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ThesisItem Open Access Structural Stability Analysis of Naturally Ventilated Polyhouses(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Lovepreet Singh; Kaushal, ArunThe research work on structural stability analysis of naturally ventilated polyhouses was carried out at Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. There were total 12 treatments which were combination of four different sizes of polyhouses i.e. 560 m2 (T1-T3); 1008 m2 (T4-T6); 2080 m2 (T7-T9); 4000 m2 (T10-T12), with three design wind speeds 100 km/hr, 150 km/hr and 200 km/hr respectively. Truss members, columns and foundation stability analysis was carried out by considering dead loads, live loads and wind loads. Support reactions were computed on truss and column joints. Member forces were computed by using force method. The economic analysis was carried out by computing benefit cost (B/C) ratio and payback period for raising capsicum under stable structures. For every 17 set of truss members four members (two in compression (small arc) and two in tension (truss bracings)) failed in treatments with 150 and 200 km/hr wind speed while two members (in compression, (small arc)) failed in treatments with 100 km/hr wind speed. Minimum structural GI pipe material requirement for structurally stable polyhouses was under treatment T1 (2407 kg) and maximum under treatment T12 (19550 kg). The maximum benefit cost ratio was obtained in treatment T10 (1.77, 2.33) and minimum was in treatment T3 (1.36, 1.84) with no and 50% Government subsidy, respectively. The minimum payback period was obtained in treatment T10 (3.29 years, 1.26 years) and maximum in T3 (7.54 years, 2.19 years) with no and 50% subsidy, respectively. For the structurally stable naturally ventilated polyhouses as the size increases the benefit cost ratio increases, while the payback period decreases and for wind speed it is vice-versa.ThesisItem Open Access Optimizing Lateral Depth and Spacing for Subsurface Drip Irrigated Rice-Wheat Cropping System under Conservation Agriculture Through Simulation of Water and Nitrate Movement(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Bajpai, Arpna; Kaushal, ArunThe research study was conducted at Borlaug Institute for South Asia, Ludhiana and Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, Punjab to optimize lateral depth and spacing for subsurface drip irrigated rice-wheat cropping system under conservation agriculture through simulation of water and nitrate movement during 2017-20. Experiments were laid out in randomized block design with eight treatments, (six drip irrigated (T1-T6), which were combination of lateral spacing X emitter spacing X dripline buried depth) and two control treatments (T7-T8) with three replication i.e. T1 (67.5 X 30 X 0 cm), T2 (45 X 40 X 0 cm), T3 (67.5 X 30 X 15 cm), T4 (45 X 40 X 15 cm), T5 (67.5 X 30 X 20 cm), T6 (45 X 40 X 20 cm), T7 (conventional flood irrigation method) and T8 (flood irrigation method with conservation agriculture). Grain yield and water productivity were maximum in treatment T4 (Wheat, 6.513 t/ha, 3.832 kg/m3 and Rice, 8.178 t/ha, 1.203 kg/m3 ) and minimum in T7 (Wheat, 5.620 t/ha, 1.406 kg/m3 and Rice, 7.410 t/ha, 0.492 kg/m3 ). Statistically T4 treatment was significantly at par with T6 treatment and higher than all other treatments for both rice and wheat crops. Most uniform soil moisture and nitrate movement were observed under T4. HYDRUS-2D model showed successful performance with Nash-sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient of 0.885 and coefficient of determination as 0.906. Economic analysis showed that treatment T4 (B:C-3.286) was economically viable and significantly higher than treatment T7 (B:C-3.157) only with 95% of drip irrigation subsidy.ThesisItem Restricted Simulation of Nitrate-N movement through subsurface drainage system under cropping conditions(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Dar, Mehraj U Din; Singh, J. P.The study was conducted to simulate the NO3-N movement through subsurface drainage in a field under cropping conditions using DRAINMOD-NII model and for predicting optimum depth and spacing for minimum nitrate leaching. The nitrogen balance was estimated using DNDC model for the area installed with the subsurface drainage system at Thehri village Muktsar district of Punjab. Both the models of DRAINMOD NII (v. 6.1) and DNDC (v.9.5) (Denitrification and Decomposition model) were calibrated and validated for the 2 years study period from 2018-2020. The reliability of the models was evaluated by comparing observed and simulated values of drain flow, nitrogen loss, water table depths and relative yields for the rice-wheat cropping system. The validated DRAINMOD-NII model was used to predict the optimal depth and spacing for minimum nitrate losses. The nitrogen balance for the area under subsurface drainage system was estimated using DNDC model for rice-wheat cropping system. The statistical performance of DRAINMOD-NII model was carried out and the range of statistical parameters viz, root mean square error (RMSE), Nash Sutcliffe modeling efficiency (NSE) and correlation coefficient (R2) were obtained to be 0.12 to 9.66, 0.47 to 0.88 and 0.53 to 1 respectively during the calibration and validation periods. The values of statistical parameters for DNDC model viz; RMSE, NSE and R2 ranged from 6.8 to 8.5, 0.78 to 0.88 and 0.84 to 0.90 respectively during the calibration and validation periods. The optimal depth and spacing of subsurface drainage system for the study area was obtained to be 1.3 m and 42 m respectively using DRAINMOD-NII model for minimum nitrate loss. The overall nitrogen balance was found to be -99.44 kg N ha-1 yr-1(negative) and 69.1 kg N ha-1 yr-1 (positive) for rice and wheat crops respectively using DNDC model. DRAINMODNII model and DNDC model performed a better simulation, and could be used for efficient nitrogen management in the region.ThesisItem Open Access Development and Evaluation of Smart Groundwater Monitoring System (SGWMS)(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Tiwana, Baldeep Singh; Samanpreet KaurWater table is declining at an alarming rate of 54 cm/year in the state of Punjab. There is need for sustainable management of groundwater resources in the region. The first and foremost step in this is to measure the long term spatio-temporal changes in groundwater resources. With the advent of IoT and sensor technology real time monitoring of this resource is possible. The present study was planned to develop an IoT based Smart Groundwater Monitoring System (SGWMS) for real-time monitoring of groundwater level in an observation well. The system consists of two units‟ viz. (i) Data Acquisition Unit (DAU) and (ii) Data Transfer Unit (DTU). The DAU was responsible for the vertical movement of sensor in the well in order to detect the water level and was used to measure the depth of the groundwater according to movement of water level sensor. The DTU was used to transfer the data from the Arduino to the cloud server where the data was processed and stored for further use. These units consist of several electrical components like a DC-motor, Arduino, motor driver, relay module, water level sensor, encoder module, GSM/GPRS module 12V-5V buck converter and a pulley system. The system was designed in such a way that the readings collected were uploaded automatically to the cloud network using the GSM/GPRS technology. The groundwater depth obtained using SWGMS was compared with the groundwater depth data obtained using water level indicator. A correction function was developed to remove the bias in values obtained from SGWMS. There was insignificant variation in corrected SGWMS values in comparison to water level indicator; therefore, it was proposed to replicate the prototype for regional groundwater level monitoring.ThesisItem Restricted Development of customized automated fertigation system for soilless media in protected cultivation(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Pandey, Kusum; Singh, K. G.A study was undertaken for the development of a low-cost customized automated fertigation system for the closed soilless system under protected conditions and tested for cucumber crop grown in different soilless media under naturally ventilated polyhouse at Dr. S. D. Khepar Laboratories of the Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. This system consisted of mainly four units i.e. controller unit, sensor unit, fertigation unit, and pipeline unit. The controller unit comprises the programmable logic controller (PLC) which is used to automate the whole fertigation process i.e. to prepare and supply the fresh nutrient solution to the crop and reuse the drained nutrient solution after making the balance solution through the filtration from the polyhouse. The developed system was calibrated for dozing pumps, EC, pH sensors precision analysis, and time taken by the dozing pump with their respective treatments. The experiment was set in a factorial split-plot design included 9 treatments each under the developed automated and conventional fertigation systems with three fertigation levels viz. T1 = 100% fresh solution, T2 = 90% fresh solution with 10% leachate and T3 = 80% fresh solution with 20% leachate. Cucumber hybrid Multistar were planted under three different substrates of cocopeat i.e. S1 = 50% cocopeat with 50% cocochips, S2 = 70% cocopeat with 30% cocochips and S3 = 100% cocopeat in three replicates during three growing seasons. The performance of the system was measured by crop growth parameters (vine length, leaf area index, stem diameter, leaf chlorophyll content), yield parameters (fruit weight, fruit length, fruit diameter, yield per plant), and quality parameters (vitamin C, total phenol content, antioxidant capacity, total chlorophyll content, firmness). The economic analysis was carried out for a developed automated system with 50% subsidy on polyhouse and without subsidy and compared with conventional fertigation system. Customized automated fertigation system recorded significantly higher 17.1%, 10.8%, and 12.1% fruit yield per plant as compared to the conventional fertigation system in seasons 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Out of three different growing media, all the plant growth, yield, and quality parameters were recorded significantly higher under substrate S2 followed by S3 and S1. Among the fertigation treatments, T1 recorded significantly higher all the plant growth parameters as compared to T2 and T3 while there was no significant difference found in the fruit yield and quality parameters. For a customized automated fertigated system, BCR was found 2.16 & 2.19 (with subsidy) and 1.73 & 1.77 (without subsidy) for years 1 and 2. While, for conventional fertigation system, BCR was 1.89 & 2.0 (with subsidy) and 1.45 &1.59 (without subsidy) for years 1 and 2 respectively. Overall, the developed customized automated fertigation system crop grown under substrate S2 and with fertigation treatment T3 is recommended for achieving a statistically similar yield.ThesisItem Open Access Development of filtration technique for reducing salinity for micro-irrigation(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Amarpreet Singh; Garg, SunilA study was conducted to develop a filtration technique based upon adsorption to make saline water fit for drip irrigation system. Laboratory studies were performed for selection of effective adsorbent from various adsorbents based on two methods of adsorption i.e. column method and batch method. The lab studies conducted by batch method showed that activated chitosan, silica sand and chitosan of different sizes reduces electrical conductivity (EC), while activated charcoal, zeolite and rice husk ash increases electrical conductivity. Chitosan and silicate were selected based on the performance of lab studies conducted under batch method for further detailed studies to determine optimum contract time. The lab studies conducted by column method showed that silica sand showed better salt adsorption (EC) as compared to chitosan. Batch method was found better adsorption technique than column method in case of adsorbent chitosan for achieves maximum salt adsorption while in case of silica sand the column adsorption performed better results. The adsorbent chitosan from batch studies was able to reduce electrical conductivity (EC) by approx. 24 percent. The adsorbent silicate from column studies was able to reduce electrical conductivity (EC) by approx. 12 percent. Optimum contact time for both batch and column studies was found out to be 30 minutes. Based on results of laboratory studies, the developed filtration technique was based on combination of two adsorption techniques. Firstly the chitosan reduced EC to 24% by batch method and then same treated water was passed through silica sand when reduced EC to 12%. To evaluate the performance of developed filter, a field test was carried out in which simulated saline water having EC of 5 dS/m was passed through two adsorbents with different technologies. The life cycle of both adsorbents were measured by treating simulated saline water with same adsorbents. In case of chitosan the salt adsorption varied from 23.20 % to 20.50 % in six cycles respectively. In case of silica sand the life cycle of adsorbent was six in which the salt adsorption varied from 13.50 % to 9.33 %.ThesisItem Restricted Development of composite radial filter for recharging aquifer with runoff from agricultural field(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Hansra, Gursharan Deep Singh; J P SinghA lab scale model of composite radial filter was designed, fabricated and developed for the removal of N, P and K in runoff water from rice field for recharging aquifer. Zeolite (Z), charcoal activated (C), coarse sand (CS) and gravel (G) filter materials were placed in annular concentric rings of composite radial filter in different combination of thickness, viz. 1:2:4:4, 1:3:4:4, 1:2:2:4, 1:3:2:4 and 0:2:1:2 for treatments T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively. Sodium hypochlorite solution was injected at the rate of 0.1 ml per unit discharge (lps) by using chlorination unit at the outlet of the radial filter to remove bacteriological contamination of filtered water. The performance of composite radial filter was evaluated by analyzing runoff water samples before and after filtration for four inflow rates viz. 0.42, 0.82, 1.24 and 1.66 lps. The value of NO3-N, P2O5 and K2O of filtered water was found to be within permissible limit at all flow rates. The T5 treatment consisting of filter materials C, CS and G with thickness of 20, 10 and 20 cm (2:1:2) respectively was found to be the best compared to the other four treatments (T1, T2, T3 and T4) on basis of N, P2O5 and K removal efficiency and lowest cost price. The removal efficiency of NO3-N and P was found to be about 80 % after 5 hours of filtration from T5 treatment while K2O removal efficiency was low about 65 % after half an hour of filtration. The filter materials were washed after 5 hours of filtration and reused in composite radial filter for filtration. The value of NO3-N, P2O5 and K2O of filtered water from reused filter media after washing was found to be 5.3, 5.8 and 10.9 ppm respectively which are slightly more than value obtained from the initially fresh filter materials for same time of operation.ThesisItem Restricted Evaluation of Geostatistical Techniques for Mapping of Groundwater Levels(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Thakur, Bhavana; Samanpreet KaurGroundwater level mapping, using robust and scientifically planned monitoring network, is vital to elucidate the groundwater behavior and identify groundwater vulnerable regions. In Punjab, the role of monitoring networks has not received proper attention and many of the observation wells have become defunct over time or at places they are irregularly located. The present study aims to accurately map the groundwater levels of Punjab and different sub-regions i.e. Majha, Malwa and Doaba. To achieve this, geostatistical techniques, kriging (ordinary kriging) and co-kriging with semi-variogram model (exponential, gaussian, circular, spherical etc.) were evaluated, based on the statistical error parameters (ME, RMS, MSE, ASE, RMSSE and Im). It was found that the most suitable geostatistical model for interpolating hydraulic head data was gaussian model with ordinary kriging, both for Punjab as a single unit and considering different regions i.e. Majha, Malwa and Doaba. Long term behaviour of groundwater levels (1998-2018) indicate an average fall rate of 47.2 cm/year. The study also examined the adequacy of existing monitoring network of 2018 for Punjab State and proposed eighteen locations for removal of redundant wells, without any significant increase in the standard prediction error and statistical error parameters. About 237 locations for installation of new wells were proposed in the region which would reduce the overall RMS value from 7.91 to 6.1. The results of the study can be used for planners and policy makers to improve the understanding of groundwater resources in the region.ThesisItem Open Access Simulation of groundwater recharge from direct seeded and transplanted rice fields(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2021) Gulati, Dinesh; Satpute, SanjayA field study was conducted for assessment of potential groundwater recharge in direct seeded and transplanted rice fields at Research farm of Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana using soil water balance method and simulation with HYDRUS-1D. The soil of the research farm belongs to alluvial sandy loam in texture and climate of region is semi-arid with average annual rainfall of 598.9 mm. Two treatments viz direct seeded (DSR) and transplanted rice (TPR) with three replications each were sown/transplanted during kharif season of year 2019. The irrigation amount of 1200 and 1100 mm was applied in TPR and DSR, respectively during crop period. The deep percolation from the rice fields was determined and predicted in order to assess potential groundwater recharge from both treatments. The daily crop evapotranspiration was estimated by Penman-Monteith method using climate data collected from meteorological observatory located near the field and daily soil moisture content was recorded using Delta PR2 probe for model calibration and validation. In soil water balance method, deep percolation which represent the potential groundwater recharge was estimated by mass balance of total water input and output in TPR and DSR fields and found to be 1139 and 1305.6 mm for TPR and DSR respectively. The daily potential groundwater recharge in TPR and DSR fields was also predicted using unsaturated flow model HYDRUS-1D represented as bottom flux and it was found to be 1131 and 1336 mm, respectively. The performance of the HYDRUS-1D model was evaluated using statistical parameters viz. RMSE, NSE and R2 and found to be performing well. The percentage change between estimated and model predicted potential groundwater recharge was found to be 0.7% and 2.32% respectively, for TPR and DSR. From the study, it was concluded that 9% more irrigation water was applied in TPR fields and there was 14.6% more deep percolation in DSR as compared to TPR that may potentially contribute to groundwater recharge.
