Geospatial irrigation suitability assessment of groundwater: A case study from Thar desert of India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59194/MJEE2527111kKeywords:
Groundwater quality, sustainable agriculture, irrigation, geospatial analysis, Thar Desert, salinity hazardAbstract
The current study assesses the suitability of groundwater for irrigation purpose in an urban area of Northwestern Rajasthan which lies in Thar desert of India. Groundwater samples from tube wells were collected. The irrigation suitability of samples was analyzed by using parameters such as electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, nitrate, salinity hazard, percentage sodium (% Na), sodium absorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), magnesium absorption ratio (MAR), Kelly’s ratio (KR), permeability index (PI), potential salinity (PS), corrosivity ratio (CR), chloro-alkaline indices (CAI-I and CAI-II), Gibb’s ratios (GR-I and GR-II), chloride : bicarbonate ratio (Cl : HCO3), magnesium : calcium ratio (Mg : Ca) and sodium : calcium ratio (Na : Ca). Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method was used to assess geospatial distribution of irrigation parameters in QGIS software. The results of EC and TDS reveal unsuitability of groundwater for irrigation use as samples fall under C3 and C4 categories. All the samples had less than 60% sodium percentage which is permissible for irrigation purposes. Very high SAR value of more than 26 was not detected. Residual sodium content falls under good category in most samples. However, several samples exhibited magnesium absorption ratio of more than 50 which is unsuitable for irrigation. Kelly’s ratios (more than 2) were also found under unsuitable category in 68.75% samples. Potential salinity falls under class III (less than 10) which is injurious and unsatisfactory for irrigation in 70% samples. Corrosivity ratio of less than 1 was observed in 62.5% samples, indicating water is safe for transportation through any type of pipes. Most of the samples had positive chloro-alkali indices CAI-I and CAI-II. Overall, 66.25% samples were detected unsuitable for irrigation chiefly because of highly saline groundwater. The study recommends effective management of groundwater resources particularly for irrigation to ensure sustainable agricultural productivity.
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