This centre was initially started at SKN College of Agriculture; Jobner in 1980 during Sixth Five year plan and later on it was shifted to Bikaner w.e.f. April 01, 1990 to undertake research in arid and semi-arid regions. The centre is situated in Agro ecological region 2 (Western plain, hot arid region) and located at 280 01’ N Latitude and 73035’ E Longitude.
- Ground water quality map of arid zone of Rajasthan was prepared. Water quality maps of Jaipur, Bikaner, Churu, Nagaur, Jaisalmer, Sikar and Sriganganagar districts have been prepared by the center.
- Ber cultivation with saline water using drip was established successfully. Saline irrigation water (up to 8.0 dS/m) was used through drip without any significant reduction in yield.
- Subsurface drainage system was tested for reclamation of waterlogged saline soils under IGNP command.
- Following technologies were developed by centre for use of High RSC waters:
- Studies on mitigating adverse effect of high RSC water revealed that for sustainable production of pearl-millet-wheat crop rotation in sandy coarse textured soils under sprinkler system with water having RSC around 10.0 me/l gypsum @ equivalent to 5.0 mel-1 RSC neutralization of each irrigation with FYM @10t/ ha should be added in soil treated water. It was found that RSC of water treated through gypsum tank could be neutralized by 2.0 to 2.0 mq/q. Additional gypsum as per requirement should be added before sowing. Further a periodical monitoring of GR of soil is necessary while using high RSC water for irrigation.
- Application of gypsum @ 50% GR every third year has been recommended for using high RSC waters. Mustard should be preferred over wheat.
- Soil application of gypsum @ 50 % GR and equivalent to partial neutralization upto 4.0 meL-1 of high RSC water is recommended for pearl millet, mustard and cluster bean. Barley can tolerate RSC up to 8.0 meL-1. Addition of gypsum reduced the alkalinity of soil and prevented its further degradation with the use of high RSC water in Sikar district.
- For the use of high RSC water in calcareous soils, mixing of pyrite @ 50 % GR in soil twenty days before sowing or two sprays of 2 % FeSO4 + 0.1 % Citric acid at 30 and 40 days after sowing are recommended for higher yields of mustard and cluster bean.
- Adverse effect of high RSC water (7.5 meL-1) under sprinkler irrigation can be reduced if 5.0 t ha-1 FYM and gypsum @ 50 % GR is applied to soil.
- About 2.5 me/litre RSC of water can be neutralized by passing high RSC water through gypsum tank.
- Light and frequent irrigation minimizes the accumulation of salts while longer irrigation intervals induce salinity in upper layer of soil
- Nitrate content of irrigation water up to 80 ppm has no adverse effect on yield of wheat. Further the adverse effect of nitrate in irrigation waters can be mitigated by application of potash
- Sewage water of Bikaner can be successfully used for vegetable production provided it is passed through effluent treatment plant
- If two sources of good and saline water are available, mixing of these water for irrigation should be done in such a way that EC of mixed water does not exceed beyond 3.75 dSm-1 for ground nut and 5.0 dSm-1 for wheat for sustainable production in light textured soil of Bikaner district
- Saline water in conjunction with good quality water can be use if one or two irrigation of good quality water is applied at the initial stages rather than at later stages in Pearl millet-wheat crop
- Better yields of tomato and bottle gourd were recorded with water having ECiw up to 3.0 dSm-1 in sandy soils under drip irrigation system
- ECiw values for 50% yield reduction in wheat, mustard, cluster bean and groundnut crops were found to be 5.9, 5.0, 2.9 and 2.7 dSm-1, respectively, under sprinkler irrigation in light textured soils
- Most of the vegetables can successfully be grown upto 3 dS/m salinity of irrigation water if water is applied through drip irrigation without any reduction in yields. It was found that even yields increased at 3.0 dS/m salinity of water
- Irrigation water with salinity more than 2.5 dS/m is not suitable for groundnut cultivation under sprinkler irrigation
- In moderately saline irrigation water, the salt tolerance of crops could be increased by adding 25% extra fertilizer nutrient than the recommended dose along with 5 t/ha of FYM.
- Establishment of critical limits of irrigation water salinity under sprinkler for some major crops of area
- Identification of cotton/mustard/wheat varieties for salinity tolerance under drip and flood irrigation
- Seed soaking and two sprays of K2SO4 (200 ppm) at 45 and 60 DAS were found promising in mitigating adverse effect of salinity of irrigation water and increasing crop yields under drip system for wheat and groundnut. In isabgol also, two sprays of two sprays of K2SO4 (200 ppm) proved effective.
- Performance of wheat varieties (Raj 3077, Raj 4188, KRL 210 and KRL 213) was evaluated under drip using varying levels of salinity of irrigation water (BAW, 4 dS/m, 8 dS/m and 12 dS/m). Variety Raj 3077 established its superiority over rest of the other varieties at all the levels of ECiw.
- Increase in the levels of ECiw beyond 4 dS/m caused significant reduction in the yield of all the four varieties tested, yet, magnitude of reduction was less in KRL 210 and KRL 213.
- The ECe of soil at harvest of wheat was affected by salinity levels of irrigation water in different soil layers up to 45 cm depth at 0, 15 and 30 cm lateral distances from the drippers. The maximum salinity was observed in 0 to 15 cm layers which decreased in the sub-surface layers of 15 to 30 and 30 to 45 cm depths respectively at all the levels of ECiw. Salt distribution in soil under drip irrigation showed accumulation of salts on outer periphery of wetting zone i.e. movement of salts along with moisture front.
- Drip geometry of 60 cm x 30 cm (lateral x emitters) have been found suitable for irrigation with saline water in groundnut, wheat and isabgol. Irrigation at 0.8 PE of saline water under drip was found optimum for groundnut. Yield of ground nut was not affected up to 4 dS/m of irrigation water salinity under drip. The wheat yield was slightly reduced at 8 dS/m. However, wheat yield was drastically reduced above 8 dS/m. Isabgol can be grown successfully with ECiw of 4 dS/m under drip.
- Cactus varieties are being grown with drip as fodder crop and nutritional status of cactus as fodder is being evaluated.
