Object Based Modelling for the Irrigation Suitability using Hydrogeochemical Parameters and Land use Dynamics in the Lower Ganga

The north Indian Ganga basin is one of the densely populated basins of the world. Most agricultural and industrial contaminants drained throughout the river length are likely to be accumulated in the lower part of the Ganga basin. We used ten derived irrigation suitability parameters, which are obtained from 495 sampling points locations, besides using long term climate data (GLDAS_NOAH025_M) using “Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution” (TOPSIS) model to get the irrigation suitability map. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) using TOPSIS helps make the best choices from the available finite number of alternatives based on their ranking. The obtained entropy weight for irrigation suitability parameters such as Electrical Conductivity (Ec), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Magnesium Hardness (MH), Sodium Percent (Na%), Total Hardness (TH), Kelly’s ratio (KR), Permeability Index (PI), Chloride concentration (Cl−), Groundwater Level Fluctuation (GWLF), and lang factor (Df) are found to be 0.08, 0.14, 0.02, 0.02, 0.04, 0.08, 0.01, 0.32, 0.29 and 0.01 respectively. We find that SAR, Cl−, and GWLF controls the water quality for irrigation in the Lower Ganga basin since these parameters have relatively higher entropy weights (more than 0.10). The results obtained from the computed performance index or the closeness coefficient show that the area percent having very good, good, and very poor groundwater quality in the Lower Ganga basin is 34.67%,42.36%, and 22.97%, respectively. The LULC change pattern indicates that the percentage change of water and agricultural land was -11.96 and -0.86%, whereas an increase in the settlement area of 131.42% for the period between 2000 and 2015.

Mapping Spatial Management Zones of Salt-Affected Soils in Arid Region: A Case Study in the East of the Nile Delta, Egypt

Soil salinization is a global problem that affects a large part of the world, especially arid and semi-arid regions. Hence, diagnosing soil salinity is the first step towards appropriate management. The current work aims to assess and map soil salinity in the eastern Nile Delta using principal component analysis (PCA). In order to develop appropriate solutions for rational management to mitigate the impacts of soil salinization and increase yield production 34 soil profiles were dug that covered the variation in the soils located at the northeast of the Nile delta. The spatial variation of soil parameters was mapped using ordinary kriging interpolation. The results of PCA illustrated that, among the studied soil properties, soil electrical conductivity (ECe), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), exchangeable sodium percent (ESP), and bulk density (BD), are the critical factors affecting management practices in the Nile Delta. Two spatial management zones (SMZ) were identified; SMZ 1 occupied 45.04% of the study area and SMZ2 occupied 54.96% of the study area. The average of soil pH, ECe, SAR, CEC, ESP and BD were 8.31, 20.32 dSm−1, 47.19, 32.9 cmolckg−1, 32.85% and 1.47 Mgm−3 for the first cluster (SMZ1), respectively. In addition, the second cluster (SMZ2) had average soil pH, ECe, SAR, CEC, ESP and BD of 7.75, 12.30 dSm−1, 26.6, 25.23 cmolckg−1, 26.6% and 1.27 Mgm−3. The results showed p-value < 0.05 which confirms that there is a significant statistical difference between the two zones. Finally, the results obtained could be used as a fundamental basis for improving agricultural management practices in such salt-affected soils.

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Nutritional Quality of New South Wales High School Student Food and Drink Purchases Made via an Online Canteen Ordering System

Unhealthy dietary patterns in adolescence are associated with an increased risk of future chronic disease. This study aimed to assess online canteen lunch purchases made by high school students to identify: (1) the nutrient composition of purchases (energy, saturated fat, sugar, sodium, percent energy from saturated fat and total sugar); (2) the proportion of items classified as healthier (‘Everyday’) and less healthy (‘Occasional’ or ‘Should not be sold’) according to the New South Wales Healthy Canteen Strategy; (3) the frequency of purchases by product type (e.g., salty snacks), their classification and nutrient composition; and (4) associations between student characteristics and the nutrient composition and classification of purchases. The average order contained 2075 kJ of energy, 6.4 g of saturated fat, 18.4 g of sugar and 795 mg of sodium. Less healthy (‘Occasional’ and ‘Should not be sold’) items combined accounted for 56% of purchases. The most frequently purchased products were burgers and crumbed/coated foods. Students in higher grades purchased a significantly higher mean percent of ‘Everyday’ items, compared to students in grades 7 or 8. The majority of high school student purchases were less healthy (‘Occasional’ or ‘Should not be sold’) items, warranting further investigation of factors influencing online canteen purchasing behaviour in this setting.

Impact of a modified version of baby-led weaning on infant food and nutrient intakes: The BLISS randomized controlled trial

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Despite growing international interest in Baby-Led Weaning (BLW),we know almost nothing about food and nutrient intake in infants following baby-led approaches to infant feeding. The aim of this paper was to determine the impact of modified BLW (i.e., Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS; BLISS) on food and nutrient intake at 7–24 months of age. Two hundred and six women recruited in late pregnancy were randomized to Control (n = 101) or BLISS (n = 105) groups. All participants received standard well-child care. BLISS participants also received lactation consultant support to six months, and educational sessions about BLISS (5.5, 7, and 9 months). Three-day weighed diet records were collected for the infants (7, 12, and 24 months). Compared to the Control group, BLISS infants consumed more sodium (percent difference, 95% CI: 35%, 19% to 54%) and fat (6%, 1% to 11%) at 7 months, and less saturated fat (−7%, −14% to −0.4%) at 12 months. No differences were apparent at 24 months of age but the majority of infants from both groups had excessive intakes of sodium (68% of children) and added sugars (75% of children). Overall, BLISS appears to result in a diet that is as nutritionally adequate as traditional spoon-feeding, and may address some concerns about the nutritional adequacy of unmodified BLW. However, BLISS and Control infants both had high intakes of sodium and added sugars by 24 months that are concerning.

Impact of a modified version of baby-led weaning on infant food and nutrient intakes: The BLISS randomized controlled trial

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Despite growing international interest in Baby-Led Weaning (BLW),we know almost nothing about food and nutrient intake in infants following baby-led approaches to infant feeding. The aim of this paper was to determine the impact of modified BLW (i.e., Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS; BLISS) on food and nutrient intake at 7–24 months of age. Two hundred and six women recruited in late pregnancy were randomized to Control (n = 101) or BLISS (n = 105) groups. All participants received standard well-child care. BLISS participants also received lactation consultant support to six months, and educational sessions about BLISS (5.5, 7, and 9 months). Three-day weighed diet records were collected for the infants (7, 12, and 24 months). Compared to the Control group, BLISS infants consumed more sodium (percent difference, 95% CI: 35%, 19% to 54%) and fat (6%, 1% to 11%) at 7 months, and less saturated fat (−7%, −14% to −0.4%) at 12 months. No differences were apparent at 24 months of age but the majority of infants from both groups had excessive intakes of sodium (68% of children) and added sugars (75% of children). Overall, BLISS appears to result in a diet that is as nutritionally adequate as traditional spoon-feeding, and may address some concerns about the nutritional adequacy of unmodified BLW. However, BLISS and Control infants both had high intakes of sodium and added sugars by 24 months that are concerning.

Major Ion Chemistry and Groundwater Quality Evaluation for Irrigation

Hydrogeochemical characteristics of Groundwater analyzed in the study area of Coimbatore district by collecting 60 samples from agricultural belt. Groundwater quality for irrigation is determined by several key factors like pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), Total suspended solids (TDS). The cations such as Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), Calcium (Ca2+), Magnesium (Mg2+ ) and anions are Hydrocarbon (HCO3), Carbonate (CO3 -), Chlorides (Cl-)and Sulphates (SO4 2-) are tested. The irrigation water quality parameters such as Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR), Chloro Alkali Indices (CA I & CAII), Kelley’s Ratio (KR), Magnesium Hazard (MH), Percent sodium (%Na) and Permeability Index (PI), Soluble sodium Percent (SSP) are computed from the key factors, anions and cations. From the USSL Diagram the samples fall in C2S1, C3S1, C4S1 range. Salinity hazard is too elevated in the study area, all the samples are categorized under high to very high with the values greater than 750 μS/cm. Total dissolved solid in the study area indicated that only 2 locations are unfit for irrigation. SAR and % Na shows that there is no hazard related to irrigation watering. Magnesium hazard in the groundwater is high and indicates 51 sample out of 60 is unsuitable for irrigation. From the study it indicates the groundwater is contaminated with salt content and in most of the area it can be used for irrigation. Keywords: Groundwater, Irrigation water quality, Salinity hazard, Kelley’s ratio, Magnesium hazard

Assessment of groundwater and surface water quality for irrigation suitability in Rupnagar District, Punjab, India

&lt;p&gt;Groundwater and Sutlej river water are major sources of irrigation in Rupnagar district of Punjab. Water quality was examined for their agricultural suitability using a total of 54 surface water (16 from Sutlej and 6 from Sirsa River) and groundwater (total 32 of ~160 m depth) samples from Pre- (June 2019) and post-monsoon (Dec 2018) seasons. On-site parameters (electrical conductivity, pH, total dissolved solids) indicate permissible pH (pH 6.6-8.2) and conductivity (147-1953 &amp;#956;S/cm), while 18.5% of samples are brackish salt to salt category type on salinity index. The results of these parameters were further interpreted and measured with different irrigation indexes like sodium percent (SP), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), chloride concentrations and Wilcox diagram. Similarly, most of the samples (except Sutlej river water samples) were found to be above permissible limits with respect to SP (5.36-81.01) and RSC (0-6.23), but SAR is indicative of suitability for irrigation purposes (0.11-8.3). The suitability for irrigation as per SAR is because of low sodium content in all the samples relative to calcium and magnesium. The Wilcox diagram of pre-monsoon samples indicate high, medium and low saline to low sodium hazard except 1 sample with high saline to medium sodium hazard and salinity-sodium hazard in post-monsoon is comparatively lower than that of pre-monsoon. However careful observation of the complete data analysis suggests that all the parameters in Sutlej river water samples were found to be suitable for irrigation while most of the groundwater samples and 3 samples from Sirsa river were unfit for irrigation purposes as inferred from SP, RSC and Wilcox diagram.&lt;/p&gt;

Spatial interpolation approach-based appraisal of groundwater quality of arid regions

The primary objective was appraisal of groundwater quality during pre- and post-monsoon seasons for irrigation purposes. Good quality groundwater is required for high crop yields in arid regions. A total of 45 samples were collected from wells and analyzed in the laboratory for this research work. Different water quality parameters were determined from these samples, namely electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), sodium percent (Na%), and permeability index (PI) during the pre- and post-monsoon season. The water types were identified through a Piper-trilinear diagram. Fifty per cent of the water samples of the total basin area fall under the saline category. The local farmers heavily rely on groundwater for the irrigation of crops. Excess use of groundwater for irrigation raises soil salinity. Some parts of the study area are facing serious problems such as loss of crop yields, and low availability of good quality groundwater even for drinking purposes. The results highlight that the study area has a high salinity content (C3) and low sodium (S1). The maps for different water quality parameters were generated using inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation method in ArcGIS 10.3 software.

Analysis of water quality of selected irrigation water sources in northern Ghana

Small-scale irrigation continues to cushion the food security gap in sub-Saharan Africa. Irrigation is largely governed by water availability, soil type and crop water requirements, among other factors. Thus, a study was conducted to assess the suitability of various water sources for irrigation in northern Ghana. Specifically, the study sought to assess quality of water sources in the Savelugu, Kasena-Nankana East, and Nabdam districts for small-scale irrigation development. The water quality parameters used were: pH, electrical conductivity (ECw), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), sodium percent (Na%), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), Kelley's ratio (KR), total hardness (TH), chloride (Cl), Escherichia coli, and fecal coliforms. While we found most of the irrigation water sources, including small reservoirs, dams, wells and rivers suitable, few unsuitable irrigation water sources were also identified. Overall, the study found that opportunities for scaling small-scale irrigation exist in all the sites. The knowledge generated from this study will guide irrigation water use, and agricultural policy for sustainable smallholder irrigation development in the region.

Physico-Chemical Contamination of Groundwater in and Around Industrial Areas of District Alwar, Rajasthan

Chemical behaviors of groundwater in various locations are one of the most dynamic fields of research in the present world. In the present study, groundwater sampling from four industrial areas viz. Matsya Nagar, Bhiwadi, Neemrana and Behror was conducted with an aim to assess the groundwater chemistry and the interpretation of the ‘water type’ was made using Hill-Piper and Wilcox diagrams. The chemical quality was assessed by examining the major cations, anions and other parameters like sodium adsorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate and sodium percent. The groundwater chemistry was then assessed and factors affecting the area were identified. It was resulted that the groundwater quality of the area was influenced by industrial and human activities which cause pollution in the aquifer system and the data supported the pollution level in the area. Majority of the samples were behaved in more or less same way. The TDS were found in average range of 1000 mg/l, while total hardness ranged the average value of 400 mg/l. Carbonate alkalinity was found in all the water samples and the average pH value were observed 8.60. In some locations, up to 337 mg/l nitrate indicates the nitrogenous contamination in the area. Fluoride was found within the prescribed limits as per BIS (Indian Drinking Water Standard, IS: 10500, 1991) norms, except one significant location at Majri Kalan in Neemrana industrial area has high fluoride as 13.0 mg/l. The interpretation of the ‘water type’ was made using Hill-Piper and Wilcox diagrams. The prominent type was Na/Mg-HCO3 and Na/Mg-Cl type of water. However, a slight variation was observed in the Na-HCO3 type of water. Sodium (alkali) hazard were observed from low (S1) to high (S3) and salinity hazard is high (C3) to very high (C4).