Heavy metal pollution is the worst form of pollution. As, Ni, Hg, Cd, Cr, Pb and Zn are the most ... more Heavy metal pollution is the worst form of pollution. As, Ni, Hg, Cd, Cr, Pb and Zn are the most common toxic metals in soils and water bodies. All these metals are toxic to human health and very risky our environment. Numerous technologies have been used to eliminate heavy metals from our environment, but these techniques are not cost-effective, take a long time and have mechanical complexity. Phytoremediation is the only alternative solution for remediation of toxic contaminants because its remediation efficiency is high, needs low capital cost and is clean and environment-friendly. Several plants have the capability to bioaccumulate and thus are used for phytoremediation of toxic metals. Phytoremediation has gained great importance because of its green approach of remediating heavy metals.
The present work aims at assessing the water quality index (WQI) in the surface water bodies of N... more The present work aims at assessing the water quality index (WQI) in the surface water bodies of Noorbagh (Srinagar) and Narkara (Budgam) situated in central Kashmir of Jammu and Kashmir by monitoring fifteen sampling points within each location. The surface water samples were subjected to comprehensive physico-chemical analysis involving major cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K,), anions (HCO , CO3, Cl, SO4, NO3, PO4, B) besides general parameters (pH, EC and TDS). For calculating the WQI, nine parameters namely, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, and nitrate nitrogen were considered. SAR and boron values indicated that both Noorbagh and Narkara surface water bodies are excellent (S1) for irrigation, while electrical conductivity values classified that waters of both the locations fall under medium salinity (C2) category. Further, it is apparent from WQI values that surface water bodies of Noorbagh and Narkara belong to excellent...
Building materials and technologies, and building practices have evolved through ages. The follow... more Building materials and technologies, and building practices have evolved through ages. The following points require attention, regarding the use of modern building materials: energy consumed in the manufacturing processes, problems of long distance transportation, natural resources and raw materials consumed, recycling and safe disposal, impact on environment, and long-term sustainability. Thus the issues related to energy expenditure, recycling, biodegradable, environmental and sustainability with respect to future demand need to be addressed during the manufacture and use of any new building material by the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources energy, water, and materials while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better site, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal i.e. the complete building life cycle for achieving sustainable building development or green building development. The goal of th...
Research Anthology on Emerging Techniques in Environmental Remediation, 2022
Endophytes are symptomless fungal and bacterial microorganisms found in almost all living plants.... more Endophytes are symptomless fungal and bacterial microorganisms found in almost all living plants. They are vital components of plant microbiomes. Endophytes affect plant growth and plant responses to pathogens, herbivores, and environmental change by producing a range of natural products having antifungal, antibacterial, and insecticidal properties. Endophytes have shown particular promise in agriculture particularly as beneficial crop inoculants and are known to enhance abiotic and biotic plant stress tolerance by increasing tolerance to drought and water stress, as well as tolerance to high temperature and high salinity. A better understanding of their plant growth-promoting mechanisms could simplify higher production of energy crops in a more sustainable manner even on marginal land and feed stocks for industrial processes, thus contribute to avoiding conflicts between food and energy production Many endophytes can be exploited to improve the efficiency of phytoremediation as the...
Study was conducted to investigate the dyeing potential of Quercus robur L. (fruit cups) dye and ... more Study was conducted to investigate the dyeing potential of Quercus robur L. (fruit cups) dye and Salix alba L. (wood extract) mordant on wool and pashmina fabrics. The experiment was conducted keeping in view the environmental safety by using unutilized plant materials and excluding the usage of chemical agents. The dyeing was carried out individually including and excluding mordant adopting different mordanting methods. The parameters like percent absorption, colour coordinates, colour strength (K/S), relative colour strength and colour fastness with regard to washing, light and rubbing were investigated. The results revealed higher percent absorption of mordanted samples than unmordanted samples. Colour coordinates (L*a*b*, Chroma, hue and ΔE) of dyed wool and pashmina fabric exhibited satisfactory results. The colour strength (K/S) and relative colour strength of pashmina fabric recorded higher than wool fabric. The fastness properties to washing, light and rubbing showed satisfa...
Soil Science: Agricultural and Environmental Prospectives, 2016
Arbuscular mycorrhiza-forming fungi make necessary feeding upon the host plant cells without kill... more Arbuscular mycorrhiza-forming fungi make necessary feeding upon the host plant cells without killing the plant and derive their food from host-plant. Arbuscular mycorrhiza generates the mass on the root cells and forms some peculiar structures (arbuscules) within the cell. These cell structures are actually the sites where the give-and-take of nutrients between the fungi and plant takes place. Extracellular networks which spreads in all possible directions into the surrounding soil and reach to locations where nutrient concentration is very low and make available food, minerals and other nutrients exclusively PO42− and NO3− for the plant. The host plant provides the symbiotic partner food for life activities. Arbuscular mycorrhiza-forming fungi provides sustainable soil health by improving soil structure, defence mechanism against plant root pathogens, provide availability of essential plant nutrients (Zn, Cu, Fe, Ca, Mg and NPK), tillage, bio-control of pests and play efficient role in phytoremediation.
This study was conducted to determine the impact on the nutrient status of soil and vegetable cro... more This study was conducted to determine the impact on the nutrient status of soil and vegetable crops irrigated with the treated sewage water. Three samples of water and five samples of soil and five commonly grown vegetables viz. radish, carrot, spinach, cauliflower, and potato were collected from Ganjia, Arail and Dandi located in Naini, Allahabad (India). The water samples were analysed for pH, EC, and heavy metals (Pb2+, Cr3+, Cd2+ and Ni2+) concentration. Water samples from all the sites were alkaline with EC below the safe limits. The soil and plant samples from all the three sites showed that Gangia recorded the highest value of EC (dS m-1), organic carbon (OC) (%), available NPK (kg ha-1), and micronutrients concentration (Mn2+, Zn2+ and Fe2+) (mg kg-1) whereas, the lowest concentration was recorded at Dandi followed by Arail. The soil samples collected from all three sites were alkaline. The nutrient status (N, P and K) showed the highest value in potato in the three sites, w...
The present study was carried out to analyse the heavy metal contamination in soils and vegetable... more The present study was carried out to analyse the heavy metal contamination in soils and vegetable crops. Soil samples as well as vegetable samples were collected from commercially growing vegetable belts of Central Kashmir (Noorbah (Srinagar) and Narkara (Budgam) area of Jammu and Kashmir. The soils and vegetable samples were analyzed for Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb. The mean values showed slightly higher amount of the heavy metals in the soils of Noorbagh (Srinagar). Furthermore, the edible part of radish had higher amount of these heavy metals respectively compared to tomato owing to the excessive discharge of domestic sewage in the irrigation channels. The heavy metal concentration in both the vegetable crops were below the critical limits of Indian standards but continuous monitoring of these metals is necessary to ensure the good quality of vegetables for consumption.
The present study was carried out to assess levels of different heavy metals like iron, manganese... more The present study was carried out to assess levels of different heavy metals like iron, manganese, copper and zinc in three vegetable crops viz, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. variety: Local), radish (Raphanus sativus L. variety: Japanese long) and kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala L. variety: Khanyari) irrigated with surface and ground water in commercially grown vegetable belt of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Accumulation of all the four metal ions were higher in ground water irrigated crops compared to surface water irrigated ones. The concentration of Fe was highest followed by Mn, Zn and Cu in both surface and ground water irrigated vegetables. The accumulation of Fe (150.7±4.0 mgkg-1) was highest in kale irrigated with ground water, whileas that of Mn (85.01±5.19 mgkg-1), Zn (35.82±2.04 mgkg-1) and Cu (18.84±1.08 mgkg-1) was higher in ground water irrigated tomato. The concentration of metals in vegetable crops irrigated with both the surface and ground water were found well below the permissible limits of Indian standards. However, the regular monitoring of levels of these metals from irrigation water, in vegetables and in other food materials is essential to prevent excessive build-up of these metals in the food chain.
The present work aims at assessing the water quality index (WQI) in the surface water bodies of N... more The present work aims at assessing the water quality index (WQI) in the surface water bodies of Noorbagh (Srinagar) and Narkara (Budgam) situated in central Kashmir of Jammu and Kashmir by monitoring fifteen sampling points within each location. The surface water samples were subjected to comprehensive physico-chemical analysis involving major cations (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + , K + ,), anions (HCO 3-, CO3-, Cl-, SO4 2-, NO3-, PO4 3-, B-) besides general parameters (pH, EC and TDS). For calculating the WQI, nine parameters namely, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, and nitrate nitrogen were considered. SAR and boron values indicated that both Noorbagh and Narkara surface water bodies are excellent (S1) for irrigation, while electrical conductivity values classified that waters of both the locations fall under medium salinity (C2) category. Further, it is apparent from WQI values that surface water bodies of Noorbagh and Narkara belong to excellent water class with WQI values of 22.9 and 15.0 respectively. Introduction Our environment has witnessed a continuous and rapid deterioration which cause pollution in all its abiotic and biotic components. Now-a-days water pollution is burning issue all over the world. Like other developing countries water pollution in India also reach in alarming situation due to lack of proper management policies. Hence the quality and quantity of utilizable surface water decreases which ultimately results in water crisis. So there is need for continuous evaluation of water quality and pollution level in order to promote better living condition around the reservoirs and to save the reservoirs before their extreme worst condition of eutrophication (Anu et al., 2011) [1]. The physico-chemical parameters of water and the dependence of all life process of these factors make it desirable to take as an environ (Manjare et al., 2010) [11]. The quality of surface water is largely affected by natural processes (weathering and soil erosion) as well as anthropogenic inputs (municipal and industrial waste water discharge). The anthropogenic discharge represents a constant polluting source; whereas surface runoff is a seasonal phenomenon, largely affected by climatic conditions. Developmental pressures and increasing human population has made the water bodies of the study area vulnerable to sewage flow, solid waste dumping, etc., in turn exerting pressure on the percolation and infiltration processes responsible for the groundwater recharge (Ravikumar et al. 2011) [19]. The municipal effluents from such natural drains deteriorated the quality of these water bodies. Sedimentation of the pollutants has not only reduced the surface area of the water which in turn has increased evaporation rate, but also reduced ground water levels on account of poor permeability with more and more silt, clay deposits, trash and toxic waste accumulation in them year after year. In spite of the fact that nutrient enrichment stimulates the growth of plants (algae as well as higher plants), nutrient enrichment in water bodies is considered as one of the major environmental problems in many countries (Oczkowski and Nixon 2008) [15] , ultimately leading to deterioration of water quality and degradation of entire ecosystems (Yu et al. 2010) [23]. Hence, periodic monitoring and assessment of water quality helps to develop management strategies to control surface water pollution (Shuchun et al. 2010) [21] in spite of increasing urbanization and anthropogenic pressure on them. Water quality index (WQI) is one of the most effective tools (Mishra and Patel 2001; Naik and Purohit 2001) [12, 13] to communicate information on the quality of water to the concerned citizens and policy makers as it is an important parameter for the assessment and management of surface/ground waters. Hence, the present work has been carried out with a focus to
Actinomycetes are aerobic, spore forming gram-positive bacteria, belonging to the order actinomyc... more Actinomycetes are aerobic, spore forming gram-positive bacteria, belonging to the order actinomycetales characterized with substrate and aerial mycelium growth. They are the most abundant organisms that form thread-like filaments in the soil and are responsible for characteristically "earthy" smell of freshly turned healthy soil. They play major roles in the cycling of organic matter; inhibit the growth of several plant pathogens in the rhizosphere and decompose complex mixtures of polymer in dead plant, animal and fungal material results in production of many extracellular enzymes which are conductive to crop production. The major contribution in biological buffering of soils, biological control of soil environments by nitrogen fixation and degradation of high molecular weight compounds like hydrocarbons in the polluted soils are remarkable characteristics of actinomycetes. Besides this, they are known to improve the availability of nutrients, minerals, enhance the production of metabolites and promote plant growth regulators. Furthermore, actinobacteria do not contaminate the environment instead, they help sustainably in improving soil health by formation and stabilization of compost piles, formation of stable humus and combine with other soil microorganisms in breaking down the tough plant residues such as cellulose and animal residues to maintain the biotic equilibrium of soil by cooperating with nutrient cycling.
To assess the quality of surface and ground water for their irrigation potential, fifteen samples... more To assess the quality of surface and ground water for their irrigation potential, fifteen samples of each irrigation source were collected and were analysed for pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), carbonate (CO32-), bicarbonate (HCO3-), chloride (Cl), sulphate (SO42-) and SAR. Chemically gound water was found to be more mineralized than surface water. Based on EC and SAR values all the samples were found within low salinity class and hence were found fit for irrigation purposes. The values indicate that ground water in the study area is the best alternative source of irrigation water for the crops and will certainly enhance the crops yield as compared to the surface water.
Heavy metal pollution is the worst form of pollution. As, Ni, Hg, Cd, Cr, Pb and Zn are the most ... more Heavy metal pollution is the worst form of pollution. As, Ni, Hg, Cd, Cr, Pb and Zn are the most common toxic metals in soils and water bodies. All these metals are toxic to human health and very risky our environment. Numerous technologies have been used to eliminate heavy metals from our environment, but these techniques are not cost-effective, take a long time and have mechanical complexity. Phytoremediation is the only alternative solution for remediation of toxic contaminants because its remediation efficiency is high, needs low capital cost and is clean and environment-friendly. Several plants have the capability to bioaccumulate and thus are used for phytoremediation of toxic metals. Phytoremediation has gained great importance because of its green approach of remediating heavy metals.
The present work aims at assessing the water quality index (WQI) in the surface water bodies of N... more The present work aims at assessing the water quality index (WQI) in the surface water bodies of Noorbagh (Srinagar) and Narkara (Budgam) situated in central Kashmir of Jammu and Kashmir by monitoring fifteen sampling points within each location. The surface water samples were subjected to comprehensive physico-chemical analysis involving major cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K,), anions (HCO , CO3, Cl, SO4, NO3, PO4, B) besides general parameters (pH, EC and TDS). For calculating the WQI, nine parameters namely, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, and nitrate nitrogen were considered. SAR and boron values indicated that both Noorbagh and Narkara surface water bodies are excellent (S1) for irrigation, while electrical conductivity values classified that waters of both the locations fall under medium salinity (C2) category. Further, it is apparent from WQI values that surface water bodies of Noorbagh and Narkara belong to excellent...
Building materials and technologies, and building practices have evolved through ages. The follow... more Building materials and technologies, and building practices have evolved through ages. The following points require attention, regarding the use of modern building materials: energy consumed in the manufacturing processes, problems of long distance transportation, natural resources and raw materials consumed, recycling and safe disposal, impact on environment, and long-term sustainability. Thus the issues related to energy expenditure, recycling, biodegradable, environmental and sustainability with respect to future demand need to be addressed during the manufacture and use of any new building material by the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources energy, water, and materials while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better site, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal i.e. the complete building life cycle for achieving sustainable building development or green building development. The goal of th...
Research Anthology on Emerging Techniques in Environmental Remediation, 2022
Endophytes are symptomless fungal and bacterial microorganisms found in almost all living plants.... more Endophytes are symptomless fungal and bacterial microorganisms found in almost all living plants. They are vital components of plant microbiomes. Endophytes affect plant growth and plant responses to pathogens, herbivores, and environmental change by producing a range of natural products having antifungal, antibacterial, and insecticidal properties. Endophytes have shown particular promise in agriculture particularly as beneficial crop inoculants and are known to enhance abiotic and biotic plant stress tolerance by increasing tolerance to drought and water stress, as well as tolerance to high temperature and high salinity. A better understanding of their plant growth-promoting mechanisms could simplify higher production of energy crops in a more sustainable manner even on marginal land and feed stocks for industrial processes, thus contribute to avoiding conflicts between food and energy production Many endophytes can be exploited to improve the efficiency of phytoremediation as the...
Study was conducted to investigate the dyeing potential of Quercus robur L. (fruit cups) dye and ... more Study was conducted to investigate the dyeing potential of Quercus robur L. (fruit cups) dye and Salix alba L. (wood extract) mordant on wool and pashmina fabrics. The experiment was conducted keeping in view the environmental safety by using unutilized plant materials and excluding the usage of chemical agents. The dyeing was carried out individually including and excluding mordant adopting different mordanting methods. The parameters like percent absorption, colour coordinates, colour strength (K/S), relative colour strength and colour fastness with regard to washing, light and rubbing were investigated. The results revealed higher percent absorption of mordanted samples than unmordanted samples. Colour coordinates (L*a*b*, Chroma, hue and ΔE) of dyed wool and pashmina fabric exhibited satisfactory results. The colour strength (K/S) and relative colour strength of pashmina fabric recorded higher than wool fabric. The fastness properties to washing, light and rubbing showed satisfa...
Soil Science: Agricultural and Environmental Prospectives, 2016
Arbuscular mycorrhiza-forming fungi make necessary feeding upon the host plant cells without kill... more Arbuscular mycorrhiza-forming fungi make necessary feeding upon the host plant cells without killing the plant and derive their food from host-plant. Arbuscular mycorrhiza generates the mass on the root cells and forms some peculiar structures (arbuscules) within the cell. These cell structures are actually the sites where the give-and-take of nutrients between the fungi and plant takes place. Extracellular networks which spreads in all possible directions into the surrounding soil and reach to locations where nutrient concentration is very low and make available food, minerals and other nutrients exclusively PO42− and NO3− for the plant. The host plant provides the symbiotic partner food for life activities. Arbuscular mycorrhiza-forming fungi provides sustainable soil health by improving soil structure, defence mechanism against plant root pathogens, provide availability of essential plant nutrients (Zn, Cu, Fe, Ca, Mg and NPK), tillage, bio-control of pests and play efficient role in phytoremediation.
This study was conducted to determine the impact on the nutrient status of soil and vegetable cro... more This study was conducted to determine the impact on the nutrient status of soil and vegetable crops irrigated with the treated sewage water. Three samples of water and five samples of soil and five commonly grown vegetables viz. radish, carrot, spinach, cauliflower, and potato were collected from Ganjia, Arail and Dandi located in Naini, Allahabad (India). The water samples were analysed for pH, EC, and heavy metals (Pb2+, Cr3+, Cd2+ and Ni2+) concentration. Water samples from all the sites were alkaline with EC below the safe limits. The soil and plant samples from all the three sites showed that Gangia recorded the highest value of EC (dS m-1), organic carbon (OC) (%), available NPK (kg ha-1), and micronutrients concentration (Mn2+, Zn2+ and Fe2+) (mg kg-1) whereas, the lowest concentration was recorded at Dandi followed by Arail. The soil samples collected from all three sites were alkaline. The nutrient status (N, P and K) showed the highest value in potato in the three sites, w...
The present study was carried out to analyse the heavy metal contamination in soils and vegetable... more The present study was carried out to analyse the heavy metal contamination in soils and vegetable crops. Soil samples as well as vegetable samples were collected from commercially growing vegetable belts of Central Kashmir (Noorbah (Srinagar) and Narkara (Budgam) area of Jammu and Kashmir. The soils and vegetable samples were analyzed for Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb. The mean values showed slightly higher amount of the heavy metals in the soils of Noorbagh (Srinagar). Furthermore, the edible part of radish had higher amount of these heavy metals respectively compared to tomato owing to the excessive discharge of domestic sewage in the irrigation channels. The heavy metal concentration in both the vegetable crops were below the critical limits of Indian standards but continuous monitoring of these metals is necessary to ensure the good quality of vegetables for consumption.
The present study was carried out to assess levels of different heavy metals like iron, manganese... more The present study was carried out to assess levels of different heavy metals like iron, manganese, copper and zinc in three vegetable crops viz, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. variety: Local), radish (Raphanus sativus L. variety: Japanese long) and kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala L. variety: Khanyari) irrigated with surface and ground water in commercially grown vegetable belt of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Accumulation of all the four metal ions were higher in ground water irrigated crops compared to surface water irrigated ones. The concentration of Fe was highest followed by Mn, Zn and Cu in both surface and ground water irrigated vegetables. The accumulation of Fe (150.7±4.0 mgkg-1) was highest in kale irrigated with ground water, whileas that of Mn (85.01±5.19 mgkg-1), Zn (35.82±2.04 mgkg-1) and Cu (18.84±1.08 mgkg-1) was higher in ground water irrigated tomato. The concentration of metals in vegetable crops irrigated with both the surface and ground water were found well below the permissible limits of Indian standards. However, the regular monitoring of levels of these metals from irrigation water, in vegetables and in other food materials is essential to prevent excessive build-up of these metals in the food chain.
The present work aims at assessing the water quality index (WQI) in the surface water bodies of N... more The present work aims at assessing the water quality index (WQI) in the surface water bodies of Noorbagh (Srinagar) and Narkara (Budgam) situated in central Kashmir of Jammu and Kashmir by monitoring fifteen sampling points within each location. The surface water samples were subjected to comprehensive physico-chemical analysis involving major cations (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + , K + ,), anions (HCO 3-, CO3-, Cl-, SO4 2-, NO3-, PO4 3-, B-) besides general parameters (pH, EC and TDS). For calculating the WQI, nine parameters namely, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, and nitrate nitrogen were considered. SAR and boron values indicated that both Noorbagh and Narkara surface water bodies are excellent (S1) for irrigation, while electrical conductivity values classified that waters of both the locations fall under medium salinity (C2) category. Further, it is apparent from WQI values that surface water bodies of Noorbagh and Narkara belong to excellent water class with WQI values of 22.9 and 15.0 respectively. Introduction Our environment has witnessed a continuous and rapid deterioration which cause pollution in all its abiotic and biotic components. Now-a-days water pollution is burning issue all over the world. Like other developing countries water pollution in India also reach in alarming situation due to lack of proper management policies. Hence the quality and quantity of utilizable surface water decreases which ultimately results in water crisis. So there is need for continuous evaluation of water quality and pollution level in order to promote better living condition around the reservoirs and to save the reservoirs before their extreme worst condition of eutrophication (Anu et al., 2011) [1]. The physico-chemical parameters of water and the dependence of all life process of these factors make it desirable to take as an environ (Manjare et al., 2010) [11]. The quality of surface water is largely affected by natural processes (weathering and soil erosion) as well as anthropogenic inputs (municipal and industrial waste water discharge). The anthropogenic discharge represents a constant polluting source; whereas surface runoff is a seasonal phenomenon, largely affected by climatic conditions. Developmental pressures and increasing human population has made the water bodies of the study area vulnerable to sewage flow, solid waste dumping, etc., in turn exerting pressure on the percolation and infiltration processes responsible for the groundwater recharge (Ravikumar et al. 2011) [19]. The municipal effluents from such natural drains deteriorated the quality of these water bodies. Sedimentation of the pollutants has not only reduced the surface area of the water which in turn has increased evaporation rate, but also reduced ground water levels on account of poor permeability with more and more silt, clay deposits, trash and toxic waste accumulation in them year after year. In spite of the fact that nutrient enrichment stimulates the growth of plants (algae as well as higher plants), nutrient enrichment in water bodies is considered as one of the major environmental problems in many countries (Oczkowski and Nixon 2008) [15] , ultimately leading to deterioration of water quality and degradation of entire ecosystems (Yu et al. 2010) [23]. Hence, periodic monitoring and assessment of water quality helps to develop management strategies to control surface water pollution (Shuchun et al. 2010) [21] in spite of increasing urbanization and anthropogenic pressure on them. Water quality index (WQI) is one of the most effective tools (Mishra and Patel 2001; Naik and Purohit 2001) [12, 13] to communicate information on the quality of water to the concerned citizens and policy makers as it is an important parameter for the assessment and management of surface/ground waters. Hence, the present work has been carried out with a focus to
Actinomycetes are aerobic, spore forming gram-positive bacteria, belonging to the order actinomyc... more Actinomycetes are aerobic, spore forming gram-positive bacteria, belonging to the order actinomycetales characterized with substrate and aerial mycelium growth. They are the most abundant organisms that form thread-like filaments in the soil and are responsible for characteristically "earthy" smell of freshly turned healthy soil. They play major roles in the cycling of organic matter; inhibit the growth of several plant pathogens in the rhizosphere and decompose complex mixtures of polymer in dead plant, animal and fungal material results in production of many extracellular enzymes which are conductive to crop production. The major contribution in biological buffering of soils, biological control of soil environments by nitrogen fixation and degradation of high molecular weight compounds like hydrocarbons in the polluted soils are remarkable characteristics of actinomycetes. Besides this, they are known to improve the availability of nutrients, minerals, enhance the production of metabolites and promote plant growth regulators. Furthermore, actinobacteria do not contaminate the environment instead, they help sustainably in improving soil health by formation and stabilization of compost piles, formation of stable humus and combine with other soil microorganisms in breaking down the tough plant residues such as cellulose and animal residues to maintain the biotic equilibrium of soil by cooperating with nutrient cycling.
To assess the quality of surface and ground water for their irrigation potential, fifteen samples... more To assess the quality of surface and ground water for their irrigation potential, fifteen samples of each irrigation source were collected and were analysed for pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), carbonate (CO32-), bicarbonate (HCO3-), chloride (Cl), sulphate (SO42-) and SAR. Chemically gound water was found to be more mineralized than surface water. Based on EC and SAR values all the samples were found within low salinity class and hence were found fit for irrigation purposes. The values indicate that ground water in the study area is the best alternative source of irrigation water for the crops and will certainly enhance the crops yield as compared to the surface water.
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