Journal articles 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).

Abstract. Climate and land use change (global change) impacts on groundwater systems cannot be studied in isolation, as various and complex interactions in the hydrological cycle take part. Land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes have a great impact on the water cycle and contaminant production and transport. Groundwater flow and storage are changing in response not only to climatic changes but also to human impacts on land uses and demands (global change). Changes in future climate and land uses will alter the hydrologic cycles and subsequently impact the quantity and quality of regional water systems. Predicting the behavior of recharge and discharge conditions under future climatic and land use changes is essential for integrated water management and adaptation. In the Mancha Oriental system in Spain, in the last decades the transformation from dry to irrigated lands has led to a significant drop of the groundwater table in one of the largest groundwater bodies in Spain, with the consequent effect on stream-aquifer interaction in the connected Jucar River. Streamflow depletion is compromising the related ecosystems and the supply to the downstream demands, provoking a complex management issue. The intense use of fertilizer in agriculture is also leading to locally high groundwater nitrate concentrations. Understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of water availability and water quality is essential for a proper management of the system. In this paper we analyze the potential impact of climate and land use change in the system by using an integrated modelling framework consisting of the sequentially coupling of a watershed agriculturally-based hydrological model (SWAT) with the ground-water model MODFLOW and mass-transport model MT3D. SWAT model outputs (mainly groundwater recharge and pumping, considering new irrigation needs under changing ET and precipitation) are used as MODFLOW inputs to simulate changes in groundwater flow and storage and impacts on stream-aquifer interaction. SWAT and MODFLOW outputs (nitrate loads from SWAT, groundwater velocity field from MODFLOW) are used as MT3D inputs for assessing the fate and transport of nitrate leached from the topsoil. Results on river discharge, crop yields, groundwater levels and groundwater nitrate concentrations obtained from simulation fit well to the observed values. Three climate change scenarios have been considered, corresponding to 3 different GCMs for emission scenario A1B, covering the control period, and short, medium and long-term future periods. A multi-temporal analysis of LULC change was carried out, helped by the study of historical trends by remote sensing images and key driving forces to explain LULC transitions. Markov chains and European scenarios and projections have been used to quantify trends in the future. The cellular automata technique was applied for stochastic modeling future LULC maps. The results show the sensitivity of groundwater quantity and quality (nitrate pollution) to climate and land use changes, and the need to implement adaptation measures in order to prevent further groundwater level declines and increasing nitrate concentrations. The sequential modelling chain has been proved to be a valuable assessment and management tool for supporting the development of sustainable management strategies.

Despite recent efforts and breakthroughs in the development of environmental biosensors, one particular vital component of the environment has been probed comparatively much more sparsely-namely, the soil ecosystem that directly and indirectly affects the agricultural health and throughput as well as ecosystem balance. One specific problem that is understudied is the application of pesticides in crops and other plants often finds its way seeping into soil in a large manner and there exists a leaching effect at the soil and ground water sources. This causes long-term effects that is deteriorating for environmental as well as human health- due to soil and ground water contamination that further causes dampening of food production and safety as well as causing acute and chronic diseases in the human body. The potential for a sensor system that detects in-field: the levels of pesticide residue in soil run-off is immense and would be beneficial to understand its negative effect on food security and food safety by inhibiting soil microbial activity and therefore impacting crop throughput and food quality. This field deployable sensor probe would help promote responsible agricultural practices and curb overapplication of harmful agents to the soil. Electrochemistry proves to be a viable choice of application for such a sensor to track pesticides in soil samples due to its feasibility for in-situ analysis used as well as solving for the ASSURED criteria as given by the World Health Organization (WHO), wherein it denotes- Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-friendly, Rapid, and robust, Equipment-free and Deliverable to end-users. The proposed system would have to utilize minimally complex sensor modification/functionalization and no pre-processing of samples. Hence citing all these factors and requirements, in this work- we present a highly intuitive electroanalytical sensor approach towards rapid, on-demand screening of 2 commonly used pesticides in this proof-of-feasibility study- Glyphosate and Atrazine in soil run-off which have a half-life of 47 days and 60-75 days respectively. By studying the levels of soil contaminant residues at the field site-the sensor acts as a screening instrument for soil pollution levels. The proposed sensor functions based on affinity biosensing mechanism driven via thiol-crosslinker and antibody receptors that holistically behaves as a recognition immunoassay stack that is specific and sensitive to track test pesticide analytes with a detection limit of 0.19 ng/mL or parts per billion (ppb) range for glyphosate and 0.15 pg/mL or parts per trillion (ppt) range for atrazine. Then, this developed sensor is integrated further to create a pesticide sensing ecosystem by means of a front-end field-deployable smart device with post-hoc Machine Learning (ML) assisted classification (LOW-MID-HIGH levels of pesticide) and thereby, a universal pesticide screening analytical device is designed and fabricated for pesticide assessment in real soil run-off samples. Figure 1

The effect of arsenic causes inhibition of seed germination decrease in plant height reduction in root growth, leaf area and photosynthesis and low grain yield.Arsenic and its compounds are known to have adverse health effects on humans, including cancers of the skin, bladder, kidney & lung, and diseases of the blood vessels of the legs and feet and diabetes. Atoms of arsenic bond with other elements forms molecules — if carbon is one of these elements, then the arsenic compound is an organic compound. The toxicity of arsenic is more in inorganic arsenicwhich is a known human carcinogen — organic and inorganic together are referred to as total arsenic. Inorganic Arsenate, Arsenate in ground water have caused tremendous epidemic poisoning across the globe. The persistence of heavy metals in the environment may pollute or contaminate soils and aqueous streams. Rice is cultivated an aerobically, rather than aerobically which leads to much greater arsenic mobilization.High soil arsenic caused by the reduction of phosphate and arsenate uptake through phosphate transporter. The goal of my work is to find method of reduction of arsenic content in rice. Rice is an important staple food for more than 3.5 billion people whodepend upon rice for more than 20 of their daily calories. It is cultivated over an area of 146 million hectares, which produces 474 million tons annually. Rice farming is the largest single use of land for food. India ranks number one globally in area 44 m ha under rice cultivation with 106 mt. production that stands next to China in total production. Our farmers are less aware in the field of use of rice variety specially arsenic tolerant. Although scientist have developed many good varieties of Rice but the information is either not reached to them or seeds are not available to the farmers so that the old variety they use may be not very nutritional, disease resistant and Arsenic tolerant.Instead of making people healthy they may be more effected by arsenic which causes dangerous diseases. Rice growers still face the challenge of meeting food and ecological security and raising standard of living of their families. To sustain even the present level of per capita availability of rice, we have to add another 70-80 million tones by 2050. This can be achieved by adopting long term strategy of crop productivity improvement,Arsenic and diseases resistant variety along with best growth management practice. I have taken this project on Quality and Quantity of Rice production for ecological security and socio economic development of Rice growers and rural people by use of correct suitable variety.

Erosion is a global problem that destroys soil and adversely affects ecosystem productivity. Soil erosion generally involves many processes but the major activities involve particles being transported and deposited to another location. With an increasing population, soil erosion, water availability, energy production, and biodiversity loss are some of the most pressing environmental problems around the world. Erosion is a hazard associated with agriculture in tropical and semi-arid areas. Kambiti sub catchment is part of the upper Tana catchment. The upper Tana catchment includes 25% of Kenya gazette forest. A large area of land has been degraded, resulting in a drastic reduction in surface water availability during the dry season and poor-quality water during the wet season caused by high silt levels. The main objective of the study is to assess erosion hazards using RUSLE model in Kambiti sub catchment area, Murang’a County. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the effect of rainfall erosivity and soil erodibility factor in Kambiti Sub catchment area in Murang’a County, to determine effect of slope factor to soil loss in Kambiti Sub-catchment area in Murang’a County, to determine the effect of crop protection and management factor in Kambiti Sub catchment area in Murang’a County to soil loss and to determine the strategies for management of soil and water in Kambiti Sub catchment area in Murang’a County. Data was collected from the catchment and analyzed using arc Geographical Information System to obtain the specific parameters in the revised universal soil loss equation model. Interpolation method was used to determine the mean annual precipitation. The k factor is a function of soil texture. Shape file for geological structure for Kenya was obtained from Kenya Agriculture and livestock Research Organisation and analyzed by use of arc GIS to obtain soil erodibility factor. The slope factor was analyzed using digital elevation model from arc view. Digital elevation model was gotten from STRM download. The C factor was derived from Landsat imagery from sentinel of 30metres by 30 metres. It was further analysed by unsupervised classification from Arc GIS. The sentinel clip of Kambiti sub-catchment was joined with ground trothing observations. The results were useful in estimation of soil loss therefore profiling the areas prone to soil loss. Study findings indicated rain drop impact and runoff were primarily responsible for causing erosion in Kambiti sub catchment. Anthropogenic factors played an important role in amplifying the severity of the damage, such as persistent vegetative degradation and destruction of soil structure due to organic matter depletion and routine shallow tillage. In recent years, erosion control has been hampered by the occurrence of gaps in knowledge regarding the integrated nature of erosion processes, leading to land damage caused by rill and inter-rill erosion going unaddressed. Poor people and those lacking capital to invest in reclaiming land are the main causes of abandoning degraded land. Through strategic awareness campaigns and education, soil erosion will be assessed and the knowledge gap will be closed. Participation of farmers in land use decisions is inevitable as it ensures that people who utilize land resources are recognized as equal partners in identifying problems and designing solutions. It was also recommended that Identification and operationalization of alternative off-farm income.

The experiment was conducted in the Agronomy Field, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), Dhaka-1207 during the period of November 17, 2016 to March 29, 2017 on growth and yield performance of selected wheat genotypes at variable irrigation. In this experiment, the treatment consisted of three varieties viz. V1 = BARI Gom 26, V2 = BARI Gom 28, V3 = BARI Gom 30, and four different irrigations viz. I0 = No Irrigation throughout the growing season, I1 = One irrigation (Irrigate at CRI stage), I2= Two irrigation (Irrigate at CRI and grain filling), I3= Three irrigation (irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages). The experiment was laid out in two factors split plot with three replications. The collected data were statistically analyzed for evaluation of the treatment effect. Results showed that a significant variation among the treatments in respect majority of the observed parameters. Results showed significant variation in almost every parameter of treatments. The highest Plant height, number of effective tillers hill-1, spike length, number of grain spike-1 was obtained from BARI Gom-30. The highest grain weight hectare-1 (3.44 ton) was found from wheat variety BARI Gom-30. All parameters of wheat showed statistically significant variation due to variation of irrigation. The maximum value of growth, yield contributing characters, seed yield was observed with three irrigation (irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages). The interaction between different levels of variety and irrigation was significantly influenced on almost all growth and yield contributing characters, seed yield. The highest yield (3.99 t ha-1) was obtained from BARI Gom-30 with three irrigation (irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages). The optimum growth and higher yield of wheat cv. BARI Gom-30 could be obtained by applying three irrigations at CRI, booting and grain filling stages. Introduction Wheat (Triticumaestivum L.) is one of the most important cereal crops cultivated all over the world. Wheat production was increased from 585,691 thousand tons in 2000 to 713,183 thousand tons in 2013 which was ranked below rice and maize in case of production (FAO, 2015). In the developing world, need for wheat will be increased 60 % by 2050 (Rosegrant and Agcaoili, 2010). The International Food Policy Research Institute projections revealed that world demand for wheat will increase from 552 million tons in 1993 to 775 million tons by 2020 (Rosegrantet al.,1997). Wheat grain is the main staple food for about two third of the total population of the world. (Hanson et al., 1982). It supplies more nutrients compared with other food crops. Wheat grain is rich in food value containing 12% protein, 1.72% fat, 69.60% carbohydrate and 27.20% minerals (BARI, 2006). It is the second most important cereal crop after rice in Bangladesh. So, it is imperative to increase the production of wheat to meet the food requirement of vast population of Bangladesh that will secure food security. During 2013-14 the cultivated area of wheat was 429607 ha having a total production of 1302998 metric tons with an average yield of 3.033 metric tons ha-1whereas during 2012-13 the cultivated area of wheat was 416522 ha having a total production of 1254778 metric tons with an average yield of 3.013 tons ha-1 (BBS, 2014). Current demand of wheat in the country is 3.0-3.5 million tons. Increasing rate of consumption of wheat is 3% per year (BBS, 2013). Wheat production is about 1.0 milllion from 0.40 million hectares of land. Bangladesh has to import about 2.0-2.5-million-ton wheat every year. Wheat is grown all over Bangladesh but wheat grows more in Dhaka, Faridpur, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Comilla districts. Wheat has the umpteen potentialities in yield among other crops grown in Bangladesh. However, yield per hectare of wheat in Bangladesh is lower than other wheat growing countries in the world due to various problems. Increasing food production of the country in the next 20 years to much population growth is a big challenge in Bangladesh. It is more difficult because, land area devoted to agriculture will decline and better-quality land and water resources will be divided to the other sector of national economy. In order to grow more food from marginal and good quality lands, the quality of natural resources like seed, water, varieties and fuel must be improved and sustained. Variety plays an important role in producing high yield of wheat because different varieties responded differently for their genotypic characters, input requirement, growth process and the prevailing environment during growing season. In Bangladesh the wheat growing season (November-March) is in the driest period of the year. Wheat yield was declined by 50% owing to soil moisture stress. Irrigation water should be applied in different critical stages of wheat for successful wheat production. Shoot dry weight, number of grains, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index decreased to a greater extent when water stress was imposed at the anthesis stage while water stress was imposed at booting stage caused a greater reduction in plant height and number of tillers (Gupta et al., 2001). Determination of accurate amount of water reduces irrigation cost as well as checks ground water waste. Water requirements vary depending on the stages of development. The pick requirement is at crown root initiation stage (CRI). In wheat, irrigation has been recommended at CRI, flowering and grain filling stages. However, the amount of irrigation water is shrinking day by day in Bangladesh which may be attributed to filling of pond river bottom. Moreover, global climate change scenarios are also responsible for their scarcity of irrigation water. So, it is essential to estimate water saving technique to have an economic estimate of irrigation water. Information on the amount of irrigation water as well as the precise sowing time of wheat with change in climate to expedite wheat production within the farmer’s limited resources is inadequate in Bangladesh. The need of water requirement also varies with sowing times as the soil moisture depletes with the days after sowing in Bangladesh as there is scanty rainfall after sowing season of wheat in general in the month of November. With above considerations, the present research work was conducted with the following objectives: To evaluate yield performance of selected wheat genotypes(s) at variable irrigation management. To identify the suitable genotype (s) of wheat giving higher yield under moisture stress condition. Materials and Methods Description of the experimental site The experiment was conducted in the Research Field, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), Dhaka-1207 during the period of November, 2016 to March, 2017 to observe the growth and yield performance of selected wheat genotypes at variable irrigation management. The experimental field is located at 23041´ N latitude and 90º 22´ E longitude at a height of 8.6 m above the sea level belonging to the Agro-ecological Zone “AEZ-28” of Madhupur Tract (BBS, 2013). Soil characteristics The soil of the research field is slightly acidic in reaction with low organic matter content. The selected plot was above flood level and sufficient sunshine was available having available irrigation and drainage system during the experimental period. Soil samples from 0-15 cm depths were collected from experimental field. The experimental plot was also high land, having pH 5.56. Climate condition The experimental field was situated under sub-tropical climate; usually the rainfall is heavy during Kharifseason, (April to September) and scanty in Rabi season (October to March). In Rabi season temperature is generally low and there is plenty of sunshine. The temperature tends to increase from February as the season proceeds towards kharif. Rainfall was almost nil during the period from November 2016 to March 2017 and scanty from February to September. Planting material The test crop was wheat (Triticumaestivum). Three wheat varieties BARI Gom-26, BARI Gom-28 and BARI Gom-30 were used as test crop and were collected from Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Gazipur. Treatments The experiment consisted of two factors and those were the wheat genotypes and irrigation. Three wheat genotypes and four irrigations were used under the present study. Factor A: three wheat varieties- V1 = BARI Gom-26, V2 = BARI Gom-28 and V3= BARI Gom-30. Factor B: four irrigations- I0 = No Irrigation throughout the growing season, I1 = One irrigation (Irrigate at CRI stage), I2= Two irrigation (Irrigate at CRI and grain filling) and I3= Three irrigation (Irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages). The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with three replications having irrigation application in the main plots, verities in the sub plots. There were 12 treatments combinations. The total numbers of unit plots were 36. The size of unit plot was 2 m x 2 m = 4.00 m2. The distances between sub-plot to sub-plot, main plot to main plot and replication to replication were, 0.75, 0.75 and 1.5 m, respectively. Statistical analysis The collected data on each plot were statistically analyzed to obtain the level of significance using the computer-based software MSTAT-C developed by Gomez and Gomez, 1984. Mean difference among the treatments were tested with the least significant difference (LSD) test at 5 % level of significance. Results and Discussion Plant height Plant height varied significantly among the tested three varieties (Table 1). At, 75 DAS, BARI Gom 30 showed the tallest plant height (34.72 cm) and BARI Gom 26 recorded the shortest plant height (32.32 cm). At, 90 DAS, BARI Gom 30 recorded the highest plant height (76.13 cm) was observed from BARI Gom 26. However, BARI Gom 26 recorded the shortest plant height (75.01 cm) which was also statistically similar with BARI Gom 28. Islam and Jahiruddin (2008) also concluded that plant height varied significantly due to various wheat varieties. Plant height of wheat showed statistically significant variation due to amount of irrigation at 75, 90 DAS under the present trial (Table 2). At 75 DAS, the tallest plant (34.78 cm) was recorded from I3 (Three irrigation) while the shortest plant (32.02 cm) was observed from I0 (No Irrigation throughout the growing season) treatment. At 60 DAS, the tallest plant (77.51 cm) was found from I3, which was statistically similar with I2 (Two irrigation) and I1 (One irrigation). The shortest plant (71.29 cm) was observed from I0. Plant height was likely increased due to applying higher amount of irrigation compared to less amount of irrigation. Sultana (2013) stated that increasing water stress declined the plant height. Interaction effect of variety and different amount of irrigation showed significant differences on plant height of wheat at 75 and 90 DAS (Table 3). The highest plant height at 30 was 38.00 cm obtained from V3I3 treatment combination. The shortest plant height at 30 was 30.67 cm obtained from V1I0 treatment combination. At 60 DAS, plant height was 78.50 cm obtained from V3I3 and lowest was 69.83 cm obtained from V1I0 treatment combination, which was statistically similar with V2I0 and 3I0 treatment combination. Table 1. Effect of variety on plant height of wheat at different days after sowing Table 2. Effect of irrigation on plant height of wheat at different days after sowing Table 3. Interaction effect of variety and irrigation on plant height of wheat Number of effective tiller hill-1 Number of effective tillers hill-1of wheat was not varied significantly due to varieties (Table 4). BARI Gom 30 produced the highest number of effective tillers hill-1 (9.33) and the lowest number of effective tillers hill-1(8.58) was observed in BARI Gom 26. Different levels of irrigation varied significantly in terms of number of effective tillers hill-1 of wheat at harvest under the present trial (Table 5). The highest number of effective tillers hill-1 9.89 was recorded from I3 treatment, while the corresponding lowest number of effective tillers hill-1 were 7.89 observed in I0 treatment. Sultana (2013) stated that increasing water stress reduced the number of tillers per hill. Variety and irrigation showed significant differences on number of effective tillers hill-1 of wheat due to interaction effect (Table 6). The highest number of effective tillers hill-1 10.33 were observed from V3I3 treatment combination, while the corresponding lowest number of effective tillers hill-1 as 7.33 were recorded from V1I0 treatment combination. Number of non-effective tiller hill-1 Number of non-effective tillers hill-1of wheat was not varied significantly due to varieties (Table 4). BARI Gom 26 produced the highest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (1.33) and the lowest number of non-effective tillers hill-1(1.00) was observed in BARI Gom 30. Different levels of irrigation varied significantly in terms of number of non-effective tillers hill-1 of wheat at harvest under the present trial (Table 5). The highest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (2.00) was recorded from I0, while the corresponding lowest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (0.67) was observed in I3. Variety and irrigation showed significant differences on number of non-effective tillers hill-1 of wheat due to interaction effect (Table 6). The highest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (2.33) were observed from V1I0 treatment combination, while the corresponding lowest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (0.33) were recorded from V3I2 treatment combination. Table 4. Effect of variety on yield and yield contributing characters of wheat Table 5. Effect of irrigation on yield and yield contributing characters of wheat Table 6. Interaction effect of variety and irrigation on yield and yield contributing characters of wheat Spike length (cm) Insignificant variation was observed on spike length (cm) at applied three types of modern wheat variety as BARI Gom-26 (V1), BARI Gom-28 (V2), and BARI Gom-30 (V3). From the experiment with that three types of varieties BARI Gom-30 (V3) (8.46 cm) given the largest spike length and BARI Gom-26 (V1) (8.08 cm) was given the lowest spike length (Table 4). Similar result was found using with different type varieties by Hefniet al. (2000). Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation on spike length as irrigated condition (I3) was given the maximum result (9.17 cm) and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest spike length (7.17 cm) (Table 5). Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on spike length. Results showed that the highest spike length was obtained from V3I3 (10.33 cm). On the other hand, the lowest spike length was observed at V1I0 (6.50cm) treatment combination (Table 6). Grain spike-1 Significant variation was observed on grain spike-1 at these applied three types of modern wheat variety. The BARI Gom-30 (V3) (37.75) given the maximum number of grain spike-1 and BARI Gom-26 (V1) (36.92) was given the lowest number of grain spike-1, which was statistically similar with V2 treatment (Table 4). Different wheat genotypes have significant effect on grain spike-1 observed also by Rahman et al. (2009). Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation on grain spike-1 as the irrigation condition (I3) was given the maximum result (39.33), which was statistically similar with I2 and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest grain spike-1 (34.56) (Table 5). Sarkar et al. (2010) also observed that irrigation have a significant effect on grain spike-1. Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on grain spike-1. Results showed that the highest grain spike-1 was obtained from V3I3 (41.0). On the other hand, the lowest grain spike-1 was observed at V1Io (34.00) which were also statistically similar with V3Io (34.67) (Table 6). 3Thousand Seed weight There was significant variation was observed on thousand seed weight due to different types of modern wheat variety. The wheat variety of BARI Gom-30 (V3) (50.40 g) given the maximum thousand seed weight and statistically different from BARI Gom-28 (V2) (46.74 g). BARI Gom-26 (V1) (46.22 g) was given the lowest thousand seed weight (Table 7). Rahman et al. (2009), Islam et al. (2015) also conducted experiment with different variety and observed have effect of varieties on yield. Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation on thousand seed weight. The I3 was given the maximum thousand seed weight (48.91) and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest yield (46.13 g) (Table 8). Sarkar et al. (2010), Baser et al. (2004) reported that grain yield under non-irrigated conditions was reduced by approximately 40%. Bazzaet al. (1999) reported that one water application during the tillering stage allowed the yield to be lower only than that of the treatment with three irrigations but Meenaet al. (1998) reported that wheat grain yield was the highest with 2 irrigations (2.57 ton/ha in 1993 and 2.64 ton/ha) at flowering and/or crown root initiation stages. Wheat is sown in November to ensure optimal crop growth and avoid high temperature and after that if wheat is sown in the field it faces high range of temperature for its growth and development as well as yield potential. Islam et al. (2015) reported that late planted wheat plants faced a period of high temperature stress during reproductive stages causing reduced kernel number spike-1 as well as the reduction of grain yield. Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on thousand seed weight (Table 9). Results showed that the highest thousand seed weight (52.33 g) was obtained from V3I3 which was statistically similar with V3I2 (52.06 g). On the other hand, the lowest yield (45.36 g) was observed at V1I1. Table 7. Effect of variety on yield and yield of wheat Table 8. Effect of irrigation on yield and yield of wheat Table 9. Interaction effect of variety and irrigation on yield and yield of wheat Grain yield (t ha-1) Different wheat varieties showed significant difference for grain weight hectare-1 (Table 7). The highest grain yield hectare-1 (3.44 ton) was found from wheat variety BARI Gom-30 (V3), which was statistically similar with V2, whereas the lowest (3.21 ton) was observed from wheat variety BARI gom 26. Rahman et al. (2009), Islam et al. (2015) also conducted experiment with different variety and observed have effect of varieties on yield. Significant difference was observed for yield for different irrigation application. The three irrigation (I3) was given the maximum yield (3.74 t ha-1), which was statistically similar with I2 treatment and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest yield (2.97 t ha-1) (Table 8). Sarkar et al. (2010), Baser et al. (2004) reported that grain yield under non-irrigated conditions was reduced by approximately 40%. Bazzaet al. (1999) reported that one water application during the tillering stage allowed the yield to be lower only than that of the treatment with three irrigations but Meenaet al. (1998) reported that wheat grain yield was the highest with 2 irrigations (2.57 ton/ha in 1993 and 2.64 ton/ha) at flowering and/or crown root initiation stages. Wheat is sown in November to ensure optimal crop growth and avoid high temperature and after that if wheat is sown in the field it faces high range of temperature for its growth and development as well as yield potential. Islam et al. (2015) reported that late planted wheat plants faced a period of high temperature stress during reproductive stages causing reduced kernel number spike-1 as well as the reduction of grain yield. Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on yield (t ha-1). Results showed that the highest yield (3.99 t ha-1) was obtained from V3I3, which was statistically similar with V2I3 and V3I2. On the other hand, the lowest yield (2.93 t ha-1) was observed at V1I0 (Table 7). Straw yield (t ha-1) Applied three types of wheat variety have a statistically significant variation on straw yield (t ha-1). The maximum straw yield (1.95 t ha-1) was obtained from BARI Gom-30 and BARI Gom-26 (V1) was given the lowest straw yield (1.87 t ha-1), which was statistically similar with V2 treatment. Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation on straw yield (t ha-1) of wheat. The I3 treatment for straw yield (2.01 t ha-1) was given the maximum result and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest (1.80 t ha-1). Similar results were found by Ali and Amin (2004) through his experiment. Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on straw yield (t ha-1). The highest straw yield (2.08 t ha-1) was obtained from V3I3 which was statistically similar with V3I2 (2.07 t ha-1) treatment combination. On the other hand, the lowest straw yield (1.78 t ha-1) was observed at V1Io, which was statistically similar with V2I0 (2.07 t ha-1) treatment combination. Biological yield Significant variation was attained for biological yield for different wheat varieties. The variety BARI Gom-30 given the maximum biological yield (5.39 t ha-1) and BARI Gom-26 (V1) was given the lowest biological yield (5.078 t ha-1). Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation biological yield (t ha-1) of wheat. The I3 treatment for biological yield (5.76 t ha-1) was given the maximum result and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest (4.77 t ha-1). Similar results were found by Ali and Amin (2004) through his experiment. At the time of biological yield (t ha-1) consideration with variety and irrigation statistically significance variation was observed as maximum biological yield (t ha-1) at V3I3 (6.07 t ha-1). On the other hand, the lowest result was given at V1Io (4.72 tha-1). Summary And Conclusion It may be concluded within the scope and limitation of the present study that the optimum growth and higher yield of wheat cv. BARI Gom-30 could be obtained by applying three irrigations at irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages. However, further studies are necessary to arrive at a definite conclusion. References Ali, M. N.; and Amin, M.S. Effect of single irrigation and sowing date on growth and yield of wheat. M. S. thesis, SAU, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2004. (Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute). Hand book of Agricultural Technology. Joydebpur, Gazipur. 2006, 9. Baser, I.; Sehirali, S.; Orta, H.; Erdem, T.; Erdem, Y.; Yorganclar, O. Effect of different water stresses on the yield and yield components of winter wheat. Cereal Res. Comn. 2004, 32(2), 217-223. Bazza, S. S.; Awasthi, M. K.; Nema, R. K. Studies on Water Productivity and Yields Responses of Wheat Based on Drip Irrigation Systems in Clay Loam Soil. Indian J. Sci. Tech. 1999, 8(7), 650-654. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka. 2013. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka. 2014. K. A.; Gomez, A. A. Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research. 2nd edition. John Willy and Sons, New York. 1984, 28-192. Gupta, P. K.; Gautam, R. C.; Ramesh, C. R. Effect of water stress on different stages of wheat cultivation. Plant Nutri. and Fert. Sci. 2001, 7(2), 33-37. Hanson, M.; Farooq, M.; Shabir, G.; Khan, M. B.; Zia, A. B.; Lee, D. G. Effect of date sowing and rate of fertilizers on the yield of wheat under irrigated condition. J. Agril. & Biol. 1982, 14(4), 25-31. Hefni, S.; Sajjad, A.; Hussain M. I.; Saleem, M. Growth and yield response of three wheat varieties to different seeding densities. J. Agric. Biol. 2000, 3(2), 228-229. Islam, S.; Islam, S.; Uddin, M. J.; Mehraj, H.; Jamal Uddin, A. F. M. Growth and yield response of wheat to irrigation at different growing stages. J. Agron. Agril. Res. 2015, 6(1), 70-76. Meena, B. N.; Tunio, S. D.; Shah, S. Q. A.; Sial, M. A.; Abro, S. A. Studies on grain and grain yield associated traits of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties under water stress conditions. Pakistan J. Agril. Engin. Vet. Sci. 1998, 24(2), 5-9. Rahman, M. ; Hossain, A.; Hakim, M. A.; Kabir, M. R; Shah, M. M. R. Performance of wheat genotypes under optimum and late sowing condition. Int. J. Sustain Crop Prod. 2009, 4(6), 34-39. Rosegrant, M. W.; Agcaoili, M. Global food demand, supply, and price prospects to 2010. Washington, DC: Int. Food Policy Res. Inst. 2010. Rosegrant, M. W.; Sombilla, M. A.; Gerpacio R. V.; Ringler, C. Global food markets and US exports in the twenty-first century. Paper prepared for the Illinois World Food and Sustainable Agriculture Program Conference ‘Meeting the Demand for Food in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities for Illinois Agriculture’, 1997. Sarker, S.; Singh, S. K.; Singh, S. R.; Singh, A. P. Influence of initial profile water status and nitrogen doses on yield and evapotranspiration rate of dryland barley. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 2010, 47(1), 22-28. Sultana, F. Effect of irrigation on yield and water use of wheat. M.S. Thesis, Dept. of Irrigation and Water Management. Bangladesh Agril. Univ., Mymensingh. 2013.

Abstract A field experiment was conducted in a semi-arid region in northern China to evaluate the effects of bentonite soil amendment on field water-holding capacity, plant available water, and crop photosynthesis and grain quality parameters for millet [Setaria italic (L.) Beauv.] production over a 5-year period. Treatments included six rates of bentonite amendments (0, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 Mg ha−1) applied only once in 2011. The application of bentonite significantly (P < 0.05) increased field water-holding capacity and plant available water in the 0–40 cm layer. Bentonite also significantly (P < 0.05) increased the emergence rate, above-ground dry matter accumulation (AGDM), net photosynthesis rate (Pr), transpiration rate (Tr), soil and plant analysis development (SPAD) and leaf water use efficiency (WUE). It also increased grain quality parameters including grain protein, fat and fiber content. Averaged over all the years, the optimum rate of bentonite was 24 Mg ha−1 for all plant growth and photosynthesis parameters except for grain quality where 18 Mg ha−1 bentonite had the greatest effect. This study suggests that bentonite application in semi-arid regions would have beneficial effects on crop growth and soil water-holding properties.

Background: Judicious application of inorganic fertilizers is very essential to obtain high yields of improved crop varieties. But the liberal and continuous application of inorganic fertilizers under intensive crop production systems resulted in multiple nutrient deficiency in the soil besides causing imbalance in soil physico-chemical properties. Further the increased use of inorganic fertilizers resulted in diminishing soil fertility and unsustainable crop yields, besides creating additional problems in soil such as soil acidity, alkalinity, soil and ground water pollution. Organic agriculture is environment friendly, ecological production system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony. Organic materials such as compost, vermicompost, poultry manure, oilcakes, green manures and crop residues can substitute inorganic fertilizers to maintain productivity and environmental quality. The quality of agricultural produce, particularly horticultural produce viz., vegetables, flowers and fruits get improves when the nutrients are supplied through organic manures than in the form of fertilizers. Methods: Keeping all above information in view, a present experiment was carried out to study the effect of application of different ratio of vermicompost amended with soil on the growth, yield and quality of tomato crop (Lycopersican esculentum). A pot culture experiment was conducted to study the efficiency of vermicompost on plant growth and yield. Result: From the study, application of organic manures viz vermicompost resulted better crop growth and quality parameters in tomato crop and remarkably improvement in soil fertility was also observed. Application of vermicompost at 25 per cent and 50 per cent treatments not showed significant difference in growth and quality parameters of tomato crop. Regarding the quantity of vermicompost application, the cost of cultivation was reduced in 25 per cent vermicompost applied treatment than 50 per cent vermicompost applied treatment. Therefore, application of 25 per cent vermicompost treatment was found to be the best suited practice for tomato crop cultivation and also increased a net return, improved quality products and sustaining the soil health. Application of organic manure is one of the viable approaches for eco-friendly crop production.

The biomass production by cover plants provides soil protection against erosion and weed control in the winter period, while the effect of cover crops on the parameters of physical soil quality helps in root growth and water storage. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the influence of winter plants on the physical quality of the soil. The experiment consisted of unifactorial treatments, composed of different winter plants: vetch (Vica sativa L.), forage radish (Raphanus sativus L.), black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.), rye (Secale cereale L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and control treatment. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with four replications per treatment. The parcels consisted of 34 lines implanted with a disc seeder and spaced 17 cm and 10 m long, comprising an area of ​57,80 m2 per parcel. Sowing densities were 40 kg ha‑1 for vetch, 20 kg ha-1 for forage radish, 60 kg ha-1 for rye, 150 kg ha-1 for wheat and 90 kg ha-1 for black oat. The control treatment consisted of the vegetation that emerged spontaneously. The parameters evaluated were plant green mass, weed occurrence, apparent density, gravimetric moisture and soil penetration resistance. With the vetch cultivation there was a reduction in the density of the soil in its surface layer, compared to the control treatment and the other cover crops. Wheat increased gravimetric soil moisture retention. Forage radish was superior to the other cover crops in terms of biomass production, totaling 59.91 t ha-1, as well as being the only cover crop that reduced soil penetration resistance, in the layer from 0 to 40 cm of ground. Vetch reduced the density of the soil in its surface layer, and also the resistance to penetration, from 21 cm of depth. Compared to the control treatment, cover crops were efficient in suppressing weed growth.

The effects of the land cover change have impact on quality of the watersheds in Ethiopia by changing surface and ground water quality which in turn effecting livelihood of communities directly depending on these watersheds. Present study was aimed at assessing the impacts of land use changes on water quality of the streams in Awash basin. Sampling sites were selected based on existing land use practices and accordingly six sampling sites were selected along Awash basin. A random sampling technique was used to select study sites to assess the perception of the community about impact of land use on quality of the streams. Data was collected from primary sources which includes household survey, field data and GIS analyses. Likert scale was employed to gather information concerning perception of local community on water use and quality, and their participation in catchment management. Catchment land use data was collected after stratification of the sites along the catchment and the location of sites using global positioning system (GPS) model. An integrated GPS receiver was used to plot field coordinates of sampling sites. ArcView or Arc/Info programs were used to access the database, manipulate the data, and produce a product. The standard deviation and coefficient of variations were used in order to know the variation and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to compare the physicochemical parameters among the sites. The geo-spatial analysis revealed that, out of the total 12091 hectares land cover, 8182.20 hectare (67.67%) covered with farm land, 1206.76 hectares (9.98%) covered with forest, 1640.87 hectares (13.57%) covered with grazing land and 1061.21 hectares (8.79%) covered with community land. The farm size analysis of respondents indicated that about 56.8% (75) of respondents owned farm size of 0.5 hectares to 1 hectare, about 41.6% (55) of them owned farm size of 1.5 hectare to 2 hectare whereas only 1.5% (2) of the households owned farm size of greater than 2 hectares. Regarding results on the perception of different activities along Awash River corridor along the streams, about 86% respondents perceived that the livestock grazing on the river corridor is detrimental to the environment, about 82.6% respondents perceived crop production along the river corridor has detrimental effect. Of total 132 respondents, only 48 respondents agreed that overgrazing and livestock access to water bodies have negative effects on water quality. Effect of agriculture-crop land expansion to the river corridor on water quality was assessed and results revealed that 43.20% agreed that these activities have negative effect on water quality. Regarding impact of clearing of forest in riparian corridor for agriculture and firewood on water quality, 98 respondents strongly agreed that this factor has a negative effect on water quality. About 93.9% respondents agreed that climate change has a definite impact on water resources of the area. Perception of the respondents on water quality rating of the study sites revealed 65% rated site 6 as poor water quality and 75% of the respondent’s rated site 5 as poor quality. The correlation between various pollutant parameters among study sites indicated that, phosphates, nitrates and ammonia had no significance differences among study sites whereas dissolved oxygen, BOD had shown a significant difference among study sites.

Increased human influences on soils frequently result in widespread land and soil degradation. The processes of soil and water degradation are closely linked, as unfavourable changes in the hydrological processes affect soil water regimes. In the last 15-20 years there has been increased interest in human-induced climate change, associated with increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Most of the present and future problems of land and soil degradation, water supply and natural disasters are mainly attributed to these climate changes. At the same time, and probably related to it, there has been a change in the focus of research on soil and water conservation. From the late 1960s there was an increasing interest in stimulating studies related to soil and water conservation. This was a great change from the previous emphasis on more static studies of the characteristics of the soil resource, mainly for soil classification and mapping, and for land evaluation related to agricultural and other uses. This situation was due to the increasing evidence of the global problems of land, soil and water degradation, and their effects on food production and the environment. Particular attention was paid to the processes of soil and water degradation in relation to their use and management for agricultural purposes. These efforts led to the development of models and evaluation systems mainly using empirical approaches. Later studies demonstrated the limitations of the generalized universal use of these empirical approaches. Concurrently there was an increase in related organizations, conventions, congresses and conferences associated with the renewed interest on soil and water conservation. A global assessment of human-induced soil degradation (GLASOD) demonstrated the paucity, difficult accessibility and poor quality of basic information. This information, however, is essential for adequate planning and effective application of practices to prevent soil and water degradation. The most recent conventions and programs at international and regional levels are generally based on re-interpretations, and a different processing method or representation of old information using “new” terminology. In other cases, new information has been mostly generated through indirect or remote sensing deductions, usually without adequate ground-truthing. The decreasing public or private support for more integrated interdisciplinary studies and the compulsion to quickly publish papers has resulted in a very specialized and isolated consideration of different aspects related to the degradation of soil functions. This frequently results in over-simplifications, failures and even contradictions in the proposed strategies to control soil degradation. Currently we have reached quasi-stagnation in soil conservation research and a new series of soil conservation terms (soil quality, desertification, tillage erosion) and clichés (“C sequestration”, “no-tillage”) have been introduced. These are derived from different interests, but generally they are very empirical approaches without a strong scientific basis. However, they attract increased attention from organizations setting policies and providing funds for research in soil and water conservation, and as a consequence many research activities in the last 20 years have been concentrated in such topics. Regretfully, these approaches have very limited accuracy and are insufficient for developing adequate policies for land use and management. Climate, soil and socio-economic conditions differ greatly from one location to another and are changing continuously. There cannot therefore be simple universal prescriptions regarding practices of sustainable soil management for crop production and environmental protection or for mitigation of the greenhouse effect by “C sequestration” in soils. The adequate selection of those sustainable practices must be based on research with a broader vision of soil conservation, where all the system components and their interactions are considered and understood with a far-sighted approach, to ensure that short term gains in one aspect or location do not induce long-term losses in other aspects or elsewhere. Research needs to be directed to better the understanding of the processes and reactions in soils related to chemical recycling and water balance over a range of spatial and temporal scales, with the common objective of improving crop production and environmental protection. Lasting solutions will only be found if adequately trained researchers in soil science and hydrology, who recognize the complexity of the problems, develop appropriate strategies.