Evaluation of groundwater quality and its suitability for drinking and agricultural use in Thanjavur city, Tamil Nadu, India

As groundwater is a vital source of water for domestic and agricultural activities in Thanjavur city due to lack of surface water resources, groundwater quality and its suitability for drinking and agricultural usage were evaluated. In this study, 102 groundwater samples were collected from dug wells and bore wells during March 2008 and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, major ions, and nitrate. Results suggest that, in 90% of groundwater samples, sodium and chloride are predominant cation and anion, respectively, and NaCl and CaMgCl are major water types in the study area. The groundwater quality in the study site is impaired by surface contamination sources, mineral dissolution, ion exchange, and evaporation. Nitrate, chloride, and sulfate concentrations strongly express the impact of surface contamination sources such as agricultural and domestic activities, on groundwater quality, and 13% of samples have elevated nitrate content (>45 mg/l as NO3). PHREEQC code and Gibbs plots were employed to evaluate the contribution of mineral dissolution and suggest that mineral dissolution, especially carbonate minerals, regulates water chemistry.Groundwater suitability for drinking usage was evaluated by the World Health Organization and Indian standards and suggests that 34% of samples are not suitable for drinking. Integrated groundwater suitability map for drinking purposes was created using drinking water standards based on a concept that if the groundwater sample exceeds any one of the standards, it is not suitable for drinking. This map illustrates that wells in zones 1, 2, 3, and 4 are not fit for drinking purpose. Likewise, irrigational suitability of groundwater in the study region was evaluated, and results suggest that 20% samples are not fit for irrigation. Groundwater suitability map for irrigation was also produced based on salinity and sodium hazards and denotes that wells mostly situated in zones 2 and 3 are not suitable for irrigation. Both integrated suitability maps for drinking and irrigation usage provide overall scenario about the groundwater quality in the study area. Finally, the study concluded that groundwater quality is impaired by man-made activities, and proper management plan is necessary to protect valuable groundwater resources inThanjavur city

Synthetic Seed Production of Flower Bulbs

WOS: 000558565200013Flower bulbs are perennial or annual plants with underground structures such as bulb, corn, tuber, and rhizomes. These plants have economic value especially in ornamental plant sector as cut flower, potted flower, and outdoor plants. Most of these plants have garish flower, and many of them are monocotyledon. Cyclamen, Tulipa, Lilium, Narcissus, Gladiolus, Hyacinthus, Crocus, Iris, Allium, Alstroemeria, Anemone, Orchis, Rhododendron, Freesia, Hippeastrum, Muscari, Ornithogalum, Ranunculus, and Zantedeschia are the most important geophytes that are commercially used in the world. These plants can be propagated using conventional and tissue culture techniques. Synthetic seed production is one of these techniques. Synthetic seed, namely, artificial seed, is described as artificially encapsulated plant tissues and somatic embryos with alginate hydrogel. Synthetic seed technology has significant effect on the conservation of the plant tissues and sustainability of the plants. Recently, conservation of the plant species studies significantly increased, and artificial seed method was used as the most common process to conserve important species. in this chapter, oldest and newest synthetic seed production researches were discussed and presented chronologically