Assessment and Conservation of Groundwater Quality: A Challenge for Agriculture

Quality of irrigation water is one of the key factors which have either direct or indirect impact on plant growth, soil and water management practices and plant yield. This work aims at the assessment of groundwater quality for irrigation, impact of different chemical parameters on plant yield and agriculture and water management practices needed in adverse irrigation water conditions. This study was conducted in semi-arid area where salinity and alkalinity are considered the main threats to the sustainable irrigation agriculture. Various sources of groundwater, within an area of 36 km2, lying in the north-east of the Lakki Marwat district Pakistan, were surveyed and thirty representative samples were collected for the chemical analyses. The data from the chemical analyses of these water samples was compared with the standard values suggested by WAPDA, FAO and USDA Handbook 60. The electrical conductivity values indicate that the groundwater existing in the project area is slightly saline and the pH values find it slightly alkaline. The overall study reveals that none of the water samples has an adverse impact on the yield of barley, sorghum and wheat while 7% and 17% of this water respectively reduce the yield of corn and onion by 50%. Besides, 7% of this water reduces the yield of alfalfa by 25%. The study concludes that the management practices such as deep ploughing, provision of adequate drainage and crop rotation can improve the use of such water.