Risk Assessment of Arsenic Toxicity Through Groundwater-Soil-Rice System in Maldah District, Bengal Delta Basin, India.

Arsenic (As), a toxic trace element, is of great environmental concern due to its presence in soil, water, plant, animal and human continuum. Its high toxicity and increased appearance in the biosphere have triggered public concern. The present study measured As concentrations in soil, groundwater and rice plant samples of five selected blocks of Maldah district, West Bengal, India.

The mechanistic pathways of arsenic transport in rice cultivars: Soil to mouth.

Rice cultivars are major conduit of arsenic (As) poisoning to human. We quantified transferability of fifteen rice cultivars representing three groups i.e.

Rehabilitating acid soils for increasing crop productivity through low-cost liming material.

Productivity of red and lateritic soils is low because of their acidity and deficiencies in few essential nutrients viz., nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, zinc, boron, molybdenum etc. We compared the effectiveness of basic slag, a low-cost liming material, with that of calcite as an ameliorant for these soils using mustard followed by rice as test crops.

Nitrate and fluoride contamination in groundwater of an intensively managed agroecosystem: a functional relationship.

A study was conducted to assess the potential of nitrate-nitrogen (NO(3)-N) and fluoride (F) contamination in drinking groundwater as a function of lithology, soil characteristics and agricultural activities in an intensively cultivated district in India. Two hundred and fifty two groundwater samples were collected at different depths from various types of wells and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), NO(3)-N load and F content. Database on lithology, soil properties, predominant cropping systems, fertilizer and pesticide uses were also recorded for the district.