Optimal Sizing of On-Farm Reservoirs for Supplemental Irrigation

A model was developed for prediction of the optimal size of an on-farm reservoir (OFR) so as to provide supplemental irrigation to rice in monsoon season and presowing irrigation to mustard in winter for a rainfed farming system of eastern India. Daily simulations of water balance parameters of both the cropped field and the OFR, economic analysis, and irrigation management practices were inputs to the model. The study predicted an OFR of depth 2 m requiring 12% of the 800 m2 farm area with a volume of 61 m3 to be optimum. The above-mentioned optimal size of the OFR gave a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 1.22, internal rate of return (IRR) of 15%, and pay back period (PBP) of 15 years. Simulated results were verified by conducting three years of field experiments to justify the investment in the OFR irrigation system. The observed BCR, IRR, and PBP from the experimental study were 1.17, 14.8%, and 16 years, respectively. There was an increase of 39 and 15% in the yield of rice grain and mustard seed over rainfed conditions because of application of 84 and 45 mm of supplemental irrigation, respectively.     

Recognition and quality assessment of data charts in mixed-mode documents

Data charts can be used to effectively compress large amounts of complex information and can convey information in an efficient and succinct manner. It is now easier to create data charts by using a variety of automated software systems. These data charts are routinely inserted in text documents and are widely disseminated over many different media. This study addresses the problem of finding goodness of data charts in mixed-mode documents. The quality of the graphics can be used to assist the document development process as well as to serve as an additional criterion for search engines like Google and Yahoo. The quality measures are motivated by principles of visual learning and are based on research in educational psychology and cognitive theories and use attributes of both the graphic and its textual context. We have implemented the approach and evaluated its effectiveness using a set of documents compiled from the Web. Results of a human study shows that the proposed quality measures have a high correlation with the quality ratings of the users for each of the five classes of data charts studied in this research.     

Preparation and Characterization of HgO and AgO Added La2CaBa2Cu5O z Superconductors

We have prepared a series of La₂CaBa₂Cu₅O _z (La2125) compounds by the standard solid-state reaction method. The oxygen stoichiometry in this R-123 type compound has been homogenized by two different methods. The first method is heating the sample in flowing oxygen at 500 °C for 6 hours and then slowly cooling to room temperature. The second method is to provide internal oxygen while sintering the sample by adding HgO or AgO. The addition of HgO or AgO in preparing oxide superconductors is advantageous when preparing them in bulk quantities, as HgO or AgO provide internal oxygen which is a much essential ingredient of the structure of oxide superconductors. Such a method of synthesis eliminates the need of additional oxygen annealing, thus enabling the synthesis in huge quantities at once. The composites referred to as La2125+xHgO and La2125+xAgO respectively, have been characterized by XRD, SEM, resistivity and magnetic measurements for their structural and superconducting properties. We compare the properties of oxygen-annealed and HgO/AgO added compounds and discuss the results in the light of applicability of such method in synthesizing bulk quantities of high-T _c oxide superconductors.      

Water Balance Simulation and Economic Analysis for Optimal Size of On-Farm Reservoir

Rainfed rice in eastern India suffers frequent moisture stress leading to severe yield reduction due to uncertainty of rainfall coupled with inadequate field level rainwater conservation structures. Construction of the on-farm reservoir (OFR) is an alternative for the storage of excess rainwater from the diked rice field during monsoon season followed by its reuse as supplemental irrigation to the rice in the same season and pre-sowing irrigation to mustard in the winter season. For determining the optimum size of the OFR, water balance model in the cropped fields (both rice and mustard) as well as in the OFR was developed along with economic analysis. Simulation study revealed that an OFR of 12% of the farm area having 2 m depth of trapezoidal section would be optimal for rice-mustard cropping system. The above-mentioned optimum size of the OFR provides the benefit cost ratio (BCR), internal rate of return (IRR) and pay back period (PBP) as 1.23, 15.5% and 15 yr, respectively for dry year. Values of BCR, IRR and PBP for average year were simulated as 1.22, 15% and 15 yr, respectively, and those for the wet year were 1.21, 14.8% and 16 yr, respectively. To justify the investment in the OFR irrigation system, field experiments were conducted for three years. The observed BCR, IRR and PBP from the experiment were found to be 1.17, 14.8% and 16 yr, respectively.     

Foreign Aid and Institutional Plurality: The Domestic Water Sector in Nepal

This paper discusses the role of foreign aid in the evolution of the domestic water sector in Nepal. Through the case study of the domestic water sector, the paper examines how the prioritization of sectors for investment as well as implementation modalities within sectors in Nepal is influenced by development discourses in the international arena. The creation of the Department of Drinking Water and Sewerage during the early 1970s, its rapid expansion during the 1980s and contestation regarding its role in the domestic water sector in the 1990s are traced to the dominant discourses of the times.