including all sectors of agriculture like field crops , horticultural crops , agro-forestry , animal husbandry , fisheries , poultry , piggery , silk rearing , honey production , etc . It will be an off-campus of IARI , New Delhi and integrated multidisciplinary research would be undertaken in school mode i . e . Schools of Crop Sciences , Natural Resource Management , and Animal Sciences and Fisheries .
IARI-Assam would work on the agrarian challenges and complexities of North Eastern India in tandem with all existing Central and State Government R & D Institutions and Private sector enterprises . It would undertake research , education , extension programs in its mission towards developing quality human resource , generation of farmer-friendly technologies to enhance productivity , quality and profitability , promote agro-based industries and generate employment opportunities for holistic and sustainable development of the agriculture sector in the North Eastern region .
Using tannery waste in fields adding toxics to soil : study
Use of waste water for irrigation in agricultural lands is a common practice across the globe . But a study by Indian researchers has found that it can also affect the quality of soil and ground water and consequently human health .
The researchers studied soil and ground water samples from farms irrigated by tannery effluents in and around Kanpur city in Uttar Pradesh and found that they were contaminated with heavy metals such as chromium , nickel , cadmium , lead and zinc . They found that many small scale units released their effluent directly into water bodies without any pre-treatment . The researchers have prepared a geo-accumulation index for soil in the area . They found that soil samples were ‘ heavily ’ to ‘ extremely ’ polluted with chromium , ‘ moderately ’ polluted with cadmium and ‘ unpolluted ’ to ‘ moderately ’ polluted with copper , nickel , zinc , lead and arsenic .
In a paper published in scientific journal , Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology , researchers have noted that the amount of chromium in many ground water samples was found to be much higher than the standards set by United States Environment Protection Agency . The study was conducted by scientists from the Bhopal based- Indian Institute of Soil Science under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research ( ICAR ).
agriculture
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