The improvement of agriculture through irrigation farming is now of great need in the country Nigeria and Delta State. The country is going through a phase of famine and food insecurity caused by climate change and ra...The improvement of agriculture through irrigation farming is now of great need in the country Nigeria and Delta State. The country is going through a phase of famine and food insecurity caused by climate change and rain dependent agricultural practices. The aim of the study therefore, was to evaluate the quality of water from River Ethiope in Southern Nigeria for irrigation agriculture purposes using the percentage sodium (%Na), sodium-adsorption ratio (SAR) and irrigation-water quality index (IWQ1) techniques. The study deployed the experimental design and water samples were collected from different segments of the Ethiope River. A total of 144 water samples were collected and analysed for physicochemical parameters quality (EC, HCO3, Cl−, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and K+) from January to December, 2022. The results showed that all the calculated values for %Na were within the classified rating of 20 < N ≤ 40 and 60 < Na ≤ 80;while SAR were within the range of 0 < SAR ≤ 10. The recorded values of IWQI were within the range of 70 - 55 and 55 - 40. This implies that the water is good to doubtful for %Na, excellent for SAR and of moderate and high restrictions for IWQI. Water was adjudged to be good for irrigation activities, and should be applicable in areas with moderate and high soil permeability. The routine testing of the water to ascertain physicochemical parameters quality regularly, in order not to affect its use for irrigation was among the recommendations. This finding herein shall be of use to Water Resources and Agriculture ministries in Nigeria.展开更多
文摘The improvement of agriculture through irrigation farming is now of great need in the country Nigeria and Delta State. The country is going through a phase of famine and food insecurity caused by climate change and rain dependent agricultural practices. The aim of the study therefore, was to evaluate the quality of water from River Ethiope in Southern Nigeria for irrigation agriculture purposes using the percentage sodium (%Na), sodium-adsorption ratio (SAR) and irrigation-water quality index (IWQ1) techniques. The study deployed the experimental design and water samples were collected from different segments of the Ethiope River. A total of 144 water samples were collected and analysed for physicochemical parameters quality (EC, HCO3, Cl−, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and K+) from January to December, 2022. The results showed that all the calculated values for %Na were within the classified rating of 20 < N ≤ 40 and 60 < Na ≤ 80;while SAR were within the range of 0 < SAR ≤ 10. The recorded values of IWQI were within the range of 70 - 55 and 55 - 40. This implies that the water is good to doubtful for %Na, excellent for SAR and of moderate and high restrictions for IWQI. Water was adjudged to be good for irrigation activities, and should be applicable in areas with moderate and high soil permeability. The routine testing of the water to ascertain physicochemical parameters quality regularly, in order not to affect its use for irrigation was among the recommendations. This finding herein shall be of use to Water Resources and Agriculture ministries in Nigeria.
