Effect of potassium on soil conservation and productivity of maize/cowpea based crop rotations in the north-west Indian Himalayas

Plots under conservation tillage may require higher amount of potassium (K) application for augmenting productivity due to its stratification in upper soil layers, thereby reducing K supplying capacity in a medium or long-term period. To test this hypothesis, a field experiment was performed in 2002-2003 and 2006-2007 to study the effect of K and several crop rotations on yield, water productivity, carbon sequestration, grain quality, soil K status and economic benefits derived in maize (Zea mays L)/cowpea (Vigna sinensis L.) based cropping system under minimum tillage (MT). All crops recorded higher grain yield with a higher dose of K (120 kg K₂O ha^-1) than recommended K (40 kg K₂O ha^-1). The five years’ average yield data showed that higher K application (120 kg K₂O ha^-1) produced 16.4% (P<0.05) more maize equivalent yield. Cowpea based rotation yielded 14.2% (P<0.05) higher production than maize based rotation. The maximum enhancement was found in cowpea-mustard rotation. Relationship between yield and sustainable indices revealed that only agronomic efficiency of fertilizer input was significantly correlated with yield. Similarly, higher doses of K application not only increased the water use efficiency (WUE) of all crops, but also reduced runoff and soil loss by 16.5% and 15.8% under maize and 23.3% and 19.7% under cowpea cover, respectively. This study also revealed that on an average 16.5% of left over carbon input contributed to soil organic carbon (SOC). Here, cowpea based rotation with the higher K application increased carbon sequestration in soil. Potassium fertilization also significantly improved the nutritional value of harvested grain by increasing the protein content for maize (by 9.5%) and cowpea (by 10.6%). The oil content in mustard increased by 5.0% and 6.0% after maize and cowpea, respectively. Net return also increased with the application of the higher K than recommended K and the trend was similar to yield. Hence, the present study demonstrated the potential yield and profit gains along with resource conservation in the Indian Himalayas due to annual additions of higher amount of K than the recommended dose. The impact of high K application was maximum in the cowpea-mustard rotation.     

Inflationary solutions for anisotropic model in scalar-tensor theory

In this paper we have studied B-D theory and general scalar tensor theory of Gravitation for anisotropic cosmological model in the false vacuum state. The possibility of both exponential inflation and power function inflation are examined for constant or variable coupling parameter . Also asymptotic limit of the scalar field and are discussed.     

Ligand field analysis of the magnetic susceptibilities and Mössbauer spectra of ilvaite,a mixed valence iron mineral

The thermal characteristics of magnetic susceptibilities and their anisotropies of single crystal of ilvaite, a mixed valence iron sorosilicate, have been analysed in the light of Ligand Field (LF) theory using a minimum number of approximations. The electronic energy pattern and the corresponding wavefunctions were obtained from best fitting of these experimental results with the corresponding theoretical values. These results were next used to calculate the thermal characteristic of the quadrupole splitting E _Q in ilvaite. It was found that the values of E _Q are reasonably close to those reported from Mössbauer studies. The present analysis suggest appreciable molecular overlap between the orbits of the ligand electrons and those of the Fe²⁺ atoms, the overlap being prominent along the chain direction as also observed from electrical conductivity measurements.     

Near infrared photometry of some RS CVn systems and candidates

Infrared observations in the J, H, and K bands were made on eleven RS CVn systems. Infrared (IR) excess 0.3 mag in the J, H, and K bands was observed from the three systems UX Ari, HR 1099 and CrB. Similar observations were also made on the RS CVn candidates HD 26354, 39937, 42449, 51268, and 86005.The IR excess in the RS CVn systems for which near infrared photometric data are available is found to be correlated with the maximum of optical wave amplitude of these systems.The observed excess cannot be explained on the basis of a single process such as: (i) emission from cool spots on the photosphere; (ii) free-free emission from an optically thin circumstellar plasma; or (iii) dust grain emission from circumstellar material.On leave from TIFR, Bombay, India.     

Prevention of well clogging during aquifer storage of turbid tile drainage water rich in dissolved organic carbon and nutrients

Well clogging was studied at an aquifer storage transfer and recovery (ASTR) site used to secure freshwater supply for a flower bulb farm. Tile drainage water (TDW) was collected from a 10-ha parcel, stored in a sandy brackish coastal aquifer via well injection in wet periods, and reused during dry periods. This ASTR application has been susceptible to clogging, as the TDW composition largely exceeded most clogging mitigation guidelines. TDW pretreatment by sand filtration did not cause substantial clogging at a smaller ASR site (2 ha) at the same farm. In the current (10 ha) system, sand filtration was substituted by 40-μm disc filters to lower costs (by 10,000–30,000 Euro) and reduce space (by 50–100 m²). This measure treated TDW insufficiently and injection wells rapidly clogged. Chemical, biological, and physical clogging occurred, as observed from elemental, organic carbon, 16S rRNA, and grain-size distribution analyses of the clogging material. Physical clogging by particles was the main cause, based on the strong relation between injected turbidity load and normalized well injectivity. Periodical backflushing of injection wells improved operation, although the disc filters clogged when the turbidity increased (up to 165 NTU) during a severe rainfall event (44 mm in 3 days). Automated periodical backflushing, together with regulating the maximum turbidity (<20 NTU) of the TDW, protected ASTR operation, but reduced the injected TDW volume by ~20–25%. The studied clogging-prevention measures collectively are only viable as an alternative for sand filtration when the injected volume remains sufficient to secure the farmer’s needs for irrigation.

     

Conservation And Conflicts In The Sundarban Biosphere Reserve,India

The Sundarban Biosphere Reserve in West Bengal, India, is part of the largest mangrove forest ecosystem in the world. The reserve is a world heritage site and the last refuge for the endangered Bengal tiger at a crucial time when global climate change threatens their existence. The mangrove ecosystem and wildlife conservation have become the priority for the state government of West Bengal. However, in becoming so, the state government imposes restrictions on catching fish in the core and buffer areas of the biosphere reserve, which intensify fishermen's everyday resource‐access struggles in the mangrove forest. This paper examines the conflict between local fishermen and conservation needs, broadening the understanding of human‐environment relationships in the Sundarbans region of India.     

Assessment of the influence of physical and seismotectonic parameters on landslide occurrence: an integrated geoinformatic approach

Natural Hazards - Landslide is a devastating natural hazard, which causes significant losses of human lives and properties. The landslide occurrences are the perennial problem in Himalayan region...