Not Available

Not AvailableKrishak Bandhu pump is a manually operated treadle pump. As the capacity of the operator to operate the pump varies from person to person, it is difficult to evaluate the mechanical performance of the components in the field condition. Therefore, a laboratory experimental study was carried out to evaluate the performance of the components of a Krishak Bandu (KB) pump at College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, O.U.A.T., Bhubaneswar. The performance evaluation was evaluated by measuring wear and tear of the components. To simulate the field operating condition in the laboratory, a one hp electrical motorized power unit was used to operate the pump after suitably modifying the operating system of the pump. The dimensions of different body parts of the KB pump susceptible to wear and tear were measured at different times of operation. The performance evaluation of the pump was carried out for a total operating duration of 1000 hours. During the test of the pump, the discharge of the pump was about 0.49 lps with suction head varying from 3.92 m to 5.20 m. The volumetric efficiency of the pump was estimated to be 86.5%. The test results revealed that the most vulnerable component of the KB pump to wear and tear was the lever equalizer. If this part is suitably modified, the KB pump can perform better in the coastal areas.Not Availabl

Not Available

Training manualIrrigation wells and pumps are costly installations which require efficient utilization. Further, efficient utilization of the limited energy resources calls for the selection of the most suitable pump, keeping in view the requirements of irrigations, characteristics of the well or other sources of water, kind of power available, economics conditions of farmers and other factors.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableThe space between two clay particles consists of two electric double layers, one adjacent to each clay surface and in-between effective pore space. While solving the Poisson-Boltzman equation, one boundary condition is that, at infinite distance from the clay surface potential is zero. Practically midpoint of the interplate distance is considered to be at infinite distance from the clay surface. Without knowing the interplate distance, the Poisson-Boltzman equation can not be solved for computing the electric double layer. In this paper, a method is suggested for computation of effective pore space as well as electric double layer and consequently the interplate distance. The existing methods of bulk concentration measurement suit the evaluation of electric double layer and effective pore space in saturated soil. However, applying mass balance for individual ion, the bulk concentration and the distribution of ions in unsaturated state are predicted accurately treating it as an inverse problem.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableThe acid sulphate soils are found at some places in Sundarbans region of West Bengal. These soils are highly acidic, deficient in P and, high in Fe and Al content with very poor crop yield. In the present investigation the effect of P -fertilizer, lime and green manure on the productivity of rice and effect of P -fertilizer and residual effect of lime on sunflower was studied under farmer's field condition with an objective to develop strategies for the efficient management of these soils. Under the on -farm study 3 doses of P [0, 40 (recommended dose) & 80 (double of recommended dose) P205 kg ha -1], 3 doses of lime (0, half & full of lime requirement determined by KCI extraction method) with or without green manure were evaluated under RBD laid out field experiment with 3 replications. Locally available oyster shells (milled) were applied as cheap source of lime during dry season. Significant increase in the plant growth parameters like plant height and root density was recorded at double the recommended dose of P followed by the recommended dose compared to no P -fertilizer treatment. The increase in grain and st.aw yield of rice and grain yield of sunflower was also followed the same trend. The improvement in growth and yield of rice due to application of limo and residual effect of lime on yield of sunflower at P -fertilizers treatments with full lime requirement dose was at par with half lime requirement dose. The effect of the application of green manure was found to be significant at all the treatments of P fertilizer and lime. Limo application resulted in increase in pH of soil and decease in KCL extractable Al and, DTPA extractable Fe and Mn of the soil. The available P content of the soil has been increased due to application of P -fertilizer as well as lime.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableFresh water scarcity is the main problem for growing crops in the coastal West Bengal beyond the rainy season. To alleviate the water scarcity during the non-monsoon period, augmentation of capacity of ground water through artificial recharge during the rainy season was experimented at ICAR-CSSRI, RRS, Canning Town farm. A recharge tube well of 12.7 cm diameter and 40.5 m depth was installed in the year 2011. As the water table came up very close to the surface (< 1 m bgl) during the rainy season, an experiment was carried out for lowering the water table by pumping during summer and artificial recharge of runoff water during the rainy season. For pumping out the ground water, 1 HP electrical pump with discharge of 0.64 lps was used. In spite of 30 days (6 hours per day) of pumping in the summer season, the pumping water level was not lowered below 6 m depth. There was depletion of the water table due to pumping till 27th week from January, 2012. Later the water table moved up due to recharge in the monsoon period. The rising of water table near to the surface was similar to previous year when tube well was installed during July/August, 2011 and there was no artificial recharge. Therefore, the present situations are not conducive for artificial recharge in the Canning area. However, if at any location the water table in post monsoon season depletes regularly beyond 3m bgl, there artificial recharge may be done.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableThe Sundarban region of West Bengal is one of the most fragile and vulnerable zones to the impacts of climate change. Farmers prefer to grow rice during the dry (rabi) season as the yields are higher than in kharif. However, rice cultivation during this season is limited due to the shortage of good quality irrigation water. The surface water resources are limited and with the progress of the dry season, the ground water becomes increasingly saline and unfit for irrigation. Climate change impacts could further complicate the existing problems with serious impact on the agricultural production thereby threatening food and livelihood security of the resource poor farmers. With rising temperatures and changes in rainfall pattern, climate change would affect the water balance, as well as, water requirement of agricultural crops. We therefore assessed the effect of climate change on future water requirement of rabi rice by estimating the crop water requirement with CROPWAT model using the downscaled MarcSim weather data (2016-95) obtained from an ensemble of all 17 General Circulation Models (GCMs) for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 emission scenarios and compared with the base period (1966-2015). An increasing trend of reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0) was observed for both RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenario, however the rate was steeper for RCP 8.5 particularly during the period 2076-2095. Compared to the base period (1966-2015), the ET0 increased by 2.30% and 2.21% during 2020s for RCP 4.5 and 8.5, respectively and by 7.15% and 10.76% during 2090s. Similarly, the irrigation requirement of rice during rabi would increase by 6.79% and 6.26% during 2020s for RCP 4.5 and 8.5, respectively and by 9.31% and 13.38% during 2090s. On the other hand, the effective rainfall during the crop growth period would reduce by 22.48% and 30.32% in 2090s for RCPs 4.5 and 8.5, respectively over the base period. The study quantified the impact of future climate change on the ET0 and water requirement of rabi rice which showed and increasing trend under climate change.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableWater is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity with its availability declining day by day thereby posing a major challenge for its sustainable use. Water quality is yet another important issue as it influences the salinity build up that could impact crop productivity. Scarcity of good quality irrigation water is one of the major bottlenecks along with soil salinity that severely limits crop production in the coastal region of West Bengal, particularly during the dry season. Most of the lands are therefore mono-cropped and left fallow during the dry season. Thus there is a need to focus on proper irrigation management practices that would allow efficient use of available water resources to sustain crop productivity and increase cropping intensity in the region. A study was therefore were carried out at ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, RRS, Canning Town, West Bengal to understand the impacts of saline water irrigation on salt dynamics and productivity of rabi maize in a heavy texture coastal saline soil. The treatments consisted of good quality irrigation water (ECiw < 2 dS m-1) and saline irrigation waters having ECiw of 4 and 8 dS m-1 applied in four different regimes based at 125, 100, 75 and 50 % of cumulative pan evaporation (CPE). The results obtained revealed that salinity build up at the end of the crop growth period was more with the application of saline irrigation water. With the application of irrigation water having salinity of 8.0 dS m-1, the mean surface soil salinity (ECe) increased from 4.17 dS m-1 to 7.1 dS m-1 at harvest. The soil ECe at harvest was 4.1 dS m-1 where good quality water was applied and 4.7 dSm-1 with irrigation water having ECe of 4.0 dS m-1. Soil ECe at harvest showed an increasing trend with the application of decreasing level of good quality water. However, with application of saline water in increasing amounts, the ECe increased due to introduction of more salts into the soil along with the irrigation water. This effect was more pronounced with application of irrigation water having EC 8.0 dS m-1 due to high salt content. The contents of Na+, K+, Cl- and SO4-2 in the soil saturation extract was found to be closely related to the soil ECe with R2 values of 0.84, 0.54, 0.87 and 0.65, respectively. The mean kernel and stover yields of maize were reduced by 24.2 and 18.5 % respectively in deficit irrigation treatment (50% CPE) as compared to irrigation level of 100% CPE. Statistically at par kernel and stover yields were obtained at irrigation levels of 100% and 75% CPE. Irrigation with saline water having EC of 8.0 dSm-1 significantly reduced the kernel, stover and cob yields of maize to the extent of 31.1, 46.4 and 26.2 % over that with good quality water. However, the differences in kernel yield of maize irrigated with good water to that with saline water of 4.0 dS m-1 was insignificant. The study revealed that irrigation with fresh water provides higher yield advantage in maize. However, under conditions of limited availability of irrigation water, irrigation with 4 dSm-1 saline water or deficit irrigation at 75% CPE may prove to be an alternative irrigation management option for maize production in coastal saline soil.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableNot AvailableNot Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableCropping systemsNot Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableThe coastal lands in West Bengal are flat with little or no slope and often suffer from inadequate drainage and waterlogging during the rainy season; and water scarcity and salinity in the post monsoon period. Number of experiments were carried out at ICAR-CSSRI, RRS, Canning Town farm in the years 2001-04 and 2012-15 utilizing the modern irrigation techniques such as micro-sprinkler and drip irrigation systems using electric, gravity and solar power. These systems were used during the post monsoon period for conducting experiments on vegetable crops. Irrigations were scheduled based on cumulative pan evaporation data. Measurements were made to evaluate the salinity in the root zone and crop performance in terms of yield and return. In the gravity drip irrigation system, four crops such as okra, red beet, basella and cow pea were taken for the experimentation. Cow pea suffered most and okra crop performed best among the vegetables if there is flash flood in the field. The wind which occurs frequently in the non-monsoon period affects the uniformity of water application in micro-sprinkler irrigation and cause more evaporation loss. Among the seven types of crops such as Tomato, Beet, Knol-khol, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chilli and Okra, the return was highest in tomato crop in comparison to cabbage, cauliflower, red beet, knoll-khol, and chilli during the rabi season having good market price and regular market demand. The soil salinity in the rootzone was less than 3 dS/m at the staring of the season. Later the soil salinity decreased due to the drip irrigation and increased at the non-irrigated soil at the upper depths. In the solar drip irrigation system experiment, the solar energy was amply available in the rabi/summer season and there was 60 % saving of labour and 40 to 50 % saving of water in comparison to traditional manual irrigation with 20 to 30 percent increase in yield.The productivity of coastal lands can be improved by efficiently utilizing the limited available water.Not Availabl