A Study on the Water Retention Characteristics of Soils and their Improvements

Soil moisture plays a cardinal role in sustaining eclological balance and agricultural development – virtually the very existence of life on earth. Because of the growing shortage of water resources, we have to use the available water most efficiently by proper management. Better utilization of rainfall or irrigation management depends largely on the water retention characteristics of the soil.Soil water retention is essential to life and it provides an ongoing supply of water to plants between periods of irrigation so as to allow their continued growth and survival.It is essential to maintain readily available water in the soil if crops are to sustain satisfactory growth. The plant growth may be retarded if the soil moisture is either deficient or excessive. The optimum moisture content is that moisture which leads to optimum growth of plant. When watering is done, the amount of water supplied should be such that the water content is equal to the field capacity that is the water remained in the saturated soil after gravitational drainage. Water will gradually be utilized consumptively by plants after the water application, and the soil moisture will start falling. When the water content in the soil reaches the value known as permanent wilting point (when the plant starts wilting) fresh dose of irrigation may be done so that water content is again raised to the field capacity of soil.Soil differ themselves in some or all the properties depending on the difference in the geotechnical and environmental factors. Soils serve as a reservoir of the nutrients and water required for crops.Study of soil and its water holding capacity is essential for the efficient utilization of irrigation water. Hence the identification of the geotechnical parameters which influence the water retention capacity, chemical properties which influence the nutrients and the method to improve these properties have vital importance in irrigation / agricultural engineering. An attempt in this direction has been made in this study by conducting the required tests on different types of soil samples collected from various locations in Trivandrum district Kerala, with and without admixtures like coir pith, coir pith compost and vermi compost. Evaluation of the results are presented and a design procedure has been proposed for a better irrigation scheduling and management.

An investigation on the preparation and properties of some transparent conducting oxides and lead selenide thin films”

The investigation of physical properties of matter has progressed so much during the last hundred years. Today physics is divided in to a large distinct group of special branches. These branches are distinguished by the particular area studied, method of investigation and so on. An independent and important branch that has developed is the physics ofthin films.Any object in solid or liquid form with one of its dimensions very much smaller than that of the other two may be called a thin film. It is having only one common property, namely, one of their dimensions is very small, though all their physical properties may be different. Thin layers of oil, floating on the surface of water, with their fascinating colours, have attracted men’s curiosity from time immemorial. The earliest application of thin films was the protective coatings in the form of paints. A thin layer of tin has been used from ancient times to protect copper utensils from corrosion. Indium thin films are used in certain applications on account of their good lubricating property. Relay contacts are coated with thin films of rare earth metals in order to prevent burning due to arcing. Hard coatings are also available using diamond like carbon (i-carbon). The basic properties of thin films are of considerable interest because of their potential applications in various fields of science and technology