International Journal of Agricultural Engineering

Pankaj Barua ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Agricultural Engineering, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat Assam, IN

Abstract

An experiment on integration of rainwater harvesting with drip irrigation to increase productivity of lemon was conducted at Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam during 2009 to 2011. Rainwater harvested in plastic film lined pond during Kharif season was utilized to irrigate plants of lemon grown at 3 m x 3m spacing using drip irrigation with three levels during Rabi. Black plastic mulch was used as an additional water saving technique. The irrigation levels tested were 1.0, 0.8 and 0.6 times of pan evaporation (PE) measured by a USDA Class-A pan. Two years old lemon plants were subjected to the treatments for three consecutive years. The harvested water was monitored for yield and quality. Crop yield and quality, water use and economic analysis were carried out. The analysis of year wise as well as pooled data on plant height, canopy diameter, stem girth, and yield in terms of number of fruits per plant revealed that only drip irrigation irrespective of different levels significantly influenced the observed parameters. Black plastic did not significantly influence growth and yield of lemon. The economic analysis revealed that the integration of rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation was a viable option for increasing productivity and quality of lemon fruits at BCR (benefit to cost ratio) of 2.33.

Keywords

Lemon, Drip Irrigation, Rain Water Harvesting

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Pankaj Barua ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Agricultural Engineering, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat Assam, IN

Abstract

Yield , fruit quality, economic feasibility and water productivity of 4 years old Assam lemon plants were evaluated through a field experiment conducted on old alluvial sandy loam soils of Jorhat, Assam, India for 3 consecutive years (2010 to 2012). Four levels of fertilizer application i.e. 120%, 100% and 80% of recommended dose of fertilizer through drip-fertigation and 100% recommended dose of fertilizer through soil application with 50μm thick black plastic film mulching was studied through a 4x2 factorial experiment in RBD. Results showed significant yield increase due to drip fertigation. Yield and quality of fruit varied with fertligation level and higher doses resulted in better values. WUE and water productivity also varied with fertigation levels in mulched treatments. Best benefit to cost ratio and fertilizer use efficiency was observed for the treatment where 80% of recommended dose of fertilizer was applied through drip-fertigation and plants were not mulched. The study reveals that drip-fertigation can play a positive role in increasing yield, WUE and water productivity of Assam lemon plants with additional benefit of saving in fertilizer cost, fruit quality improvement and better return on investment.

Keywords

Assam Lemon, Benefit Cost Ratio, Drip-fertigation, Water Productivity

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Pankaj Barua ¹

Affiliations
1 AICRP on Water Management, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat Assam, IN

Abstract

A single cylinder manual hand pump of cylinder size 300mm x 225 mm fabricated at Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat and a double cylinder commercial pedal pump of cylinder size 300 mm x 88.9 mm was tested at laboratorities at Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam and at farmer's field in 5 districts of Brahmaputra valley of Assam during 2011-13 for their techno economic feasibility for irrigation. Discharge head relationships on the basis of pumping test for both the pumps were established. Discharge variation in high head was found to be prominent in manual hand pump for single person operation. Pedal operated pump though producing less discharge , was found to be better preferred by farmers' because of ease of operation , water lifting capability in terms of head and field security. Discharge and power requirement estimated from equations developed also established superiority of pedal pump. This pump was further subjected to farmer's participatory action research in 5 districts of Brahmaputra valley of Assam . Total 21 units were tested for irrigating different crops of farmer's choice. Cultivation of tuberose in Nalbari district , Ridge gourd and cabbage in Sonitpur district recorded highest benefit cost ratio (8.50), highest increase in yield over farmer's practice (78.8 %) and highest field water use efficiency (3557.69), respectively.

Keywords

Manual Hand Pump, Pedal Pump, Head –discharge Relation, Power Requirement

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