GROUND WATER QUALITY OF M/S PRUDENTIAL MOULI SUGAR FACTORY AREA OF CHITTOOR DISTRICT IN ANDHRA PRADESH

摘要

Ground water quality survey was carried out to categorize underground irrigation water of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh for their irrigation suitability. A total of 118 ground water samples were collected from 9 mandate from the borewells of sugarcane grower's fields of the M/s Prudential Mouli Sugars, Nindra during 2004. Depth of water in the bore/open wells varied from 6 m to 200 m with a discharge of 3.5 to 9 cm and the soils were mostly Alfisols interspersed here and there with Vertisols. Electrical Conductivity of water samples varied from 0.30 to 4.10 dSm-1 while pH ranged from 7.2 to 9.29. Soluble carbonates, bicarbonates and RSC of these waters varied from nil to 1.9: nil to 9.5 and nil to 10.0 me L-1, respectively where as SAR varied from 0.94 to 18.3 (m mole/l)1/2. The results of cumulative frequency analysis of water samples revealed that 83 percentofwatersamples recorded electrical conductivity less than 2.0 dSm-1. Fifty eight percent of samples recorded pH 7.0 to 8.5 while remaining 42 percent had pH more than 8.5. Similarly 59.3 and 40.7 per cent of water samples recorded RSC less than 2.5 and more than 2.5 me/L respectively. Based on EC, SAR and RSC, 62.71 per centwaters were classified as good, 17.80 per cent marginally saline,10.17 percent marginally alkali and 5.08 per cent alkali, 2.53 percent were high SAR saline and 1.69 per cent were high alkali in nature. The predominant cations are in the order of Na>Mg>Ca where as in few cases it is in the order of Mg>Na>Ca with dominance of chlorides followed by bicarbonates and sulphates.