1
BINA/Ag. Engg.Division-8A Research Reporton
Evaluation of Different Water Management Practices forWater Savings, Nitrate Leaching and Rice Yield
By
Dr. Md. Asgar Ali Sarkar (Chief Scientific Officer and Head)Dr. M. H. Ali
*
(Senior Scientific Officer)
Agricultural Engineering DivisionBangladesh Institute of Nuclear AgricultureBAU Campus, Mymensingh 2202Bangladesh
*
Corresponding Author, Email: mha_bina@yahoo.com,hossain.ali.bina@gmail.com
March 2010
2
Preface
Over the past few decades there has been increased attention to nitrate concentrationin ground water, particularly to leaching associated with agricultural activities. Concernsgrow about subsurface water quality due to advective downward transport of pollutants asmore water moves through the soil profile. Application of excess nutrient fertilizers for cropproduction may directly affect subsurface water quality especially for NO
3
-N, which is highlymobile.In Bangladesh, nitrate in groundwater is associated with irrigated rice-based croppingsystems. Rice is generally grown under ponded water. The combination of high N-fertilizerinput culture along with ponded water may lead to increased risk of nitrate leaching.Considering this point, the reported investigation was carried out. The research results willhelp in adopting appropriate water management strategy for water saving, increased rice yieldand specifically for reducing risk of NO
3
-N leaching responsible for groundwater pollution.The investigators
3
Summary
Contamination of groundwater with nitrate is attributed to deep percolation of watercontaining the chemical. Thus, proper irrigation scheduling can reduce deep percolation and resultingnitrate loss to a certain extent. Long-term (2000-2005) field and lysimetric study were conducted toevaluate different water management practices for saving the costly irrigation inputs, maximizing therice yield and conversely minimizing the leaching of nitrate-nitrogen (NO
3
-N) below the root zone.The study was carried out with recommended N-fertilizer rate for the study area and differentirrigation strategies. The irrigation strategies were: Continuous ponding of 3-5 cm [T
1
]; continuoussaturation [T
2
]; alternate flooding (5 cm) and drying to 3, 5 and 7 days after the disappearance of theponded water, thereby referred to as T
3
, T
4
, and T
5
, respectively. The water samples were collectedfrom the outlet pipe provided at the bottom of lysimeter and by ceramic suction cups installed in thetreatment plots in the field, which were then analyzed in the laboratory for NO
3
-N concentration. Theresults showed that the variation in yield among the treatments were small and statisticallyinsignificant. But irrigation water required in alternate wetting and drying methods (T
3
to T
5
) were 44to 54 % less than that of continuous ponding and 23 to 36 % less than that of saturation method (T
2
).The pattern of NO
3
-N concentration and the total NO
3
-N loss varied among treatments both at fieldand lysimeter. Nitrate leaching during crop growing period in lysimeter ranged from 1.5 to 3.5 kg/ha.The cumulative NO
3
-N concentration data showed that the total NO
3
-N loss were higher in continuousponding and continuous saturation under field condition. Considering the nitrate loss, rice yield andwater saving, the alternate flooding and drying 5 to 7 days after disappearance of ponded waterseemed to be the best strategy for rice cultivation.
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Water-NO3 Mgt Rice
Evaluation of Different Water Management Practices for Water Savings, Nitrate Leaching and Rice Yield
50
Reads
0
Readcasts
0
Embed Views
Notes
Load more
