Adverse effect of excessive water on the crop growth
Published on by Pranit Bais, Agriculture MandE
Dear Friends, I have two related question about my new farming project area.
1. I am evaluating the adverse effect of excessive irrigation water provided to the crops at different growth stages. Is there any software to evaluate the correlation between the amount of irrigation water and crop growth? If anyone has worked in this area, share your case studies, documents or experience, please.
2. In my study, area soil has more than 20% clay content so the speed of water moving down the root zone is very slow. Soils easily get waterlog. How can we correct the soil drainage issue here in this area?
Taxonomy
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11 Answers
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In the Chambal Project Rajasthan at Kota, the problem of water logging and salanization has been successfully solved by a network of drainage system containing field drains ( to carry excess water0, seepage drains ( along canals) and carrier drains to carry water from field drains and seepage drains to main drains ( modified natural drains) to the tributaries of the rivers or river itself. This allows washing of salts from the soil and also lowering the water table below root jone of the plants so that roots have good aeration.
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Dear Pranit
Possibility of excess salt in root zone occur only when soils do not have sufficient moisture/water. As the soils dried up concentration of salts increases because of transpiration of water from surface and through capillary movement whatever salts were removed from root zone by extra water and irrigation find the way to come back. Hence when soil dried the concentration increases up to the level of exosmosis. In fact extra irrigation might help to wash excess of salts and it is the easy way to decrease salts from the upper layers , However salts will be infiltrated to deeper layers and to acquifers, causing problems of salt contamination.
On the other hand, using salt tolerant crops is good to the crops, but it is not good to the soil, which will be contaminated with the salts. So, the best way to preserve future crops and to clean the soil from the salts is to use clean and environmental desasalination techniques-Conditions required to improve saline soils are:
1. Availability of good quality of irrigation water
2. Good drainage condition
3. Use more organic matter
4. 25% higher fertilizer dose than recommended one
5. Shallow and frequent irrigation
6. Use salt tolerant crops/varieties
7. Rice crop during kharif season is most suitable
Salinity hazardThis is directly related to the quantity of salts dissolved in the irrigation water. All irrigation water contains potentially injurious salts and nearly all the dissolved salts are left in the soil after the applied water is lost by evaporation from the soil or through transpiration by the plants. Unless the salts are leached from the root zone, sooner or later they will accumulate in quantities which will partially or entirely prevent growth of most crops.
Sodicity (alkali) hazard
This is another problem often confronting long-term use of certain water for irrigation and relates to the maintenance of adequate soil permeability so that the water can infiltrate and move freely through the soil
Toxicity hazard
A third problem results from the existence, in some water, of such toxic substances as boron or heavy metals. Boron, though an essential element for plant growth and nutrition, is required only in very small amounts. A high concentration of boron in the irrigation water can have a toxic effect on the growth of many plants. Similarly, certain other ions, e.g. chloride, sodium, etc., could prove toxic to specific crops if present in excessive quantities.
Regards,
Prem Baboo
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if your crop is fruit trees, our irrigation system(the buried diffuser) could be a good solution because it delivers the water 50cm below the soil suface respecting the heavy soil(50% of clay) water absorption rate(4 litters per hour) . Test have been done during 52 days none stop(days and nights) in a thick heavy soil(4 meters ) to deliver 10 cubic meters of water. the moistened soil bulb has 3 meters diameter . what is important is that the roots system will occupy this bulb and aerate the deep soil layers . The top 50 cm of the soil during the dry season will dry and crack allowing more aeration of deep soil layers. for more information on the buried diffuser visit: www.chahtech.com
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My answer
the question is very ambiguous because it responds to her own question. Except to say that the Agronomist is lack of knowledge on Organic Matter.
The too much water on any cultivated land has the effect of rot any plant unless the soil is sandy.
It is not the fact of too excessive amount of water that is of importance, but especially the lack of fertilizer that does not contain the clay soil.
Water and clay soil will clump of roots and suffocate.
There is no need software to illuminate it.
Even good drainage there will nothing. Question: Can we know the height of the clay layer?
There is a solution 'ecological' in itself but which will turn against productivity is infiltration hole perforation beyond the clay layer.
But each watering will lose over 80% of its effectiveness, therefore zero, and infiltration wells will dry up the surrounding land (their goal)
A biological solution is planting a biodiversity whose root will seep into the soil and subsoil by its need for veganism Biodiversity fixing strength, such large tree.
Another solution that I practice with my concept of Biological Remediation, is as follows:
The upgrading of wastewater for productive organic farming.
Make the culture surface may require root of landfill. Drizzle with wastewater containing fine particles of organic matter in suspension which will colonize the clay soil in time. Each watering this organic matter will penetrate slightly into the ground and set.
Thus the soil will become in time a very fertile ground.
But it is a procedure a few years 30/40 years. Question Where in the world do you find this issue? -
My article "Disadvantages of excess irrigation" is in Hindi language. "The Water Network" may like to get my article translated in English, to be useful for the people not knowing Hindi language.
2 Comments
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Thanks a lot
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sure Mr. Agrawal, I will try!
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1. Excess water adversly affect the plant growth and development by changing the micro environment of soil (developed anaerobic condition : replacement of oxygen by the water and check the root respiration process that leads to formation of ethylene. it is a plant growth inhibitor that cause plant wilting.
2. simply you add organic matter e.g. FYM, Vermi compost or other organic compounds that improve the aeration of soil. it also helps in water retention and supply of micro nutrients to the plants
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You may want to read the FAO Paper 56 on Irrigation and drainage http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0490e/x0490e00.htm
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You may Use software name"CROPWAT".
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An article written by me titled Disadvantages of Excess Irrigation is available at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7OEEuzHbopKQ1FCYTEtOEpRM28
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An article written by me titled Disadvantages of Excess Irrigation is available at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7OEEuzHbopKQ1FCYTEtOEpRM28
1 Comment
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The article can be directly downloaded using copying and pasting the link on web page
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1 ) You may like to read my article "Disadvantages of Excess irrigation " in this regard, which will give you a clear picture.
2) I think you are not specific. slow means what, with respect to sand or what? Movement of water in unconsolidated clay duly tilled , is very much higher than the clay watered and consolidated to make embankment. The water logging is due to use of excessive use of water for irrgating the crops. You can use tensiometers to give required quantity of water to the crop. There is no fun in using excessive water for irrigation and than draining it out back to river.