2 - Punjab salinisation

Question 1

What is Punjab known to be?

Answer 1

“Bread basket of India”

Question 2

What major issue is Punjab facing and why?

Answer 2

Salinisation of soil due to intensive agriculture

Question 3

How deep was the welll originally, and how deep is it now?

Answer 3

33.5m originally, now 160m - had to drill 10 wells to keep up with water needs

Question 4

What effect does deep drilling have on the quality of water?

Answer 4

Deeper the well, poorer the quality. There is consistently a higher concentration of salt

Question 5

What is another issue small farmers are facing with regards to drilling?

Answer 5

Drilling deep wells require specialist equipment, leading the farmers to heavy debt - can’t keep up with the large farms with good technology and international imports

Question 6

How much is the water table dropping by per year?

Answer 6

1m / year

Question 7

How does the process of salinisation work?

Answer 7

1. capillory forces bring water to the surface and then the water evaporates
2. surface run-off evaporates
3. The evaporated water leaves behind large amounts of salt on the surface
4. pH of soils affected by salinisation
5. saline soils reduce the uptake of water in the roots
6. reverse osmosis occurs
7. crops fail as most aren’t salt tolerant