishment viz., conventional transplanting (CT);system of rice intensification (SRI) and doubletransplanting (DT) and 3 rice varieties/ hybrid viz.,‘Pusa Basmati 1401; ‘Pusa 44’ and ‘PRH 10’ and thesetreatments were replicated four times. In CT, twenty-one days old seedlings of rice varieties weretransplanted at 20 cm × 10 cm spacing keeping 2seedlings hill-1. For DT, uprooted seedlings weretransplanted on another land in closer spacing (7.5cm x 7.5 cm). When the total age of these seedlingsbecame 41 days, they were uprooted again andtransplanted on the main field. For SRI, 12 days oldseedlings were transplanted in main field. Inconventional and double transplanting method 5 cmcropping water was maintained from transplantingto grain filling stage of crop and later only moist soilconditions were maintained. However in SRI,alternate wetting and drying conditions weremaintained throughout the cropping season. In theexperiment equal dose of inorganic fertilizers(120:60:40) kg N, P2O5 and K2O ha-1 was applied inall the treatments. Observations on plant growth,yield attributes and yield were recorded by standardmethods. Crop growth rate (CGR) referred to the drymatter accumulation of the crop per unit land areain unit of time expressed as g m-2 d-1. The mean CGRvalues for the crop during the sampling intervalswere computed using the formula of Brown (1984).

CGR (g m-2 d-1) = W2-W1 ÷ SA (t2-t1)Where,SA= Ground area occupied by the plant at each

sampling. W1 and W2 are the total dry matterproduction in grams at the time t1 and t2,respectively.

Methane gas sample collection and analysis

Collection of gas samples for methane (CH4 )was carried out by the closed-chamber techniqueusing the chambers of 50 cm x 30 cm x 100 cm (length

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x width x height) (Pathak et al. 2002). First samplewas taken on 14 July (7 DAT) and it was followed bysampling at 14, 21, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 105 DAT inCT and SRI. In DT first sampling was done with thethird sampling (21DAT) in other two methods ofstand establishment. This chamber was placedbetween the rows of the plants and one hill was keptinside the chamber. One fan was installed in this boxfor homogenization of gas in the chamber.Onealuminium metal platform was inserted in soil tokeep the box and water was filled in groves toprevent the leakage of gas. One hill of rice seedlingswere covered in each sampling chamber. Gassamples were drawn with 50 ml syringe with thehelp of a hypodermic needle (24 gauge) at 0, 15and 30 min for CH4. The samples of gases werecollected and brought to the laboratory where theywere analyzed within 2 hours. Concentration of CH4in the gas samples was estimated by GasChromatograph ûtted with a ûame ionizationdetector (FID). Samples of three replications weretaken from each method of stand establishment andthe mean was taken as the representative value forthat method.

A gas chromatograph meter fitted with a 6–1/8-ft stainless-steel column (Porapack N; length × innerdiameter: 3 m × 2 mm) and a flame ionizationdetector (FID) was used for measuring CH4. Fordetermination of methane, N2 (flow rate330 ml min”1), H2 (flow rate 30 ml min”1), and zeroair (flow rate 400 ml min”1) were used as the carrier,fuel and supporting gas, respectively. Column,injector and detector temperature were set at 55, 100and 200°C, respectively.

The gas emission flux was calculated from thedifference in gas concentration according to theequation of Zheng et al. (1998).

where F is the gas emission flux (mg m”2 h”1), ñ isthe gas density at the standard state, h is the heightof chamber above the soil (m), C is the gas mixingratio concentration (mg m”3), t is the time intervalsof each time (h), and T is the mean air temperatureinside the chamber during sampling.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Effect on plant growth and yield

Tillering is an important morpho-physiologicaltrait for grain yield in rice. Conventionaltransplanting (CT) recorded an increase in tillersfrom 387.3 (60 DAT) to 472.0 at 90 DAT which wassignificantly higher than SRI being 325.6 and 426 at60 and 90 DAT, respectively (Table 1). Doubletransplanting (DT) registered lowest number oftillers at 30 and 60 DAT, but DT was at par with SRIin tiller count at 90DAT. Rice hybrid, ‘PRH 10’produced significantly higher number of tillerscompared to inbred varieties ‘Pusa Basmati 1401’ and‘Pusa 44’. Lu et al. (2004) also reported higher numberof tillers in closer spacing that contributed to obtainhigher yield. ‘PRH 10’ produced significantly highernumber of tillers at all the observations as comparedto inbred varieties ‘Pusa Basmati 1401’ and ‘Pusa 44’.Yoshida (1972) reported that rice hybrid variety hadmore tillering capacity than inbred variety. Higherdry matter production is the ultimate goal ofapplication of any inputs in crop because it is directlyrelated to the yield. At 60 DAT, SRI recordedsignificantly higher dry matter accumulation (246.3g m-2) followed by CT (225.7 g m-2) and DT (214.4 gm-2). However, at 90 DAT, both SRI and DT werestatistically at par. Among the varieties,‘ PRH 10’

Treatment Total tillers (m-2) Dry matter accumulation (g m-2) CGR(g m-2day -1)

60 DAT 90 DAT 60 DAT 90 DAT 60-90 DATPlanting MethodConventional 387.2 472.0 225.7 744.4 17.7SRI 327.8 426.8 246.3 775.9 17.7Double transplanting 262.3 450.8 214.4 739.2 17.1LSD (P=0.05) 36.10 27.34 17.19 26.84 NS

Variety‘PRH 10’ 328.2 438.6 240.9 773.4 17.8‘Pusa Basmati 1401’ 309.8 430.6 218.8 771.5 18.2‘Pusa 44’ 339.3 480.3 226.8 714.8 16.5LSD (P=0.05) NS 27.34 17.19 26.84 1.1

Table 1. Effect of methods of crop establishment and varieties on plant growth parameters

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produced the highest dry matter (241.0 g m-2) whichwas significantly higher than ‘Pusa 44’ (226.8 g m-2)and ‘Pusa Basmati 1401’ (218.8 g m-2) at 60 and 90DAT. The rapid increase of dry matter was observedbetween 60 DAT and 90 DAT. It was due to themaximum growth and tillering of plant in thisperiod. After 70 DAT although tillers mortality andsenescence occurred but reproductive partscontributed a considerable amount of dry matter inplant. Crop growth rate (CGR) was significantlyaffected by genotypes between 60-90 DAT, themaximum being in ‘Pusa Basmati 1401’. Aftermaximum vegetative stage (90 DAT) the growth ratedeclined. However, CGR among the methods ofcultivation was at par.

Rice hybrid ‘PRH 10’ performed better over thevarieties ‘Pusa 44’ and ‘PB 1401’ under SRI comparedto CT. All the three cultivars performed better in SRIthan than CT and DT, but ‘PRH 10’ gave the highestyield in SRI (5.3 t/ha).(Table 2). Per day grainproductivity was higher in SRI in all three varietiescompared o CT and DT. Contrary to the perceptionthat SRI method is genotype neutral, significantdifferences were observed between the varietiesunder SRI in terms of grain yield. Nissanka andBandara (2004) reported that grain yield was 7.6 tha-1 in the SRI and it was 9% greater than theconventional transplanting and they suggested thatthe higher grain yield production in the SRI farmingsystem might be attributed to the vigorous andhealthy growth, development of more productivetillers and leaves ensuring greater resourceutilization in the SRI compared to conventionaltransplanting. Since seed requirement is quite lowin SRI, this could be the best method for cultivatinghybrids whose seed cost is relatively highercompared to inbreds.

In this experiment total duration of crop wasreduced in SRI compared to CT and DT (Table 2). Amean reduction of 11 days to 50% flowering was

recorded across the methods and varieties. Cropmaturity was found 8 to 10 days earlier than CT andDT in all the cultivars. Thus SRI can help in watersaving and timely sowing of succeeding crop. Parayeand Kandalkar(1994) reported a delay of 8 days inflowering due to the delay in transplanting by 20days.Uphoff (2005) reported that SRI requiredreduced time for maturity. Due to reduction induration and increase in yields, per day cropproductivity was found to be the highest in ‘PRH10’ grown under SRI method (46.2 kg/day/ha) andit was lowest in‘Pusa Basmati 1401’ under CT (27kg/day/ha). Similar results were reported earlier(Ramesh, 2007; Subba Rao, 2007).

Yield formation in cereals is a complexcoordinated process that involves the build-up andsubsequent re-assimilation of yield components.These processes are under genetic control andstrongly affected by environmental conditions. Thecorrelation among the various plant growth, yieldattributes and yield were estimated which indicatedall the yield attributes were highly correlated withyield. The attributes like ear bearing tillers, filledgrains per panicle, 1000-grain weight and panicleweight showed high positive correlations with grainyield (Table 3). The positive correlation between rootvolume and grain yield also was recorded (Fig 1).

Table 2. Effect of methods of crop establishment and varieties of rice on maturity period, grain yield and per day grainproductivity

Parameter Conventional transplanting SRI Double transplantingV1 V2 V3 V1 V2 V3 V1 V2 V3

Days to 50% flowering 90 115 98 86 110 95 98 122 105Days to maturity 121 144 128 116 134 121 128 156 136Grain yield (t ha-1) 4.90 4.48 4.18 5.36 4.93 4.78 4.73 4.33 4.35Per day grain productivity 40.4 31.1 32.6 46.2 36.8 39.5 36.9 27.7 31.9(kg ha-1)

V1 = ‘PRH 10’, V2 = ‘Pusa Basmati 1401’ and V3 = ‘Pusa 44’

Fig 1: Relationship between grain yield and root volume(cc/0.3 m2) in rice

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Similar findings were reported by Geetha (1993) andMeenakshi et al. (1999).

Methane emission pattern

The pattern of methane ûux from rice transplantedwith three different methods was analysed bymeasuring methane at 7, 15, 21, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 and105 days after transplanting (Fig.2). The methane fluxfluctuated between 79.7 to 482.0 under CT; 46.0 to315.0 in SRI and 86.7 to 467.3 in DT. Considerabletemporal variations in the individual methane ûuxeswere observed. Methane ûuxes increased sharply toa very high level right after transplanting of rice andpeaked within about 3 week in SRI and CT, thendecreased gradually to a negligible amount towardsharvest. In DT, flux peak was noticed in firstobservation itself. Results indicated that overallmethane emission concentrations were higher attillering stage of crop. The methane flux peaks werefound when observations were taken at 21 and 60DAT, after application of chemical fertilizer (urea).Methane flux came to mean levels, few days after

application of fertilizer. The flux of methane wasgenerally higher in early stage of crop and peakedabout one month after transplanting at a late tilleringstage. Methane flux declined gradually 75 days aftertransplanting and stabilized at the harvest stage ofrice in all the 3 methods of transplanting. Cumulativemethane flux was highest in conventionaltransplanting throughout followed by doubletransplanting and SRI. Lindau et al. (1991) alsoshowed that urea fertilization increased CH4emissions by 86% with the application of 300 kg Nha-1 when compared with the control plot. Higheremission of methane due to urea application couldalso be due to the presence of blue green algaebiofertilizer, which provided mediation of CH4transport from floodwater of rice soil into theatmosphere (Ying et al. 2000). In this field blue greenalgae was applied in previous years and this field isunder rice-wheat cropping since last 10 years. Ahigher CH4 emission at tillering stage is generallydue to the lower rhizospheric CH4 oxidation andmore effective transport mediated by rice plants. Fluxof methane was generally higher in early stage ofcrop and peaked about one month after transplantingcoinciding with active tillering stage of the crop.Methane flux declined gradually from 75 days aftertransplanting and stabilized at the physiologicalmaturity of rice in all the 3 methods of transplanting.Cumulative methane flux was the highest inconventional transplanting throughout followed bydouble transplanting and SRI. Total methaneemission was highest in CT (32.33 kg ha-1) followedby DT (29.30 kg ha-1) and SRI (19.93 kg ha-1). Globalwarming potential (GWP) of CT was the highest(807.4 kg CO2 ha-1) followed by DT (732.5 kg CO2ha-1) in and SRI (498.25 kg CO2 ha-1). The highermethane emission under flooded rice has beenreported (Bhatia et al. 2005). Hadi et al. (2010)suggested that intermittent irrigation and drainage

Table 3. Correlation between plant growth, yield attributes and grain yield of rice

Effective Dry Total Filled Fertility Panicle Test Graintillers weight grain grain index weight weight yield

Effective tillers 1.000 0.315 0.515 0.611* 0.634* 0.722** 0.571 0.910**Dry weight 1.000 -0.508 -0.403 0.174 -0.123 -0.367 0.432Total grain 1.000 0.977** 0.380 0.627 0.810** 0.306Filled grain 1.000 0.568 0.614* 0.778 0.409Fertility index 1.000 0.252 0.273 0.578Panicle weight 1.000 0..860** 0.772**Test weight 1.000 0.539Grain yield 1.000

Fig. 2. Effect of methods of rice transplanting on methane flux

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can be a suitable option to reduce greenhouse gasemission from paddy soil in Japan and Indonesia. InSRI, alternate drying and wetting conditions weremaintained and these conditions reduced methaneemission. CH4 emission fluxes peak was recorded at60 DAT also. It may be possibly due to the fact thatrice was at the highest growing stage, the availableorganic carbon in the form of root exudates increased(Kumaraswamy et al. 2000), which led to an increasein methanogen population. But, at later growthstages of rice, CH4 emission fluxes decline gradually(Yoshida, 1978) and CH4 was at relatively low levelsat physiological maturity of crop. This was due todrainage from the fields as a result there was increasein the activities of the oxidized phase and decreasedactivity of the reduced phase, leading to a gradualincrease in the Eh of soil (Takai, 1970). Due tomaintenance of aerobic conditions in SRI, the activityof methane producing bacteria was less and thusmethane production was much lower under SRI. Indouble transplanting method, methane emission fluxmaintained the trend as found in CT, but due to latetransplanting in DT by 20 days, total methaneemission was low. The variations in methaneemission from soils planted with different riceestablishment methods are in agreement with thefindings reported by other researchers (Kludze et al.1996). The root exudates have been implicated to bethe major source of methane in rice and aconsiderable variation in the root exudate pattern ofdifferent rice varieties exists (Ghosh et al. 1995).

System of rice intensification (SRI) was found veryfavourable in terms of better crop growth, yieldattributes and yield of rice. Rice hybrid ‘PRH 10’ maybe more suitable for SRI compared to inbredvarieties. Reduced water application in SRIsupplemented by reduced duration can considerablyreduce water use without compromising yield.Methane emission also was considerably lower inSRI thus it was better for the environment.

REFERENCES

Akter, M.S., Islam, M.A., Amin, H.A. and Bakul, M.R.A.2008.Comparative efficiency of separated tiller vsbolon practice in t-aman rice. Bangladesh Res. Publ. J. 1:255-263.

Bhatia, A., Pathak, H. and Aggarwal, P. K. 2005. Inventoryof methane and nitrous oxide emissions fromagricultural soils of India and their global warmingpotential. Current Sci. 87(3): 317-324.

Bouman, B.A.M., Peng, S., Castaneda, A.R. and Visperas,R.M. 2005.Yield and water use of irrigated tropicalaerobic rice systems. Agricultural Water Management74:87–105.

Cai, Z., Sawamoto, T., Li, C., Kang, G., Boonjawat, J.,Mosier, A., Wassmann, R., and Tsuruta, H. 2003. Fieldvalidation of the DNDC model for greenhouse gasemissions in East Asian cropping systems, GlobalBiogeochemical Cycles 17: 1104-1107.

Geetha, S. 1993. Relationship between straw and grainyield in rice. Agril. Sci. Digest. 13(3): 145-146

Ghosh S, Jain MC, Sinha S(1995) Estimates of globalmethane production from rice paddies based onsubstrate requirement, Current Sci. 69: 937–939.

Hadi, A., Inubushi, K. and Yagi, K. 2010. Effect of watermanagement on greenhouse gas emissions andmicrobial properties of paddy soils in Japan andIndonesia. Paddy Water Env. 8: 319–324.

Kludge HK, Kludze D.1996. Soil redox intensity effectson oxygen exchange and growth of cattail andsawgrass. J Soil Sci Soc America. 35: 616–621.

Kumaraswamy S, Rath AK, Ramakrishnan B, SethunathanN.2000. Wetland rice soils as sources and sinks ofmethane: a review and prospects for research. Biol FertSoils 31 (6): 449-461.

Lindau CW, Bollich PK, Delaune RD, Patrick WH, LawVJ. 1991. Effects of urea fertilizer and environmentalfactors on CH4 emissions from Louisiana, USA ricefield. Plant Soil. 136:195-203.

Lu W.F., Chen W., Duan B.W., Guo W.M., Lu Y. andLantin R.S. 2000. Methane emissions and mitigationoptions in irrigated rice fields in southeast China.Nutri. Cycl. Agroecosys. 58:65-73.

Mahendra K.R.2000. System of Rice Intensification (SRI)–Present Status and Future Prospects. Rice systemmanagement portal. Directorate of Rice Research,Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, p 2-5.

Meenakshi T, Amirathadevarativum and BackiyarniS.1999. Correlation and path analysis of yield andsome physiological characters in rainfed rice. Oryza36: 154-156

Mosier A, King J, Palm C.2004.Methane and nitrous oxidefluxes in tropical agricultural soils: sources, sinks andmechanism. Environ Devlop Sustain 6:11-49.

Nissanka, S.P. and Bandara, T. 2004.Comparison ofproductivity of system of rice intensification andconventional rice farming systems in the dry-zoneregion of Sri Lanka. New directions for a diverseplanet: Proceedings of the 4th International CropScience Congress. Brisbane, Australia, 26 Sep.-1 Oct.2004, pp.100-114.

Paraye, P.M. and Kandalkar, V.S. 1994. Effect of seedlingage on long duration, rainfed variety of rice (Oryzasativa) under delayed transplanting. Indian J. Agric. Sci.,64(3): 187-188.

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Pathak, H., Bhatia, A., Shiv Prasad, Singh, S., Kumar, S.,Jain, M.C. and Kumar, U. 2002: Emission of nitrousoxide from soil in rice-wheat systems of Indo-Gangeticplains of India, Environmental Monitoring andAssessment 77 (2):163–178.

Ramesh B.P. 2007. Response of Rice varieties to SRImethod of cultivation. In extended Summaries ofNational System of Rice Intensification (SRI) held atAgartala, Tripura, p 58.

Rautray, S.K. 2006. Yield and economics of promising rice(Oryza sativa) hybrids under double transplanting inlate spring summer (boro) situation. Indian J. Agric.Sci. 76(8):469-471

Stroosnijder, L.1982. Soil evaporation: Test of a practicalapproach under semi-arid conditions. Netherland J.Agi. Sci,. 35: 417-426.

Subba Rao, L.V., Mahender Kumar, R., Chaitanya, U.,Padmavathi, Ch., Surekha, K., Latha, P.C., Prasad,M.S., Rupela, O.P., Vinod Goud., Shobha Rani, N andViraktamath, B.C. 2007.Quality Seed Productionthrough System of Rice Intensification (SRI) inextended Summaries of National System of RiceIntensification (SRI)’ held at Agartala, Tripura, –p58.

Takai, Y. 1970. The mechanism of methane fermentationin flooded paddy soil. Soil Sci. Plant Nutition. 16: 238-244.

Uphoff, N. 2005. Possible explanations for the productivitygains achieved with the System of Rice Intensification(SRI). In: Transitions in Agriculture for enhancing WaterProductivity . Proceedings of an InternationalSymposium held in Killikulam, Tamil Nadu, Indiaduring 23-25, September 2003.

Uphoff, N., Kassam, K. and Harwood, R. 2011. SRI as amethodology for raising crop and water productivity:productive adaptations in rice agronomy andirrigation water management. Paddy WaterEnvironment. 9:3-11

Ying Z, Boecky P, Chen GX, Van Cleemput O.2000.Influence of Azolla on methane emission from ricefields. Nutr Cycling Agroecosyst 58: 321–326.

Yoshida, S. 1972. Physiological aspects of grain yield.Annual Review Plant Physiology 23:437-464.

Yoshida T .1978. Microbial metabolism in rice soils. In:IRRI (ed) Soil and rice. IRRI, Los Banos, Philippines,pp. 445–436.

Zhang L, Yu D, Shi X, Weindorf D, Zhao L, Ding W, WangH, Pan J, Li CS.1998. Quantifying methane emissionsfrom rice fields in the Taihu Lake region, China bycoupling a detailed soil database with biogeochemicalmodel. Biogeosciences 6: 739–749.

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Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(4): 372-379, October-December 2012ISSN: 022-457X

Role of communication technologies forenhancing farmers’ agricultural knowledge

V.K. BHARTI1, HANS RAJ2, SURAJ BHAN3 and PANKAJ KUMAR

Received: 12 December 2011; Accepted: 18 June 2012

ABSTRACT

Development experiences of the last decades have shown that human resources development is essentialfor food security and market integration. New agricultural technologies are generated by researchinstitutes, universities, private companies, and by the farmers themselves. Agricultural advisory services(including traditional extension, consultancy, business development and agricultural informationservices) are expected to disseminate new technologies amongst farming community. The role of researchand advisory services is to give highly accurate, specific and unbiased technical and managementinformation and advice in direct response to the needs of the farmers. Due to poor linkages betweenresearch and advisory services, the adoption of new agricultural technologies by farmers is often veryslow and research is not focusing on the actual needs of farmers. In Agricultural Knowledge andInformation Systems, people and institutions are linked together to promote and enable mutual learningand generate, share and use agriculture-related technology, knowledge, skills and information. Thesystem integrates farmers, agricultural educators, researchers, extension workers and the private sectorto harness knowledge and information from various sources for better farming and improved livelihoods.The areas like; soil fertility, soil health, climate change, environment, effective utilization of water forhigher productivity, watershed management, natural resource management, post harvest technologies,are the burning issues which are to be addressed effectively to farming community in order to enhancetheir knowledge which will make us agriculturally sustainable in future.

Key words: community radio, traditional media, development communication, indigenoustechnology, mass media, village level workers

1 Chief Production Officer, 2 Information System Officer, Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agriculture, ICAR,KAB-I, New Delhi-1100123 President, Soil Conservation Society of India, New Delhi-110012

INTRODUCTION

India is an agricultural country, where 70 per centpopulation is dependent on agriculture. Agricultureis the backbone of Indian economy. Agriculture isthe main source of earning livelihood of the people.The planners in developing countries realized thatthe development of agriculture could be hastenedwith the effective use of mass media. Mass mediaplays a crucial role in information distribution.Radio, Television has been acclaimed to be the mosteffective media for transforming knowledge to thefarmers. The television and radio, which is a strongmedia of communication is of vital importance andsignificant, as they transfer modern agricultural

technology to literate and illiterate farmers alike evenin interior areas, within very short time. With themain stream of Indian population engaged activelyin agriculture, television could serve as a suitablemedium of dissemination of farm information andlatest technical know – how. The farmers can easilyunderstand the operations, technology andinstruction through television. Community radio,social media and traditional medias are still playingimportant role in enhancing the knowledge of thefarmers in India.

Today is the age of communication, and if onesays that every sphere of life is booming only due tothe communication revolution, it is not exaggeration

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of the facts. Farm sector is not an exception, as eachand every aspect of modern agriculture is to becommunicated to the final user of the technology inthe shortest possible time i.e. without a time lag.Indian farmers are using all available media ofcommunication to become up-to-date in the latestagriculture information. (Jangid 2003).

Community Radio: an effective tool for agriculturaldevelopment

In India, where literacy remains a substantialbarrier to development, radio especially communityradio, can reach a large number of poor peoplebecause it is affordable and uses less electricity. In2000, AIR programmes could be heard in two-thirdof all Indian households in 24 languages and 146dialects, over some 120 million radio sets.Community Radio gives a voice to the communitythey serve with programmes in local languages,respecting local culture, traditions and interests.Community Radio provides a counterbalance to theincreasing globalization and commercialization ofmedia. Most TV and radio stations, including publicstations, are concentrated in urban areas.

In the more remote, rural areas, Community Radiostations are often the only media available, wherethey are listened to by large parts of the population.Community Radio stations fill the gap left bynational and commercial media, and reach localaudiences the national media ignore. They fulfill therole of public broadcaster, informing the public at alocal level, and representing their views. In this way,they give a voice to the voiceless, enabling people tospeak and make their opinions, grievances and ideasknown to those who have the power to makedecisions.

Community radio and internetThe internet holds potential for development,

especially in rural areas. For example, informationabout agriculture, environment, health can bedownloaded from it, it can be used to connect healthworkers, agricultural extension workers or ordinaryvillage, with technical experts to discuss someparticular problem and it can be use to putcommunities in contact with each other for onlinediscussions and debates about issues that effectsthem.

Community radio for agricultural developmentAgriculture has always been a highly knowledge-

intensive sector requiring continuous informationflow. Farmers’ quest for authentic, credible andusable information both from established systemsand traditional practices is ever increasing in thisfluctuating global environment, to operate efficientlyand compete economically. The rapid changeshappening around with WTO/globalization,uncontrolled urbanization, uncertainty in climatechange, discerning consumer segment and continuedfarm crisis emphasize the importance of timely,appropriate and need based information andknowledge to meet myriad developmentalchallenges.Effective extension, education andcommunication services are probably some of the keystrategies for sustaining agricultural growth,strengthening food security and combating hungerand malnutrition. However, diverse socio-culturalbackgrounds, linguistic barriers, geographicalremoteness and differential incentives make the taskof information dissemination challenging.

Radio is a powerful communication tool. India’spost-independence experiments with ICT use inagricultural development started with radio. Anetwork of All India Radio (AIR) stations wereestablished across the country that broadcastagricultural programmes in regional languages. AIR(now Prasar Bharati) has been playing a significantrole since many years – bringing new technologicalinformation on agriculture and other allied subjectsto the farmers. With the recent liberalization of thebroadcasting licensing policy, Community Radio hasreceived a new impetus in India. This form ofparticipatory communication has proved to be verysuccessful as a tool for social and economicdevelopment at grass root level. The localcommunity needs which are often neglected by themainstream media could be adequately addressedby community radio. Even farmer to farmerextension can be easily made possible throughadequate capacity building as the HAM radioexperience underway in Tamil Nadu and AndhraPradesh shows.

Experience with rural radio has shown thepotential for agricultural extension to benefit fromboth the reach and the relevance that localbroadcasting can achieve through participatorycommunication approaches. Extension workers useradio for communicating information on newmethods & techniques, giving timely informationabout the control of crop pests & diseases, weather,

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market news, etc. For this purpose, talks, groupdiscussions, folksongs, dialogues & dramas areusually organised.

There is an interesting combination of approachesin the use of rural radio for agriculture extension.They are locally focussed, using indigenousknowledge to build on local cultural and agro-ecological diversity, blending with technology andscientific innovation. Also a two way communicationof sharing farmers experience can be an interestingadaptation. Historically agriculture extension hasoften failed to communicate technical informationto farmers in a way that has enabled it to be adoptedlocally. Thus the combinations of approaches strikean effective balance between indigenous andscientific approaches to agricultural development.However using radio for agriculture extension is justone dimension, as rural radio can serve multiple rolesof extending socio-economic development in ruralareas such as health, nutrition, sanitation etc.

Traditional media: an effective communication Tool tosustain rural agriculture

Communication plays an important role in thedevelopment of nation. It is a process through whichmessage, ideas, feelings and facts are conveyed tohave common understanding. The usefuldevelopmental messages need to convey to the targetgroup through various communication approachedand should be understood in the context of its socialstructure. To approach rural farmers to makeefficient, productive and sustainable use of their landand other agricultural resources it is necessary toprovide information, advice, education and trainingby using traditional media. In India majority of thepopulation belong to rural area, where thesetraditional media is grass root culture of the ruralpopulation. They serve as a significant tool in theprocess of motivating people in desired direction.With this concept certain traditional media areidentified for making people aware about the conceptof organic farming system which includes farm visits,demonstration, and street play, motivational toursetc. as it help in making the task of nation buildingand socio economic development easier andacceptable to rural masses.

Communication through traditional media

Providing knowledge to the farmers foragriculture plays an important role in achieving foodsecurity of the nation. It will strengthen and reframe

the agricultural system for healthy and better lifestyle. This world consequently help them to protecttheir natural assets like land and water thereforeorganic farming practices help rural farmers forsustainable land and other natural resources.

Sustainable development can only take placethrough an integrated approach in which the presentsituation is accepted as starting point. Whileconsidering agriculture, an understanding of thepresent farming, and land use systems and naturalresource management is necessary. This has to becombined with the limitation and possibilities ofnatural ecosystem as well as the study of theagricultural knowledge and experience of thefarming communities. It is important to developunderstanding of the present situation, assessmentof the potentials for agriculture development withinavailable physical, biological and human resourcesin a region.

In rural setting the things are often worse forfarmers. Changes from traditional to conventionalfarming practices did not bring much expectedimprovement of the lifestyle and income earningcapacity. It did not being the much needed neitherfood security nor it bring harmony between people,and harmony with nature. Organic farming systemis directed towards enhancing natural life, protectingecosystem and natural resources. The organicmovement has a responsibility in empoweringfarmers to enable them to play an active role in theirdevelopment and improving life style.

Traditional media can be the most effective inrural area, tribal area and among illiterates as theydo not understand the language of moderncommunication. Therefore, traditional media isnothing but the tool of communication having specialcharacteristics to express socio-cultural, religious,moral and emotional needs of the people of societyto which they belong.

Traditional media used to sustain rural agriculture

To create awareness, traditional media plays animportant role as it help farmers to make efficient,productive and sustainable use of their land andother agricultural resources through the providinginformation, training and education. In thisreference, certain traditional media need to identifyto assist farm people to improve farming methodsand techniques, to increase production, efficiencyand income which ultimately improve their level ofliving and lift the social and educational standards

100

October-December 2012] ROLE OF COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES 375

of rural life.Farm Visit: Meeting individual farmers or groupof farmers in their farm can make themcomfortable to share their problems. Whengroup of farmers are present, they can discusstheir local problems and solution can be givento them immediately.Training: To give training of new techniques andmethods. Practical knowledge is more effectiveand removes all doubts and problems. Trainingcan be organized in village farm itself.Demonstration: Demonstration is useful tool forthe transfer of knowledge and encouragesfarmers to try new ideas and technology whichis suitable in their area.Agriculture Fair: In case of organic farmingsystem fairs are helpful to create awarenessabout improved technology among largenumber of people within a short period of time.It helps farmers to see new technology, methodsdisplayed by other farmers and government andnon government agencies. It provides somerelevant literature and discuss in a lively andinformal atmosphere.Visit and Motivational Tour: Visit to other farmand research organization or people who aresuccessful in this area give farmers anopportunity to interact directly with experts inthis area. Their problems will be solved on thespot and they are motivated also as seen otherssuccessful in this field.Puppet: This is most popular to educate people.It is a dramatic expression with the help of littlecreatures called puppets. This will addentertainment in the whole process. Thus,traditional media have capacity to change andadopt the socio political situation. Message isfully realised when it passes through the attitudeand behavioural pattern of the people.

Traditional media has found an effective tool inrural setup. They are used for educational purposeand as a tool to reform society. It is accepted by ruralmass because it convey educational message throughentertainment, colour, costume and dance. As itconstitutes an integral part of the culture, theaudience is able to identify itself with the experienceprovided by traditional media.

Social media to empower farmersFarming has, as always, been a sociable sort of

business. Farmers chat with other farmers to pickup cultivation tips and news about the outside world.Till now, the chats were face to face under the villagebanyan tree. Now, farmers are spreading the word,whether personal or business, through email, SMS,Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs. And it is noteenage fad. Social media has become Indian farm’slatest survival tool. It is true that there are very fewcomputers in India’s six lakh villages. Less than 0.5%of families have internet facility at home, says theNational Sample Survey Organisation report onexpenditure in 2009-10. But that is no longer a barrierto internet access. With mobile phones in the pocketsof four out of every 10 rural people, internet,Facebook and email are a push-button away. Thishas transformed the game.

The social media revolution is operating at severallevels. It empowers farmers with knowledge.Farmers continuously need information about newseeds, pest attacks, weather and rainfall, machinery,plant protection and prices. This helps them choosethe right crop, utilise resources efficiently, maximiseyield and income.

A host of SMS-based services are replacingtraditional sources of information such as TV, radio,newspaper, extension workers and the local dealersand brokers that were neither timely nor reliable. Forinstance, Reuters Market Light, and IffcoKisanSanchar, launched in some states in 2007 and 2008,is now becoming popular. Farmers pay to getcustomized SMSes and voice mails, several timesdaily, in the local language, which provide a varietyof information throughout the cultivation cycle oftheir chosen crops, right up to mandi prices.

Social media encourages smarter farming throughopportunities to learn from agricultural experts,progressive farmers and the community’s thoughtleaders. Agropedia, spearheaded by IIT-Kanpur, istrying to create a kind of Facebook for agriculturewhere experts from across India can easilycommunicate with each other. Social media is ableto cross the hurdle of illiteracy that has left smalland marginal farmers to the mercy of traders andmiddlemen. Services such as Digital Green, SpokenWeb, ConspeakousVoiceGen and VoiKiosk are usingaudio and video uploads to convey crop and marketinformation. A mobile-based service, calledGappaGoshti, allows Maharashtra farmers to sendaudio and video messages without using the keypad.During a tour of Punjab, two users shared videos of

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376 BHARTI ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

paddy fields on the social network. The rest of theusers in Maharashtra could see the fields withoutactually travelling to Punjab.

Social media is allowing farmers to take chargeof their lives. With this ‘invisible technology’ underthe hood, people with no access to newspapers, TVor radios that broadcast in their native language, arebecoming citizen reporters by using audio and videoto record events in and around their fields, theirvillages and their community.

Mobile news service CGnetSwara (Voice ofChhattisgarh), developed with the help of MicrosoftResearch India, is transforming how people inremote areas receive and share news. Word hasspread that a quick cell phone call can lead to fooddeliveries for hungry children, governmentinvestigation of police brutality and medical help.

Literate farmers are using Facebook to create apan-India community of people growing the samecrop, which can mobilise opinion and rapidlytransmit information. It’s a potent tool. In February,Maharashtra farmers used Facebook to boycottSangli, Asia’s biggest turmeric mandi, becausetraders were fleecing them.

Social media is helping farmers close the urban-rural divide. Farmers in organic, dairy, horticultureand floriculture have understood that they cancustomise their products better by using websitesand blogs to connect with customers. Small teagrowers in West Bengal are on Facebook and Twitterto interact with foreign buyers. The spread of mobilephones proves rural folk are ready to invest andadopt any new technology that can dramaticallyimprove their lives. Social media gives the phoneextra potency by empowering farmers withknowledge, encouraging precision agriculture andbridging the producer-customer and urban-ruraldivide. The digital revolution is promising millionsof Indian farmers escape from poverty.

Development communication in India

Over the years of development experience in Indiahas clearly indicated that it is not just economicmodeling, legislative action or administrative reformthat propels development. The key is motivation andthat too at the mass level-mobilisation ofcommitment, involvement, participation anddedication of masses in planning and developmentaltasks. It is in this area that the Indian woman couldbe the most powerful channel for motivation and

development. Her moral force in the house ofparents, the husband, children and others is strongerthan that in any other society in the world. She hasthe unmatched faculty of being able to inspire othersto act as she wishes. The ethical force she exerts isenmeshed in our religious convictions. Herparticipation in customs and ritual is inseparablefrom our culture.

In India, of late, the planners have realized thevalue of communication as an input in the overalldevelopmental-approach to the rural sector. The realproblem is one of tailoring media to suit to theaspirations of the people, and mobilizing media fordevelopment keeping in mind that illiteracy is themajor barrier to communication. Some popularmedia in India include the followings:● The radio has a wide coverage of agriculture and

rural change programmes in Indian languagesand dialects.

● The television devotes only 5 per cent of the timeto rural programmes, the rest goes forentertainment, films, news, etc.

● The Hindi films are solely a means ofentertainment for the masses, reinforcingexisting values, projecting fatalism, fantasy andmythology.

● The reach of the process is limited to urban andsub-urban areas as the rate of literacy is very lowamong the rural population.

● The government has a field publicity unit as wellas a song and drama division that propagatesdevelopment messages through the use of folkmusic of drama forms and film screening. Butthe staff is limited and is unable to cope withthe vast demands of the population.

● The number of village level workers is alsoinadequate. Very often, the VLW’s job is target-oriented rather than people-oriented.

Till now the approach to rural developmental hasbeen specific with communication as a supportingunit. India has not yet fully exploited fordevelopmental efforts the ‘little media’ such as tapecassettes, 8 mm films and slide shows. They can bemade specific to the needs of the village populationand are easily operable by VLWs.

It is hoped that in the years to comecommunication policies and planning in the countrywill be sufficiently localized in content, decentralizedin set up, giving scope for upward articulation offeedback.

102

October-December 2012] ROLE OF COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES 377

Mass media

An extension worker desirous of bringing changefor the masses can reach them, teach them and createdesirable behavioural changes through the massmedia. The opportunities are there for all the media,old or new to participate in the grand endeavour ofdevelopment. In India, the mass media have to berural oriented, for about 76 percent of the populationlives in rural areas. Despite the enormous expansionof communication facilities over the years, the reachof mass media is limited, especially in the rural areasand amongst the weaker sections of the society. Thisis mainly due to five mutually reinforcing factors like,low literacy rate, language barriers, low purchasingpower, poor means of transportation for timelydelivery of newspapers or maintenance of radio orTV sets and lack of relevant information if purposivecommunication is the aim of media policy. Radio andtelevision technology offer great potential for thecommunication of anything man can hear or seemore quickly and cheaply to a large audience at onetime. Similarly, the print media can perform as a basiccommunication tool for the total population.

Village Level Workers (VLW)

Development of mass media as instrument forgetting development messages across to the peoplehas brought about a neglect of the human factor.Mere information via mass media cannotautomatically bring about motivation, action andchange. For this purpose, the Village level workerscan be an effective link for communicating at thegrass root level. Village level workers has thatpersonal touch, knowledge of his environment andthe ability to initiate a mutual permanent and directdiscussion with the villagers. The Village levelworkers contribute greatly to the developmentalprocess by:1. Collecting information about new ideas,

techniques and practices from the central agencyand disseminating it to the villagers. At the sametime he initiates feedback about problems, needsand wishes of the people and provides thisinformation to his agency for future activities.

2. Persuading and motivating villagers to try newideas.

3. Trying to understand the socio-cultural barriersto acceptance and how to overcome them.

4. Arranging financial or technical support fromthe central agency or instructing support from

the central agency or instructing villagers onhow to prepare the needed instrumentsthemselves.

5. The VLW opens the gates of communication ofhis village to the outside world. He can controlthe communication channels going to thevilIages and vice-versa.

Communicating indigenous technology

In designing a communication system for sharingof indigenous technology, we should rely heavily onthe traditional media, channels, particularly in ruralareas, because despite modernisation andindustrialization, the rural people continue to relyon human and oral communication. The spread andeffect of mass media on the bulk of the populationthat lives in rural areas is small. What is required fordevelopment is not unregulated and so called freeflow of information but optimal dose ofcommunication, which might act as a support to andnourish the development process. There is an urgentneed for considerable research and action-orientedstudies to design optimal, low- cost human orientedsystems. Efforts have to be made to reach the peoplethrough audiovisual and interpersonal means ofcommunication with locally available andindigenous forms of communication like folklore,puppetry and little media. Suggestions forcomprehensive development communicationapproach● Identify the role of various communication

media, like films TV, radio, print, advertisingand marketing in the development process.

● Develop inventories of overall resources in thecommunication area

● Locate developmental areas where the impactof communication can lead to acceleratedgrowth.

● Determine the investment policy required formeeting the priorities.

● Recommend the special linkages, which need toconnect the areas of education, culture, andcommunication.

● Examine how communication software andhardware systems can be improved with specialreference to social change, cultural values andappropriate technology.

● Develop appropriate computer softwareprogrammers for scholastic, scientific, and socialscience studies.

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378 BHARTI ET AL. [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

● Develop the role of communication in themanagement areas.

● Suggest organizational, administrative, physicaland legal measures required for planning,implementing monitoring and evaluatingprogrammers formulated for giving effectto the relevant components of a NationalCommunication Policy.

Rural communication and development

Development experiences of the last decades haveshown that human resources development isessential for food security and market integration.Achieving sustainable agricultural development isless based on material inputs (e.g., seeds andfertilizer) than on the people involved in their use.New agricultural technologies are generated byresearch institutes, universities, private companies,and by the farmers themselves. Agricultural advisoryservices (including traditional extension,consultancy, business development and agriculturalinformation services) are expected to disseminatenew technologies amongst their clients. The role ofresearch and advisory services is to give highlyaccurate, specific and unbiased technical andmanagement information and advice in directresponse to the needs of their clients. Due to poorlinkages between research and advisory services,theadoption of new agricultural technologies by farmersis often very slow and research is not focusing onthe actual needs of farmers. In many countries lowagricultural production has been attributed, amongother factors, to poor linkages between Research-Advisory Service-Farmers and to ineffectivetechnology delivery systems, including poorinformation packaging, inadequate communicationsystems and poor methodologies.

In the traditional research context, agriculturalscientists tend to overlook situations at the farm level.Their research projects are often oriented atproducing publications rather than solving concreteon-farm problems. Producers on the other handexpect immediate answers to local problems, and arenot concerned with experimental details or the goalsand objectives of the scientists. Many linkageproblems between major institutional actors arecaused by alack of coordinated planning, poorcommunication between linkage partners, andabsence of follow through with actual linkageresource planning or implementation. In addition,

there is typically little or no involvement at all ofrepresentative farmers or their organizations. A lackof appropriate communication structures,methodologies and tools results in pooridentification of farmers’ needs and priorities, inappropriate research programs, poor or irrelevantextension information and technologies and finally,low farmers’ take-up of technology innovations.

Rural communication is an interactive process inwhich information, knowledge and skills, relevantfor development are exchanged between farmers,extension/advisory services, information providersand research either personally or through media suchas radio, print and more recently the new“Information and Communication Technologies”(ICTs). In this process allactors may be innovators,intermediaries and receivers of informationandknowledge. The aim is to put rural people in aposition to have the necessary information forinformed decision-making and the relevant skills toimprovetheir livelihoods. Communication in thiscontext is therefore a non-linear process with thecontent of data or information.

In communication for development approaches,the rural people are at the centre of any givendevelopment initiative and view planners,development workers, local authorities, farmersand rural people as “communication equals”,equally committed to mutual understanding andconcerted action. Communication for developmentis used for: people’s participation and communitymobilization, decision-making and action,confidence building, for raising awareness, sharingknowledge and changing attitudes, behaviour andlife styles; for improving learning and training andrapidly spreading information; to assist withprogramme planning and formulation; to foster thesupport of decision-makers.

CONCLUSION

Green revolution has developed food crisis andraise need of more agricultural product as populationincreases. To fulfil the forcing need of more foodfarmers started using pesticides and chemicalfertilizers in agriculture system which exploits thenature. In rural areas, communication needs andavailable channels are facing tremendous changesthrough structural transformations: subsistenceoriented farming remains the basis for food securityespecially in disadvantaged areas, while there is a

104

October-December 2012] ROLE OF COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES 379

general shift to move intermediate farmers intomarket-oriented production. Market-orientedfarmers need tostay competitive in an increasinglyglobal business environment. While agricultureremains the mainstay for rural people, informationand skills for alternative livelihoods gain inimportance, not only as an exit strategy, butalso forthe increasing division of labour. Each of thesegroups of farmers has specific communication needsand capacities for innovation, management andfinance. However, client/demand-oriented serviceprovision for innovation, information, qualificationand local organizational development remains thekey driver. These reform processes and theiropportunities and consequences need to becommunicated properly to rural people. On the otherside, efforts to close the information gap and,inparticular, the digital divide in rural areas, havebeen supported by the wider availability and

accessibility of communication technologies andinfrastructures, like internet, rural radio and mobilephones.

REFERENCES

Jangid, B.L. 2003. Utilization of mass media ofcommunication for agricultural information bythe farmers at International Conference onCommunication for Development in the InformationAge: Extending the Benefits of Technology for All

Kokate, K.D. and others 2011. Future AgriculturalExtension

Indian Council of Agricultural Research 2011. Proceedingsof fourth national conference on Krishi Vigyan Kendraon KVK as Resource and Knowledge Centre forAgricultural Technology

Sharma, Arpita, Community Radio as an effective tool foragricultural development by traditional media.

Srinivas, Nidhi Nath 2012. Bringing Farmville to life: Howsocial media empowers farmers

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380 [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

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SOIL CONSISERVATION SOCIETY OF INDIAG-4/A, NATIONAL SOCIETIES BLOCK, NASC COMPLEX

DEV PRAKASH SHASTRI MARG, NEW DELHI – 110012

BALANCE SHEET AS ON 31ST MARCH, 2012

Previous Year LIABILITIES Current Year 2010-11 2011-12 Rs. P. Rs. P.

37,47,619.27 Funds & Liability(a) General Reserve Funds as on 31.03.2011 - Rs. 37,47,619-27 6,02,003.27 Less Transferred to Corpus Fund of Society - (-) Rs. 35,99,000-00 Added Excess of Expenditure over Income - (+) Rs. 4,53,384-00

1,00,000.00 (b) Corpus Fund of Society (SCSI) - Rs. 1,01,000.00 Added Transferred from General Reserve - (+) Rs. 35,99,000-00 37,00,000.00

18,80,780.00 (c) Share Towards Life Membership as Liability - Rs.18,80,780-00 Added contribution towards liability since 01-04-11 - (+) Rs. 56,128-00 19,36,908.00

1,582.00 (d) Suspense Account ….. 1,582.00

11,030.00 (e) Provision for Outstanding Audit Fee For 2001-11 ….. 11,236.00

520.00 (f) Provision for Late (Dr.) K.G. Tejwani Charitable Trust Award ….. 520.00

50,000.00 (g) Provision for Prof. J.S. Bali's Gold Medal Award ….. 50,000.00

42,961.00 (h) Provision for Late Y.P. Bali Memorial Fund ….. 42,961.00

1,300.00 (i) Friends of Tree Memberships Subscription ….. 1,300.00

- (j) Outstanding Transfer of Funds to RCS-SCSI ….. -

4,881.00 (k) Outstanding Payment to Dr. S. Subramaniyan's Account ….. 4,881.00

58,40,673.27 TOTAL 63,51,391.27

107

Contd.....

382 [Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 11(4)

Previous Year ASSETS Current Year 2010-11 2011-12 Rs. P. Rs. P.

Property and Stocks

26,419.00 (a) Almirahs (11 Nos.) of Steel Made Rs. 26,419-00 Less Depreciation @ 15% (-) Rs. 3,963 -00 22,456.00

15,976.00 (b) Personal Computer (2 Nos.) with other Accessories Rs. 15,976-00 Less Depreciation @ 60% (-) Rs. 9,586-00 6,390.00

8,913.00 (c) Fax Machine Rs. 8,913-00 Less Depreciation @ 15% (-) Rs. 1,337-00 7,576.00

3,090.00 (d) Printers (1 Nos.) of HP-6L Gold / HP-PSC-14100 Rs. 3,090-00 Added Printer Purchased (+) Rs. 6,458-00 Less Depreciation @ 60% (-) Rs. 5,889-00 3,659.00

1,243.00 (e) C.V.T. Voltage Regulator Rs. 1,243-00 Less Depreciation @ 15% (-) Rs. 186-00 1,057.00

2,94,831.00 (f) Furniture & Fixture For Office Premises of SCSI Rs.2,94,831-00 Less Depreciation @ 10% (-) Rs. 29,483-00 2,65,348.00

63,517.00 (g) Automatic Duplexing Unit Rs. 63,517-00 Less Depreciation @ 15% (-) Rs. 9,528-00 53,989.00

33,545.00 (h) Hitachi Split Air Conditioner (2 TON) Rs. 33,545-00 Less Depreciation @ 15% (-) Rs. 5,032-00 28,513.00

4,524.00 (i) Refrigerator (180 ltrs. - Kelvinator) Rs. 4,524-00 Less Depreciation @ 15% (-) Rs. 679-00 3,845.00

Outstanding Advances from32,778.00 Advances to SCSI, KSC for National Conference on BIOWD, 2009 ….. 32,778.00

Investments41,35,420.97 Fixed Deposits of Society at Syndicate Bank at Pusa Campus, New Delhi ….. 51,53,058.15

Current Assets12,09,640.30 (a) Balance in Syndicate Bank Branch at Pusa Campus, New Delhi ….. 7,66,490.12

8,974.00 (b) Cash-In-Hand ….. 4,184.00

1,802.00 (c) Balance Unused Postal Stamp-tickets ….. 2,048.00

58,40,673.27 TOTAL 63,51,391.27

Place : New Delhi Verified and found correctDated : 03.08.2012

Sd/-for Rajesh Kumar Sachdeva & Associates

Flat No. 1013, Naurang House21, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi – 110001

Sd/- Sd/- Sd/-(SURAJ BHAN) (B. RATH) (B.S. NEGI) President Secretary General Treasurer

108

October-December 2012] 383SO

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110

October-December 2012] 385

RURAL CONSULTANCY SERVICES-SCSIG-4/A, NATIONAL SOCIETIES BLOCK, NASC COMPEX

D.P.S. MARG, New Delhi – 110012

BALANCE-SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST MARCH, 2012

YEAR LIABILITIES YEAR2010-11 2011-12

Surplus Transferred to the respective Source1,08,941.00 (a) Balance Amount for IES-NWDPRA of NRAA A/C. … Rs.1,08,941.00

Less Excess of expdt. trf. from Income & Expdt. A/C. … (-)Rs.1,08,924.00 17.00

1,48,707.00 (b) Balance Amount for BIWD of Uttar Pradesh A/C. … Rs.1,48,707.00 Added Amount received for BIWD of U.P. A/C. … (+)Rs.2,70,000.00 Less Expenditure of the year From BIWD of U.P. A/C. … (-)Rs.2,70,000.00 Less Excess of expdt trf. From Income & Expdt. A/C. … (-)Rs.1,48,707.00 -

1,71,998.50 (c) Balance Amount for Perspective Plan of A.P. A/C. … Rs.1,71,998.50 Added Amount received for Persp/Plan of A.P. A/C. … (+)Rs.3,19,200.00 Less Expenditure of the year From Persp Plan of A.P. … (-)Rs.3,19,200.00 Less Excess of expdt trf. From Income & Expdt. A/C. … (-)Rs. 3,450.00 1,68,548.50

- (d) Bal. Amount for IES-NWDPRA-Gujaratof NRAA A/C. … Rs.1,45,520.00 Less Expdt. of the year From IES-NWDPRA-Gujarat … (-)Rs. 96,717.50 48,802.50

Outstanding Credit/Advances of Training A/C(a) Advances for Training Programme of Arunachal Pradesh … Rs.6,10,500.00(b) Advances for Training Programme of Tripura State … Rs.6,70,000.00 12,80,500.00

4,29,646.50 TOTAL 14,97,868.00

YEAR ASSETS YEAR2010-11 2011-12

Outstanding Debit/Advances during the year7,000.00- (a) Advances Paid to Dr. T.K. Sarkar …

(b) Advances Paid to Dr. Suraj Bhan for Trg. Prog. … Rs.10,50,000.00 10,50,000.00

Current Assets/Balances at the end of the year4,21,424.50 (a) Balances in current account at Syndicate Bank, NASC … - 4,36,228.00

1,222.00 (b) Cash-in-Hand … - 11,640.004,29,646.50 TOTAL 14,97,868.00

Place : New Delhi Verified and found correctDated : 03.08.2012

Sd/- for Rajesh Kumar Sachdeva & Associates

Flat No. 1013, Naurang House21, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi – 110001

Sd/- Sd/- Sd/-(SURAJ BHAN) (SHAMSHER SINGH) (T.K. SARKAR) President Secretary General Member

(Core Committee) (Core Committee)

111

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Our sincere thanks are placed on record to the

Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi for the grant

of financial support for the publication of journal of the Association.