Abstract

Laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effect of amla tree dried lopping on the improvement of irrigation water quality. The irrigation water from three different sources, with varying water quality and distilled water as control was treated with amla (Pyllanthus emblica) tree dried lopping at four concentration levels viz., 0, 5, 10 and 15 percent. The study was conducted in FRBD with three replications. The results clearly indicated that treatment of amla tree dried lopping at varying concentrations on different irrigation water quality sources invariably decreased the pH and slightly increased the electrical conductivity. In the high RSC water used, treatment with amla at 5 per cent level decreased the pH from 9.1 to 7.1 within a day after treatment and stabilized to 6.5, but EC increased from 1.8 to 1.98 and stabilized to 2.14 after a week. In all the treatments, Na and K concentrations increased leading to slight increase in electrical conductivity. The treatment of alkali (high RSC) water with amla tree dried lopping improved the quality for irrigation.

Keywords: RSC, EC, pH, Amla tree dried loppings, Irrigation water, quality