Irrigation water quality status in mulberry cultivated areas of Erode district, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

A detailed survey work was carried out in the contamination areas of Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. A number of tanneries and textile industries have been established since the past three decades. It is reported that the effluents from these industries are directly discharged onto the surrounding land, irrigation fields and surface water bodies. As a result, it deteriorates the quality of irrigation water in the study area. Eight parameters of physico-chemical analysis have been monitored using standard procedures. The results indicated that point source pollutants primarily affected the irrigation water quality of this region recorded pH 6.73 to 6.99, EC 0.38 to 1.38 dsm-1, carbonate 0.28 to 4.38 meq L-1, bicarbonate 2.18 to 9.13 meq L-1, chloride 2.43 to 23.78 meq L-1, potassium 0.27 to 1.44 meq L-1, calcium 1.09 to 4.35 meq L-1 and magnesium 0.39 to 3.17 meq L-1 respectively.