Groundwater quality and its suitability for irrigation in Matar Tehsil of Kheda district, Gujarat

Ninety one ground water samples were collected from open and tube-wells located in different villages of Matar Tehsil of Kheda district, Gujarat. The samples were analyzed for salinity/sodicity parameters as per the standard procedures. The open wells varied in depth from 40 to 250 feet whereas the tube-wells pumped out water from 50 to 150 feet depth. The quality of ground water samples collected indicated that pH, EC, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) ranged from 6.67 to 8.79, 0.26 to 12.63 dS/m, 1.79 to 37.06 and nil to 13.8 me/l respectively. On the basis of category classification of quality of water, maximum 38.46 per cent samples were classified as high SAR (B3) saline water whereas 18.68 per cent samples were under high alkali (C3) water. The pH of irrigation water showed significant positive correlation with RSC (r= 0.405) and positive correlation with SAR (r=0.106) ofwater. A highly significant correlation coefficient between EC and SAR (r= 0.673) was recorded. The SAR of irrigation water exhibited significant and positive correlation with RSC (r= 0.225).