Influence of irrigation water on black soils in Amravati district, Maharashtra

In view of earlier reports on the occurrence of saltaffected shrink-swell soils in the Purna valley areas in Amravati district of Maharashtra, the present study was carried out to assess the current nature and extent of soil degradation due to use of irrigation water. Results indicate that the irrigation water used to raise agricultural crops in Amravati, Bhatkuli, Warud and Daryapur tehsils contains enough soluble Na-ions and residual sodium carbonate as the water belongs to C4S2 and C4S1 class of the United States Salinity Laboratory. The anthropogenic activities by introducing irrigation have caused severe drainage problem in the shrink-swell soils of the district, which are highly clayey and smectitic that have inherent low permeability. Only exception is the better drained soils of Warud tehsil, which are endowed with Ca-zeolite that help to ward off the ill effects of irrigation. The study thus suggests that continuing the present anthropogenic activities might render the soils unsuitable for agricultural production in the future. In contrast, the soils which are not irrigated do not suffer from any serious degradation in terms of high exchangeable Na (ESP) and low saturated hydraulic conductivity (sHC), suggesting that it would be prudent to encourage rainfed agriculture in the district under improved management practices

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Not AvailableIn view of earlier reports on the occurrence of saltaffected shrink-swell soils in the Purna valley areas in Amravati district of Maharashtra, the present study as carried out to assess the current nature and extent of soil degradation due to use of irrigation water. Results indicate that the irrigation water used to raise agricultural crops in Amravati, Bhatkuli, Warud and Daryapur tehsils contains enough soluble Na-ions and residual sodium carbonate as the water belongs to C4S2 and C4S1 class of the United States Salinity Laboratory. The anthropogenic activities by introducing irrigation have caused severe drainage problem in the shrink-swell soils of the district, which are highly clayey and smectitic that have inherent low permeability. Only exception is the better drained soils of Warud tehsil, which are endowed with Ca-zeolite that help to ward off the ill effects of irrigation. The study thus suggests that continuing the present anthropogenic activities might render the soils unsuitable for agricultural production in the future. In contrast, the soils which are not irrigated do not suffer from any serious degradation in terms of high exchangeable Na (ESP) and low saturated hydraulic conductivity (sHC), suggesting that it would be prudent to encourage rainfed agriculture in the district under improved management practices.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableGroundwater is the major or the only source of supplemental irrigation in the arid, semi-arid and coastal regions. Poor quality irrigation water in shrink–swell soils (i.e. Vertisols or black cotton soils) causes poor drainage (due to low saturated hydraulic conductivity (sHC)), increase in pH (due to soil reaction), high exchangeable sodium/magnesium percentage and increase in bulk density of soil. Therefore, quality of irrigation water is a key issue in irrigated agriculture, particularly in black soils where due to high clay content of the shrink–swell type of soil, the drainage problem is more likely. In India, shrink–swell soils (Vertisols) developed in the alluvium derived from the weathering of Deccan basalt, are found mostly in the Peninsular region extending from 845N to 260N lat. and 680E to 8345E long. Majority of shrink–swell soils (Vertisols) covering nearly 76.4 mha (ref. 3) in India occur in the lower piedmont plains or valleys, or in microdepressions.Not Availabl