A Short Verification of the Quality of Irrigation Water in the Tea-growing Districts of South India

Abstract

Background: Variations in climatic conditions, irrigation facility and insect/pest management have brought about a massive impact on tea production. Among these the quality of the irrigation water and atmosphere related uncertainties were minimizing the tea production in right quantity and quality. The water utilized for irrigation systems can vary in quality depending on the nature and amount of dissolved salts. Minerals get dissolved into the irrigation water from various sources. They start from the disintegration of the stones and soil, including the decay of lime, gypsum and others broken up soil minerals. Salts go along with the water to the place wherever it is to being utilized. On account of the evaporation and filtration by sand particles, the salts present in the irrigation water get concentrated when the crop consumes water. Methods: Quality of the irrigation water was checked by assessing the pH, electrical conductivity, cations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) and anions (Cl-, HCO3-, CO32-). For evaluating the irrigation water quality and there are seven irrigation water samples collected from seven tea planting districts (Valparai- Tamil Nadu, Coonoor - Tamil Nadu, Gudalur - Tamil Nadu, Wayanad - Kerala, Munnar - Kerala, Vandiperiyar - Kerala, Koppa - Karnataka) in the southern states of India. Result: After evaluations of water quality from various techniques indicated that the water in tea growing locations of the southern states of India is chemically sufficient for agricultural applications.