- Water Management for Crop Production in Arid Lands

2012 ◽  
pp. 204-223
2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-690
Author(s):  
MS Rahman ◽  
M Khatun ◽  
ML Rahman ◽  
SR Haque

The study attempts to determine the training needs of the farmers emphasizing nine selected major thematic areas. Under each major component, specific and relevant training needs item were collected and systematically incorporated into an interview schedule and administered in terms of frequency of training imparted. Four districts were purposively selected for the study and a total of eighty farmers were randomly selected from four districts. Primary data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that more male was involved in farming and 45% farmers were middle age category (30-39 years). Majority of the farmers completed primary level of education compared to other categories and family size of more than half (60 %) of the respondents was three. Majority number of respondents (57%) had more than 10 years farming experience. A small number of farmers (8.75%) had owned agricultural land and 45% had land between 0.50- 1 hectare. More than 75% of annual gross income of 57.50% farmers came from agricultural activities. More than half (55%) of the respondents collected information on crop and its varieties by own attempt while about 34% was informed from seed seller or dealer. Farmers in Chattogram district had first priority to get training on integrated pest and diseases management, production of bio control agents and bio pesticides, marketing and transportation. Water management, integrated pest and disease management, vermi-compost production, marketing and transportation ranked first in Khagrachori district. The areas of priority for training in Rajshahi district were production and management technology, processing and value addition, marketing and transportation, integrated pest and disease management, water management and vermi-compost production. Training on integrated pest and disease management, bio-control of pests and diseases, production of bio control agents and bio pesticides, production of off-season vegetables, vermi-compost production, marketing and transportation were most emphasized by the respondents in Rangpur district. Respondents defined identification of adulterated fertilizer, insecticide and pesticide application, disease and insects of mango varieties and fruit bagging system of mango as very good type of training. The study concluded that there is an urgent need to design regular training programs in identified thematic areas to fulfill the knowledge gap among the farmers of Bangladesh.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 43(4): 669-690, December 2018


HortScience ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 662-666
Author(s):  
Lusheng Zeng ◽  
Jiayang Liu ◽  
Robert N. Carrow ◽  
Paul L. Raymer ◽  
Qingguo Huang

Organic coatings on sand particles can cause soil water repellency (SWR) where a soil does not spontaneously wet; this leads to challenges in water management and crop production. In laboratory studies, we evaluated a novel approach using direct application of 10 enzymes at three (low, medium, high) dosages to remediate SWR on two sand turfgrass soils in a 3-day incubation study and a second study at high dosage with 1-day incubation. A soil:solution ratio of 1:1 (10 g soil and 10 mL solution) was used and a deionized water control included. For Soil 7, a very strongly hydrophobic soil from a localized dry spot turfgrass area with a water drop penetration time (WDPT) of 7440 seconds (untreated) and 332 to 338 seconds (water-treated), the high dosage rates of laccase, chitinase, and protease at 1 and 3 days incubation resulted in WDPT of less than 60 seconds (i.e., hydrophilic soil). Pectinase exhibited similar results only in the 3-day incubation study. On the strongly hydrophobic Soil 21 (WDPT of 655 seconds untreated; 94 to 133 water-treated) from the dry area of a fairy ring-affected area on a turfgrass site, high dosages of chitinase, laccase, pectinase, and protease reduced WDPT to less than 60 seconds in both studies; and medium dosage rates were also effective for all but protease in the 3-day incubation study. Each of the four most effective enzymes for reducing WDPT, noted previously, demonstrated a significant exponential or logarithmic relationship between decreasing WDPT and increasing enzyme dosage. Further studies in field situations will be required to determine enzyme effectiveness on SWR and water management.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn DeMoranville

The american cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is a wetland plant native to North America. The plant is adapted to sandy, nutrient-poor, low pH soils and thus, like blueberry (Vaccinium sp.), its nutritional requirements are low compared with many other perennial fruit crops. Research conducted over the past 30 years has defined the annual requirements for nitrogen [N (20–60 lb/acre)], phosphorus [P (<20 lb/acre)], and potassium (40–120 lb/acre) based on tissue testing, plant growth demands, potential for remobilization, and determination of removal in the crop. These three nutrient elements are those most commonly applied to the crop in fertilizers. However, much of the work on nutrient rate requirements was conducted on native cultivars and there is an expectation that requirements of newer hybrid cultivars are greater. In Massachusetts, cranberries are grown in coastal watersheds and often depend on small lakes as their water source for irrigation, harvest, and winter flooding. Since cranberry production is heavily dependent on water use, the interaction of nutrient management and water management has become a primary focus area for research and extension, particularly for N and P, the nutrient elements most frequently associated with environmental pollution. Recent preliminary research examining cranberry farms with varied configurations (e.g., water passes through the bog and exits via a long channel, water recirculates back into the supply water body) has indicated that the cranberry bogs may act as either a source or sink for N depending on configuration and management activities. In a study of cranberry farms where P use was reduced to an average of <10 lb/acre, P concentration in harvest flood water declined by as much as 85% while crop production was sustained. Site variation in output of N and P in cranberry drainage and flood waters indicates the need for further research into the variables that control these processes, including soil types, site hydrology, nutrient application rates and forms, and water-management activities.


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