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ThesisItem Open Access Studies on salinity tolerance of commercial pomegranate cultivars(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Bajaj, Amit; Pathania, ShashiPomegranate has been visualized as future potential fruit crop of South-Western Punjab due to its inherent tolerance to salinity. Therefore, the screening of different pomegranate cultivars for their relative salt tolerance holds great importance for its future cultivation in this region. With this background, a pot culture experiment was conducted under shade-net conditions at Dr. JC Bakhshi Regional Research Station Abohar of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, during 2019- 2022. About three months old rooted cuttings of six commercial cultivars: Jalore Seedless, Mridula, Bhagwa, Phule Arakata, Ganesh-137 and Wonderful were subjected to saline water irrigations (EC 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 dS m-1) along with canal water as control. The data were recorded thrice at 60, 120 and 180 days after first saline water treatment. The results of study indicated a significant increase in electrical conductivity (EC) and water-soluble ion concentrations in the growing media. The magnitude of increase was linked with the irrigation water salinity as well as the length of irrigations. In different plant parts, the concentrations of K, Ca, Mg and S decreased whereas, Na and Cl increased significantly in all cultivars due to saline water irrigations. Significant reductions in the growth, photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance were also witnessed. In comparison, electrolyte leakage, leaf malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and the activities of antioxidant enzymes in terms of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) markedly increased in all tested pomegranate cultivars. The deleterious of effects of salinity had further intensified due to repeated saline water irrigations. In overall, salinity response index (SRI) values for relative growth rate and vital physiological plant processes in EC 6.0 over EC 1.5 salinity level reduced by 16-68 % and 14-59 % during different intervals, respectively. In contrary, SRI values for leaf proline, MDA content and antioxidant enzymatic activities in EC 6.0 increased to the tune of 20-52 %, 65-136 % and 19-170 %, respectively over EC 1.5 level. In overall, the data showed great variations in cultivars with respect to salinity levels as well as with the time of exposure to stress. However, comprehensive evaluation index suggests Bhagwa as most salt tolerance pomegranate cultivar suitable for cultivation in South-Western Punjab, followed by wonderful. Phule Arakata was found least salt tolerant among all.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of some new chemical and organic amendments in rice-wheat system under sodic water irrigation(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Harjot Kaur; O.P. ChoudharyPersistent and continuous use of sodic water for irrigation in south-western regions of Punjab has led to the development of sodicity in soils which severely impacts the physical, chemical and biological properties. The deteriorated soil health proves futile to plant growth causing yield losses and lower farm income. The problems caused by the irrigation-induced sodicity can be rectified by the amelioration of the soils using amendments. Gypsum has been popular among farmers as a source to ameliorate sodic water irrigated soils but the issue with its availability and quality has propelled the scientific community to explore the potential of some others resources such as yellow gypsum, a by-product of steel industry which can help sustain growth in sodic soil environment. Organic amendments such as farm yard manure (FYM) has been studied extensively while others like rice straw compost, rice straw (RS) and biochar (BC) are presently getting attention in terms of their utility in restoring sodic soils. A pot experiment was conducted to collate the effect of application of inorganic (yellow; YG and grey gypsum; GG) and organic amendments (FYM, rice straw compost, RS and BC) on properties of soils (loamy sand; ls and sandy clay loam; scl) irrigated with sodic water and biomass yield of crops. Soils were irrigated with different levels of RSC of irrigation water i.e. RSC 0, 5, 7.5 and 10 meq L-1 . Organic amendments, FYM @ 15 t ha-1 , Rice straw compost @ 6 t ha-1 , RS 6 t ha-1 and BC @ 4 t ha-1 were applied once before sowing of wheat whereas gypsum (both types) @ 50%GR was applied on soil basis and later with each irrigation to neutralize sodicity of water. Individual effect of these amendments was studied through 56 treatment combinations in completely randomized design replicated three times. Results revealed decrease in biomass yield, photosynthetic activity, stomatal conductance and uptake of Ca, Mg and K on irrigation with sodic water in wheat and rice crop whereas uptake of Na and proline content increased. With regard to soil properties, irrigation with sodic water increased pH, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) (higher in scl), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) (higher in ls), and bulk density (BD) but decreased microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and mean weight diameter (MWD). Upon application of gypsum (both types), decrease in pH, SAR and ESP was observed along with significant improvement in biomass yield and other soil properties such as MBC and MWD. Among the organic amendments, BC reduced uptake of Na whereas rice straw compost and FYM gave promising results in restoration of soil properties and biomass yield in both the crops. Further, field studies need to be conducted to evaluate the restorative effect of yellow gypsum vis-à-vis grey (mined) gypsum and it combined application along with the organic amendments in soils receiving sodic water irrigation.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of biochar and inorganic-P fertilizer on soil phosphorus dynamics and crop(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Jagmandeep Kaur; Mavi, Manpreet SinghOwing to its fixation in soil, phosphorus is one of the most limiting nutrients for crop productivity. Therefore, continued inputs of P to soil are necessary to sustain crop productivity. However, the non-renewable nature and cost associated with mineral P fertilizers necessitate the need to find alternate sources for sustainable P management. In this context, biochar produced upon thermochemical decomposition of biomass can serve as a viable P source. However, a clear understanding of the mechanisms affecting P availability with different biochar types and rates either applied alone or in combination with inorganic-P fertilizer levels remains elusive. Therefore, a pot and incubation study were conducted to study the impact of different biochar types and rates with or without inorganic-P fertilizer levels on crop biomass and phosphorous availability in soil with varying P status. For the pot study, low and high P status soil was amended with four rates of the maize stover biochar (0, 2, 4, and 8 t ha-1) and three levels of the inorganic-P (KH2PO4) (0, 30, and 60 mg kg-1) with wheat as a test crop. Increasing rates of biochar and inorganic-P led to a significant increase in P availability (Olsen-P, microbial biomass P, and P fractions) and crop biomass. Besides, grain yield achieved with application of 2 t ha-1 biochar alone was comparable to inorganic-P alone both with 30 and 60 mg kg-1 treatment in low and high P status soil. However, the changes in P dynamics with biochar application were more apparent in low P than the high P status soil. Furthermore, biochar (at the rate of 1%) derived from different feedstocks like maize stover (MSB), palm wood (PWB), and poultry manure (PMB) were applied in combination with two rates of inorganic-P (KH2PO4) (0 and 60 mg kg-1) to low and high P status soil for the incubation experiment. In general, a maximum increase in Olsen-P and soil P fractions was observed with PMB followed by MSB > PWB > inorganic-P. Thus, the results of the study indicated that biochar application improved the soil P availability either directly due to the release of P from biochar itself or indirectly through the decrease in P sorption of the amended soil or improved microbial biomass. Besides, an increase in organic-P and lower alkaline phosphomonoesterase activity upon biochar application indicated a slow P turnover rate in the soil. However, the increment observed in grain yield and soil P availability upon biochar application was better when applied alone rather than its co-application with the inorganic-P. Therefore, it may be concluded that biochar can serve as a suitable substitute for mineral P fertilizers for fulfilling crop P demand. However, future studies must carefully validate the potential of biochar derived from different feedstock and rates of application through long-term field trials before recommending its extensive use as a source of P in agriculture.ThesisItem Embargo Groundwater quality assessment using integrated hydrogeochemical processes and multivariate analysis of Mansa and Barnala districts of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Sidhu, Jashandeep Singh; Dhanwinder SinghA well-planned study was carried out to assess the spatial variation in the quality of groundwater for drinking as well as irrigation purposes along with the identification of hydrogeochemical processes prevalent in Barnala and Mansa districts of Punjab. A total number of 413 samples were collected using grid-based sampling (3×3 km2) from Barnala (167) and Mansa (246) districts of Punjab. The drinking water quality indicators that were above the acceptable limits for Barnala district were TDS, TH, Na+, K+, Mg2+, HCO3-, NO3-, SO42-, F-, B, As and Se. Barnala was the most affected block, while Sehna was the least affected block of Barnala district with respect to drinking water quality. However, all the drinking water indicators were above the acceptable limits in Mansa district except Zn, Fe, Cu, Ni and Cd. Bhikhi was the least affected with Budhlada and Jhunir being the worst affected blocks of Mansa district. Most of the groundwater of both the districts has high salinity with medium to low sodium hazard as per the USSL classification based on EC and SAR respectively. The combined classification based on EC and RSC described that maximum percentage of samples of Barnala (57.49%) and Mansa (51.63%) districts fall under marginal class for irrigation purpose. However, most of the samples occupy the categories of ‗permissible to doubtful‘ and ‗unsuitable‘ as per Wilcox diagram with C3-S1 (good) and C4-S4 (very bad quality) categories according to USSL diagram of Barnala and Mansa districts respectively. Cations and anions were in the order of Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > K+ and HCO3- > SO42- > Cl- > F- respectively in both the districts. Na-HCO3 and Na-Cl were the dominant groundwater types of Barnala and Mansa districts respectively based on the Piper diagrams. Silicate weathering, evaporation and direct ion exchange were the major hydrogeochemical processes occurring in the study area as per Gibbs and scatter diagrams. Based on water quality index (WQI), most of the groundwater of Barnala district is categorized as good (80.24%) while in case of Mansa, highest percentage of samples fall under unsuitable class (40.65%) with the largest contribution from Budhlada (51.2%) and Sardoolgarh (58.9%) blocks for drinking purpose. Heavy metal pollution index (HPI) indicated excellent water quality (HPI<25) with no heavy metal hazard in both the districts. Overall, the study revealed that groundwater of Barnala district is much better than that of Mansa district with respect to both drinking and irrigation purposes. Thus, it is recommended that the groundwater of Mansa district needs to be treated before its use.ThesisItem Embargo Micronutrients transformations under direct seeded basmati rice-wheat cropping system through manures and fertilizers(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Shikha; Dhaliwal, S SRice-wheat cropping system is predominant in Indo-Gangetic plains. Due to the introduction of high yielding varieties, intensive cultivation and increased use of inorganic fertilizers over longer period has render the soils barren. So, direct seeded rice (DSR) has been emerged as an effective resource conservation technology which saves the water approximately up to 60% and labour to 40%. The present study was carried out in an experimental farm at PAU, Regional Research Station, Gurdaspur during (2020-2021) on direct seeded basmati rice-wheat cropping system in split-split plot design consisting of three main, three sub, and three sub-sub treatment combinations replicated thrice. The treatments of main plots comprised of farmyard manure @ 15 t ha-1(M1), green manuring Insitu (M2), and no manure (M3), subplot treatments consisting of three levels of nitrogen fertilizer (N1-100% RDN (recommended dose of nitrogen), N2-50%RDN and N3-control) and the sub-sub plot treatments included three times of application (A1- 50% N, 25% N & 25% N at 3,6 & 9 Weeks after sowing (WAS), A2-50% N Basal dose+25% N at 4 & 25% N at 9 WAS and A3-50% N Basal dose+25% N at 3 & 25% N at 8 WAS, respectively). The results of the study revealed that the rice grain and straw (44.9 and 71.4 q ha-1) yields were significantly higher under 100% RDN + farmyard manure treatments, similarly, wheat grain and straw (51.8 and 77.8 q ha-1) yields were also found to be significantly higher with 100% RDN + farmyard manure treatment. The farmyard manure with 100% RDN and 50% RDN resulted in higher concentration of micronutrients in grain and straw of both rice and wheat crop. The DTPA-extractable micronutrients and various chemical fractions of Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn increased with combine application of manures and nitrogen fertilizer. Organic manures improved the quantity of micronutrients in plant available forms (WSEX and OM-bound fractions). The relative abundance of fractions of all micronutrients in soil followed an order of Zn fractions (CFeOX) > (AFeOX) > (OM) > (MnOX) > (SpAD) > (WSEX), Cu fractions (AFeOX) > (CFeOX) > (OM) > (MnOX), (SpAD) > (WSEX), Fe fractions (CFeOX) > (OM) > (AFeOX) > (MnOX), > (WSEX) > (SpAD) and Mn fractions (AFeOX) > (CFeOX) > (OM) > (SpAD) > (MnOX) > (WSEX). The residual fraction was dominating among all the other fractions and contributed about 50, 98, 80 and 79% to total Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn, respectively. The oxide bound and amorphous fractions of micronutrients contributed to plant available (WSEX) fraction. However, WSEX, SpAd, oxide bound and organically bound fractions contributed to micronutrients uptake by plant grain and straw. The study concluded that the combined use of organic manures with chemical fertilizers is important to ensure the build-up of micronutrient cations, improved quality of soil and to sustain long-term crop productivityThesisItem Embargo Carbon sequestration in a long-term rice-wheat cropping system(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Sarkar, Meghna; Toor, A.S.Climate change is one of the most serious issues in the twenty-first century, with significant effects on ecological sustainability, environment and human health. Soil organic Carbon (SOC) sequestration through appropriate management practices under different agroecosystems is considered an important strategy to combat climate change. Integrated nutrient management (INM) like application of manures, compost, crop residues, etc along with chemical fertilizers is one of the promising practices leading to C sequestration. These management practices have considerable influence on SOC turnover. Due to complex nature of SOC, it is imperative to understand the nature of SOC turnover under long-term INM. The SOC turnover is evaluated by characterization of different pools of organic C in soil. Therefore, the effect of INM involving farmyard manure (FYM), wheat cut straw (WCS) and green manure (GM) along with chemical fertilizers on SOC sequestration and its different pools was studied after 38 years of the experiment. The results showed that soil bulk density (BD) significantly decreased after 38 years of INM practice in rice-wheat system compared. Soil BD (Mg m-3) in 0-15 cm soil layer decreased from 1.52 (initial) to 1.25 in 100%NPK+50%N(FYM), 1.33 in 75%NPK+25%N(WCS), 1.34 in 50%NPK+50%N(GM) and 1.38 Mgm-3 in 100%NPK. Aggregate stability increased by 57.1% in 100%NPK+50%N(FYM), 42.4% in 75%NPK+25%N(GM), 35.4% in 50%NPK+50%N(WCS) over the sole application of chemical fertilizer in 0-15 cm soil depth. Aggregate associated C increased with the application of organic amendments and the highest was observed in 100%NPK+50%N(FYM) and lowest in 50%NPK+50%N(GM). The SOC concentration (g kg-1) increased from 3.1 (initial) to 6.63 in 100%NPK+50%N(FYM), 5.58 in 75%NPK+25%N(WCS), 5.55 in 50%NPK+50%N(GM) and 4.35 in 100%NPK in 0-15 cm soil layer. Over 100%NPK, water soluble C increased by 118% in 100%NPK+50%N(FYM), 80% in 50%NPK+50%N(WCS) and 52.8% in 50%NPK+50%N(GM) in 0-15 cm soil layer. Based on oxidizability, 100%NPK+50%N(FYM) had higher very labile C pool over 100%NPK and 75%NPK+25%N(GM) had higher recalcitrant pool over 100%NPK. Application of 100%NPK+50%N(FYM) in rice-wheat cropping system for 38-years sequestered highest (5.34 Mg ha-1) SOC, followed by 75%NPK+25%N(WCS) (4.06 Mg ha-1) and 50%NPK+50%N(GM) (4.04 Mg ha-1) and lower in 100%NPK (1.94 Mg ha-1) in 0-15 cm soil layer. The highest C sequestration in 100%NPK+50%N(FYM) was due to higher increase in aggregate associated C and labile and recalcitrant pools of SOC in 0-15 cm soil layer compared to other organically amended treatments and sole application of chemical fertilizers. This study concluded that long-term application of 100%NPK+50%N(FYM) is a viable option in rice-wheat system to maintain soil health and environmental sustainability.ThesisItem Embargo Geo-referenced inventorization and mapping of groundwater quality parameters of Ferozepur district of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Davinder Singh; Dhanwinder SinghA systematic study was conducted to assess the groundwater quality of Ferozepur district for drinking as well as irrigation purposes. Grid based, 604 groundwater samples were collected from November 2021 to April 2022 and GPS location of each was recorded. The water samples were analysed for pH, EC, TDS, TH, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl-, F-, NO3-, SO42-, HCO3-, As, B, Se, Cr, Ni, Pb, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn. The spatial variability maps for all these parameters were built using ArcGIS software. Considering these parameters, groundwater quality was evaluated, both w.r.t drinking and irrigation purposes. It was observed that parameters TDS, TH, Na+, K+, Mg2+, HCO3-, NO3-, SO42-, F-, B, As and Se were above their respective acceptable limits for drinking purpose. Among different blocks of Ferozepur district, Ghall Khurd was the most affected block with a considerable number of water samples not suitable for drinking purpose and Mamdot was the least affected one. However, the groundwater was not polluted with heavy metals as the heavy metal pollution index was Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ and anions were in the order HCO3- >SO42- >Cl- >F-. According to Gibbs plot and different scatter diagrams, rock-water interaction, evaporation, direct ion exchange process and silicate weathering were the major hydrogeochemical processes affecting the groundwater chemistry in the Ferozepur district. Piper diagram indicated that most of the water was of magnesium bicarbonate type and sodium chloride type. Overall, the water needs proper management practice before drinking use and in areas having marginal quality waters, proper recommendations must be adopted for irrigation use. The study suggests that long term monitoring and proper management must be done, so as to prevent any human health hazard and to get sustained crop productivity in the Ferozepur district.ThesisItem Embargo Micronutrients distribution in soil orders under prominent land use systems of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Gowthamchand, N. J.; Sharma, VivekThe present research study has been conducted with a prime objective to characterize the soil orders viz., Entisol, Inceptisol, Alfisol and Aridisol for their physico-chemical properties, micronutrients cations (Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn) and their transformation (chemical fractions) in soil under three land use systems (agriculture, horticulture and forestry) of Punjab. With the help of an auger, soil samples from both surface (0-15 cm) and depth-wise (0-20 cm, 20-40 cm, 40-60 cm, 60-80 cm and 80-100 cm) were collected from five locations for each land use systems under three different soil orders in each region (Majha, Malwa and Doaba) of Punjab. Standard procedures were followed to analyze soil samples for different physico-chemical properties and chemical fractions of micronutrients in the soil. Among different soil orders, Aridisols recorded the highest soil pH, EC, CaCO3 and lowest soil organic carbon levels, and their distribution across different land uses is highly varied. In all soil orders, the horticulture and forest land use systems had the greatest levels of soil OC. Regardless of the soil orders and land use systems, the soil EC, OC, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients (Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn) content decreased with an increase in soil depth, whereas soil pH and CaCO3 content increased with depth. The status of available phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients was found to be significantly varied and no particular pattern was observed among the different land use systems under each soil orders in all three regions of Punjab. In Majha region, Entisols had the highest DTPA-extractable and chemical fractions of Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn, followed by Inceptisols and Alfisols. In Malwa region, among different soil orders, the maximum concentration of DTPA-extractable and chemical fractions of Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn was observed in Entisols, followed by Inceptisols and Aridisols. In Doaba region, the distribution of DTPA-extractable micronutrients and chemical fractions of Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn was highest in Alfisols, followed by Entisols and”Inceptisols, As a result, it is inferred that land use systems and their management practices influenced the distribution of physicochemical properties and altered the availability of micronutrients among different soil orders. The outcomes of the current study might be of great importance to researchers, state agricultural officers and farmers to implement nutrient management strategies in different soils.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of different organic waste materials for preparing vermicompost and their effect on maize productivity(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2022) Bal, Karanbir Kaur; Rani, NeerajThe present study entitled “Evaluation of different organic waste materials for preparing vermicompost and their effect on maize productivity” was carried out at the Integrated Farming System Farm, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during the Kharif season of 2019-20 and 2020-21 on loamy sand soil. To find out the best treatment for vermicompost preparation, different waste materials like paddy straw, neem leaves and dhaincha leaves were used for the preparation of vermicompost, and their combinations with cow dung are {Paddy Straw + Cow dung (1:1)}, {Neem leaves + Cow dung (1:1)}, {Dhaincha leaves + Cow dung (1:1)} and {Cow Dung (100%)}. After the pre-decomposition period, 1 kg earthworms were inoculated in all treatments except FYM treatment (control) and their quality was evaluated. Neem leaves vermicompost took lesser days for its preparation i.e. 52 days and among all the treatments neem leaves were considered to be the favorite food for the earthworms. The physical, chemical and biological analysis of vermicompost revealed that the best vermicompost in terms of nutrient content was dhaincha leaves vermicompost > neem leaves vermicompost > paddy straw vermicompost > cow dung vermicompost > FYM. The prepared vermicompost from different organic wastes were further used for field studies with maize as test crop in Kharif season (2019-20 and 2020-21) to understand the mineralization of nutrients from vermicompost and its effect on productivity and soil properties. The significant increase was recorded in growth and yield parameters with the integrated nutrient management treatment (RDF+FYM) followed by RDF, different vermicompost treatments and control during the first year whereas comparing the vermicompost treatments with integrated nutrient management and RDF treatments, the difference in maize attributes was comparatively decreased during second year. The soil chemical properties showed no significant difference in the initial year whereas in the second year small improvements were recorded in organic carbon, macro- and micronutrients concentration with neem leaves vermicompost and dhaincha leaves vermicompost in comparison to integrated nutrient management, RDF and control treatments. The results can be significant in the later years as organic amendments being slow release fertilizers takes time in improving soil properties and hence yield response. Because the initial organic carbon and nutrient content of the soil was recorded to be low, therefore, it takes almost three to four years for positive response of soil to the applied organic amendments. The result of vermicompost application can be recorded higher in terms of improvement in yield and soil properties in the later years.
