Academic literature on the topic 'Turmeric Crop Production - Effect of Ground Water Quality'

Treated wastewater will play important role in the implementation of Kuwait National Agriculture Development Plan. As a substitute for brackish or fresh water in irrigation, treated municipal wastewater can be a practical solution. Nevertheless, special health and environmental considerations should be carefully assessed when using this water source. These considerations include potential infection with human pathogens, effects of heavy metals on the public health, and the ecological consequence on soil and water resources at large. These topics were investigated under controlled environment using a range of crops and two types of irrigation water: a tertiary treated wastewater source and fresh tap water as a control. Soil, water, and plant samples were collected at fixed intervals and were analyzed for total viable count; total Coliforms; faecal Coliforms; and faecal Streptococc, Salmonellae, Shigella, Ascaris imbricoides and pathogenic viruses. In addition, we measured for nine heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, Ni, Co, Cr, and Pb). Soil salinity and build-up of sodicity in soil and ground water sources also were investigated for any changes that could indicate a potential long-term degradation effect. The results after 3 years of study indicate that the generated tertiary treated wastewater is of high quality. Its potential pathogenic content is below the guidelines recommended by WHO for using wastewater in mixed agriculture, and therefore, it had no accumulative effect on the irrigated soil or the different parts of plant tissues that were analyzed. However, treated effluent have occasionally exhibited pathogenic index higher than permitted levels reflecting the fluctuating nature of wastewater treatment. Heavy metals content of irrigation water and from the irrigated soils were negligible, and the plant tissues that were analyzed contained metallic contents below the established range in IPE. The treated water had low TDS but high sodium content with 25–35 SAR values; however, the effect on the irrigated soil was insignificant due to the calcareous nature of the soil used. This study used drip irrigation system and under similar conditions no health problems will be expected when using tertiary treated wastewater for irrigation. To minimize potential risk to the consumers, specific guidelines are recommended on the type of crops to grow and the horticulture practices to be used.

For the past 50 yr, meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis L.) has been invading native flood meadows throughout the Harney Basin in southeastern Oregon. The expansion of this grass species has been the result of its broad climatic adaptation and ability to withstand drought while thriving in saturated soil conditions for a large part of the growing season. The growth of meadow foxtail starts as soon as adequate soil moisture exists. Managing this early-maturing hay species can prove to be a challenge because soil saturation and elevated water tables make it difficult to harvest hay when forage quality and yield are maximized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether planned grazing would retard maturation and thus prolong forage quality. Treatments included a non-grazed control and grazing durations of 2, 4, 6, and 8 wk. Grazing was initiated in May of 1998 and 1999 on six replications of each treatment arranged in a randomized block design. Within each treatment/replication combination, ten 0.2-m2 plots were clipped to ground level at about 2-wk intervals from May to August. The samples were weighed and dried for standing crop estimation and 4 of the 10 samples were selected at random and analyzed for acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and crude protein (CP). We found that early spring grazing decreased forage yield significantly (P ≤ 0.05). Grazing tended to slow the seasonal decline in CP. The effects of grazing on the forage fiber components, however, were inconsistent. The relatively small increase in forage quality does not appear to compensate for the large decline in hay yield (a 40% decline in the shortest grazing duration treatment). We recommend that unfertilized meadow foxtail pastures be used for either haying or grazing, but not both in a given growing season. Key words: Grazing, beef cattle, regrowth, forage yield

Agriculture is the back bone of Pakistan’s economy of Pakistan with 21 % contribution to GDP and providing livelihood to about 45 % of the total labor force of the country. The industry of Pakistan is mainly agro based (Economic survey of Pakistan, 2009-10). Due to change in climate and thereby extended drought, surface water resources of the country had reduced by 70% in 2003, compared with normal years (Kahlown et al., 2003). Unfortunately, canal water is not sufficient to meet requirements of soil and crop under intensive cropping system. A water quality study has shown that out of 560,000 tube wells in Indus Basin, about 70% are pumping sodic water which in turn is affecting the soil health and crop yield (Kahlown et al., 2003).The ground waters of different areas and depths have different types of salts which deteriorate the soil accordingly (Masood and Gohre, 2000). It is also reported that 73.38% (681) of the 922 water samples analyzed by the soil and water laboratory Vehari during the year 2006-07, were unfit for irrigation purpose, while 11.93% (110) were marginally fit and only14.21 (131) were found fit for irrigation purpose (Ashraf et al., 2008). According to the estimates, discharge of 50-60 % of the existing wells was brackish in nature (Ashraf et al., 2009) and still more formidable figures of Lahore district declaring that groundwater of 76.6% villages of the district was detrimental for crops and soil health (Ali et al., 2009).According to Shakir et al. (2002), 64 water samples were collected from new tube well bores from various locations of district Kasur to check the quality of under-groundwater for irrigation purpose. The results show that electrical conductivity of the samples varied from 524 to 5700 μS cm-1, sodium adsorption ration of the samples ranged from 0.49 to 26.00, while residual sodium carbonate ranged from 0.00 to 17.00 meL-1. Out of 64 samples, 26 samples were fit, 8 marginally fit and 30 unfit for irrigation.The successful crop production on sustainable basis, mainly depends on the quality of groundwater. The common characteristics considered are electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption rations (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) (Idris and Shafiq, 1999). The concentration and composition of dissolved constituents in water determine its quality for irrigation use. It is difficult to define the critical limits of EC, RSC and SAR because the effect of different qualities of water of soil health and crop yield is also governed by the type of soil, climate and management practices (Singh et al., 1992).Gravity of the situation of groundwater of the majority districts of Pakistan implies that something will have to be done without further loss of time to prevent the rapid conversion of productive fertile lands of Pakistan into unproductive barren lands. Besides, making investment on creating awareness among farming community about bio-saline technology/ saline agriculture by the private and public sectors, a watchful eye on the quality and quantity of ground water of every district of Pakistan by all the stakeholders and timely tackling the detrimental impact of brackish groundwater by using the available technology to the possible extent is imperative.

Designing and implementing more productive, nutrient-efficient, and environmentally sound orchard management systems requires a better understanding of plant and soil responses to more biologically driven management practices. This study explored the effect of orchard floor and N management on soil organic C and N, populations of nematodes, NO3 leaching, and yields in tart cherry (Prunus cerasus L. `Montmorency') production. A baseline conventional orchard system consisting of an herbicide-treated tree row and a full rate of N fertilizer was compared to two modified-conventional and ten alternative orchard floor and N management systems. Living ground cover and the use of mulch with or without composted manure increased total C and the active C and N pools in the soil. For instance, supplemental mulch or mulch applied using a side-delivery mower increased soil C by >20% above the conventional baseline. The size of the active C pool increased 45% and 60% with the use of the species mix 2 ground cover and compost, respectively. Increases in the active N pool ranged from a low of 25% in the soils using mulch or a ground cover mix to a high of 60% when compost was used. As a result, the ability of these soils to provide N to growing plants was enhanced. Total soil N increased in the treatment using natural weeds as ground cover and the full rate of N fertilizer. It is likely that weeds were able to convert significant amounts of fertilizer N into organic forms. Increasing the active C and N pools stimulates microbial activity, and may favor populations of nonplant parasitic nematodes over plant parasitic species. Using a trunk-to-trunk cover crop mix under the cherry trees reduced NO3 leaching by >90% compared to a conventional, herbicide treated soil, even when N fertilizer was used at full rate. Nitrate leaching also dramatically diminished when N fertilizer was fertigated at a reduced rate or when compost was used as N source. Alternative orchard floor and N management did not reduce yields when compared to the baseline conventional treatment.

The soil of most Spanish vineyards is strongly eroded and carbon depleted and is very poor in biodiversity. Growing evidence of the negative impacts of soil degradation on climate change mitigation, water quality, and plant production is pushing a shift from intensive viticulture to more sustainable management strategies of the vineyards. Among them, minimum impact and regenerative viticulture are gaining ground. However, field data are still necessary to assess the real effect of these new farming schemes on soil carbon stocks and soil functional biodiversity. We compared soil quality at three vineyards managed under intensive, regenerative, and minimum impact strategies using physical, chemical, and biological indicators. Soil carbon stocks were 2.3 and 3.4 times greater in the regenerative and the minimal impact vineyards than in the intensive vineyard, respectively. Soil biota was particularly favored by regenerative viticulture, with 26.2 times more protists, 3.1 times more nematodes, and 29.4 more microarthropods in the regenerative than in the intensive vineyard. Our results indicate that the ecological intensification of agricultural practices is highly promising to restore degraded agricultural soils under Mediterranean conditions. We also propose cost-effective soil bioindicators sensitive to agricultural management for their possible inclusion in soil monitoring programs.

Water samples collected from twenty five ponds of coastal area were analyzed by HPLC for the presence of organophosphorus, pyrethroid and carbamate pesticide residues. The results reflected slight contamination of some of the water samples with residues of diazinon, chlorpyriphos (organophosphorus insecticide), carbaryl and carbofuran (carbamate insecticide). The concentration of diazinon and chlorpyriphos ranged from 2.31 jig/L to 5.60 pg/L and 0.0 to 3.80 pg/L respectively. Among carbamate pesticides, carbofuran identified in two samples, ranging from 1.40 to 3.71pg/L, carbaryl was detected in two of the samples which ranged from 1.32 to 6.40pg/L, and pyrethroid (cypermethrin) was not detected in any of the samples. However, the residue level was also within the acceptable ranges according to the WHO guideline value (1993) of water quality. But, its presence in surface water as WHO-recommended limits is a matter of concern. In Bangladesh consumption ofpes::c.Jcs has been increased with the introduction of high yielding varieties of rice in recent years But. the widei> cultivated high yielding variety is highly vulnerable to pests and diseases, and 40; : of the crop loss can be attributed to attack by pests and insects in Bangladesh which is a significant loss (Bagchi, et al. 2008). So, the use of pesticide is now an integral part of agriculture for pest control. More than 100 species of insects, 600 weed species. 1500 plant diseases and 1500 species of nematodes are being controlled by pesticide (Brady 1990). As a result, the production of improved variety of rice has significantly increased in recent years. Although pesticide is beneficial for pest control, it also poses a harmful effect to our environment such as the pollution of surface and ground water. After application of pesticide in the crop field it is degraded in the soil by the soil microorganism to some extent but many of the toxic pesticides are transported into surface and ground water by agricultural run off rain water from the crop field. Ultimately, the surface and ground water may be highly contaminated due to this agricultural run off pesticide (Bagchi, et al. 2008). Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci. 40(2): 319-323, December 2014

The melon belongs to the family of commercially important cucurbitaceous in the world. However, the production of this crop can be very problematic in some places due to management practices and the climatic instability. Amongst the different options available to overcome these obstacles, the use of biochar often promoted for providing multiple benefits to crops, could contribute in holding more water and nutrients in soil and therefore improve the plant growth. A second way to try to improve the plant development was to use Trichoderma (TRI) known as aiding in seed germination, and being an excellent biological control agent against plant pathogenic pests. So, the objective of this study was to evaluate the benefits of the association of biochar and TRI on the initial growth of melon and the effects on the quality of a sandy Entisol. We quantified the effects of these associations through biometric growth in melon plants and chemical, microbial, and enzymatic activities of the biogeochemical cycles in the soil. An experiment in a completely of randomized design was performed in a factorial scheme (3 x 2 + 1) with three sources of biochar (bean husk (BH), coffee ground (CG), and coffee husk (CH)) inoculated with (T+) or without (T-) TRI and additional controls When the coffee grounds (CG) and bean husks (BH) biochar with T+ soil was inoculated, the fresh weight (number of leaves), dry weight, length (of roots and branch), soil acid and alkaline phosphatase, total organic carbon, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and pH were all increased. Moreover, T. aureoviride inoculated CG biochar compared to the control increased the shoot length and dry biomass of the melon plant in 30 and 22% between 22 and 30 %. The soil that received coffee husks (CH) biochar and T+ showed higher microbial biomass carbon. However, the melon plants responded more to the type of biochar than to the T. aureoviride inoculation, possibly due to the short growth time of melon. Results of BH biochar inoculated with T. aureviride in sandy soil showed improved efficiency on melon growth and increased soil quality.

Response to the expanding demand for high-quality citrus saplings plants requires optimisation and a deep understanding of production climate behaviour. In this context, greenhouse production is the most used technique because it allows farmers to effectively monitor plant growth through production condition control, especially climatic parameters. The current work presents an analysis of climate behaviour and plant heat activity of a citrus sapling tunnel greenhouse in the middle region of Morocco. In this regard, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model was developed and validated with respect to temperature and relative humidity measured values. The specificity of this model is the inclusion of a new non-grey radiative and heat transfers physical sub-models to couple the convective and radiative exchanges at the plastic roof cover and crop level. The findings showed that using a green shade net increased the greenhouse shadow, and the layering of plastic and shade net significantly reduced solar radiation inside the greenhouse by 50%. Also, the greenhouse airflow speed was deficient; it cannot exceed 0.3 ms−1, hence the dominance of the chimney effect in heat transfer. Despite the previous results, analyses of greenhouse temperature and relative humidity fields clearly showed the greenhouse climate behaviour heterogeneity, where spatial greenhouse air temperature and relative humidity difference values reached a maximum of 29.7 °C and 23%, respectively. For citrus plants, heat activity results showed that a weak fraction (1.44%) of the short wavelength radiation is converted to latent heat, which explains the low plant transpiration under these conditions. While the convective currents are the primary source of temperature and relative humidity heterogeneity inside the greenhouse, the presence of crop rows tends to homogenise the climate inside the greenhouse. We also concluded the necessity of proper condensation modelling near ground surfaces and inside the crop, and the water vapour effect on climate determination.

Domestic herbivores have been closely associated with the historical evolution and development of agriculture systems worldwide as a complementary system for providing milk, meat, wool, leather, and animal power. However, their major role was to enhance and maintain agricultural soil fertility through the recycling of nutrients. In turn, cereal production increased, enabling to feed a progressively increasing human population living in expanding urban areas. Further, digestion of organic matter through the rumen microbiome can also be viewed as enhancing the soil microbiome activity. In particular, when animal droppings are deposited directly in grazing areas or applied to fields as manure, the mineralization–immobilization turnover determines the availability of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients in the plant rhizosphere. Recently, this close coupling between livestock production and cereal cropping systems has been disrupted as a consequence of the tremendous use of industrial mineral fertilizers. The intensification of production within these separate and disconnected systems has resulted in huge emissions of nitrogen (N) to the environment and a dramatic deterioration in the quality of soil, air, and ground- and surface water. Consequently, to reduce drastically the dependency of modern and intensified agriculture on the massive use of N and phosphorus (P) fertilizers, we argue that a close reconnection at the local scale, of herbivore livestock production systems with cereal-based cropping systems, would help farmers to maintain and recover the fertility of their soils. This would result in more diverse agricultural landscapes including, besides cereals, grasslands as well as forage and grain crops with a higher proportion of legume species. We developed two examples showing such a beneficial reconnection through (i) an agro-ecological scenario with profound agricultural structural changes on a European scale, and (ii) typical Brazilian integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLS). On the whole, despite domestic herbivores emit methane (CH4), an important greenhouse gas, they participate to nutrient recycling, which can be viewed as a solution to maintaining long-term soil fertility in agro-ecosystems; at a moderate stocking density, ecosystem services provided by ruminants would be greater than the adverse effect of greenhouse gas (GHG).

Abstract Soil organic matter is major terrestrial pool for soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), and their decomposition is sensitive to vegetation and climate change. Integrated nutrient management (INM) deals with the combined application of chemical fertilizers and organic manures for nutritional requirement of crops and avoid the adverse effect of long-term application of chemical fertilizer on crop production and their sustainability. The present study was carried out to investigate the influence of different nutrient sources on soil C mineralization and inorganic N pools in a Terminalia chebula Retz, based on a agroforestry system. The results showed that the highest CO2 evolution was recorded in 100 percent INM and minimum in farmyard manure treatment after 120 days of incubation. Inorganic N was higher under the agroforestry system than under the open system. Among the different nutrient sources, the highest inorganic N was recorded in a 100 percent INM nutrient source and minimal in wheat straw treatment. The yield of turmeric was higher under the T. chebula-based agroforestry system (20.87 t ha–1) than under the open system (19.27 t ha–1). Results suggest that agroforestry systems using the INM approach can enhance C mineralization and inorganic N concentration with improved crop productivity in the Himalayan foothills. Study Implications: Fertilizer has been used since ancient times, and if well managed it can be an asset, promoting sustainable agriculture and increasing crop production, particularly for smallholder farmers in the Himalayan region of India. We compared fertilizer application practices under an agroforestry system in a representative Himalayan region of India. The majority of farmers in the region of the Himalayan foothills having marginal land and they are not able to produce optimum food grains for their requirement. However, their demands are increasing day by day, so to fulfill their demand, they have to adopt agroforestry. Agroforestry may be fulfilling their demand in terms of food, fuel, fodder, and other intangible benefits. Moreover, to increase the production under agroforestry, we have to apply organic and inorganic fertilizer in the soil either as the sole application or as a combination of these fertilizers. The application of these fertilizers will improve the productivity and fertility of land, especially carbon mineralization and inorganic nitrogen. These two soil properties are important to study because these are limiting to land productivity. In addition, efforts to improve integrated nutrient management in the Himalayan region of India would strengthen farmers’ incomes by strengthening land fertility and productivity. The rapid increase in human population over the last century is putting a massive pressure on existing resources, namely soil and water, resulting in environmental degradation in some regions around the world. As productive land becomes scarce, marginalized farmers are pushed into fragile croplands and forest lands unsuitable for modern agriculture which, in turn, is vulnerable, to degradation. If the present trend in population growth persists, pasture and forest lands will be further reduced (Satterthwaite et al. 2010). At this stage, the value of growing trees becomes more significant, and participation in tree planting schemes should be encouraged. However, this option is most feasible when combined with agriculture. As a result, agroforestry is an important management strategy that not only helps to meet the world food requirements but also helps to protect soil from degradation (Ram et al. 2017) and can enhance soil organic matter levels by adding the quantity of above- and below-ground organic matter inputs to soils (Nair et al. 2009, Marone et al. 2017).

Soils in irrigated fields are impacted by irrigation water quality. Salts in the irrigation water may accumulate in the soil depending on amount of leaching, the quality of water and type of ions present. Salinity is an environmental hazard that is known to limit agriculture worldwide. The quality of irrigation water is thus of concern to agriculturists. More so is the impact it has on productivity. The objective of this study was to quantify the impact due to use of ground water of such quality, with respect to salinity, as found in Berambadi watershed of Southern India, under farmers‟ field conditions. Turmeric (Curcuma Longa L.) was used for the study, based on salt sensitivity, under furrow irrigation. Study sites were selected basing on quality of water, with respect to salinity, crop and irrigation method. Samples of both soil and water were collected from each site and analyzed in the laboratory. The samples were analysed for salinity, alkalinity, pH and Cations of Magnesium, Sodium, Calcium and potassium as well as Chlorides and Sulfates. In addition soil was analysed for texture and Organic matter content. Non destructive plant monitoring for Leaf area (Index), number of leaves and plant height was done up to 210 days from planting. Profile, up to 80 cm depth, soil moisture was monitored at six plots using TDR and surface, up to 6cm depth, soil moisture for all the plots using Theta probe. Potential yield was obtained using STICS 6.9 crop model while field yield was estimated from rhizomes average weight of three plants. For both potential and observed yield estimation, a plant density of 9 plants per M2 was used. The quality parameters in water were correlated to soil parameters and to crop growth and ultimate yield. Impact due to salinity was then identified and quantified using relative yield. Identified quality problems in terms of turmeric response were, salinity, alkalinity and pH there was significant positive correlation between irrigation water salinity and soil salinity. Some wide scatter was observed and could be indicative of irrigation management practices, soil texture difference and other local variations. Observed turmeric yield was significantly negatively correlated to soil salinity. There was a monotonically increasing gap between simulated and observed yield as salinity increased. The maximum observed yield was 71% of the potential. The highest impact due to salinity was observed at 2.1 dS/m amounting to 44 % yield reduction. Excessive chlorosis due to iron deficiency occurred at 24.5% as CaCO3 and pH 7.5. Irrigation water pH was normal as per the guidelines. Soil pH was not so varied; it ranged between 7.1-7.9 except for one site where it was 6. Within the 7.1-7.9 range there was no effect on crop and yield observed. Interaction of stress factors observed was between salinity and alkalinity. The other was rhizome rot disease. Loss of yield to salinity was significant but farmers have no specific plans to leach out salts nor do they have an idea that ground water quality can actually negatively impact productivity. Salinity in irrigation water was in the moderately saline range. While that in the soil was low to slightly saline but could increase given the management practices.

Soils in irrigated fields are impacted by irrigation water quality. Salts in the irrigation water may accumulate in the soil depending on amount of leaching, the quality of water and type of ions present. Salinity is an environmental hazard that is known to limit agriculture worldwide. The quality of irrigation water is thus of concern to agriculturists. More so is the impact it has on productivity. The objective of this study was to quantify the impact due to use of ground water of such quality, with respect to salinity, as found in Berambadi watershed of Southern India, under farmers‟ field conditions. Turmeric (Curcuma Longa L.) was used for the study, based on salt sensitivity, under furrow irrigation. Study sites were selected basing on quality of water, with respect to salinity, crop and irrigation method. Samples of both soil and water were collected from each site and analyzed in the laboratory. The samples were analysed for salinity, alkalinity, pH and Cations of Magnesium, Sodium, Calcium and potassium as well as Chlorides and Sulfates. In addition soil was analysed for texture and Organic matter content. Non destructive plant monitoring for Leaf area (Index), number of leaves and plant height was done up to 210 days from planting. Profile, up to 80 cm depth, soil moisture was monitored at six plots using TDR and surface, up to 6cm depth, soil moisture for all the plots using Theta probe. Potential yield was obtained using STICS 6.9 crop model while field yield was estimated from rhizomes average weight of three plants. For both potential and observed yield estimation, a plant density of 9 plants per M2 was used. The quality parameters in water were correlated to soil parameters and to crop growth and ultimate yield. Impact due to salinity was then identified and quantified using relative yield. Identified quality problems in terms of turmeric response were, salinity, alkalinity and pH there was significant positive correlation between irrigation water salinity and soil salinity. Some wide scatter was observed and could be indicative of irrigation management practices, soil texture difference and other local variations. Observed turmeric yield was significantly negatively correlated to soil salinity. There was a monotonically increasing gap between simulated and observed yield as salinity increased. The maximum observed yield was 71% of the potential. The highest impact due to salinity was observed at 2.1 dS/m amounting to 44 % yield reduction. Excessive chlorosis due to iron deficiency occurred at 24.5% as CaCO3 and pH 7.5. Irrigation water pH was normal as per the guidelines. Soil pH was not so varied; it ranged between 7.1-7.9 except for one site where it was 6. Within the 7.1-7.9 range there was no effect on crop and yield observed. Interaction of stress factors observed was between salinity and alkalinity. The other was rhizome rot disease. Loss of yield to salinity was significant but farmers have no specific plans to leach out salts nor do they have an idea that ground water quality can actually negatively impact productivity. Salinity in irrigation water was in the moderately saline range. While that in the soil was low to slightly saline but could increase given the management practices.