Centre for Plant and Water Science Post Doctoral Research Fellow Dr Surya P. Bhattarai recently presented a paper during the third International Groundwater Conference (IGC-2007) on 'Water, Environment and Agriculture - present problems and future challenges' at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, India.

The paper was delivered under a thematic area of Agricultural Stress and Water Management.

The conference presentation was well attended by more than 400 delegates and participants. Dr Bhattarai presented a paper on 'Effects of oxygation with respect to dripper depths on crop yield and water use efficiency'.

The presentation was well received by participants of the conference.

Oxygation is the process of using aerated water for subsurface drip irrigation. It is a very innovative approach of improving irrigation water use efficiency and crop yield and thus has tremendous potential to revolutionize the irrigation industry.

The presentation was followed by very rigorous discussion, and a separate interaction session was organized for detailed discussion with participants.

Dr Bhattarai also visited various faculties of TANU, which is the oldest agricultural university in India.

While at TANU, Dr Bhattarai also visited and interacted with Professor G. James Martin, who is Director for the Centre for Advanced Studies in Agronomy, as well as a renowned rice ecologist for a collaborative project on improving the water use efficiency of paddy production, employing aerobic and System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methods.

While in India, Dr Bhattarai also held a discussion with Dr Bhanu Neupane, a program specialist for UNESCO/IHP and a regional hydrologist in New Delhi, India. Discussion was focused on the possibility of funding for an integrated water resource management project for Nepal.

On completion of the conference, Dr Bhattarai also visited AusAid in Katmandu, Nepal, for a meeting and submission of a project concept note on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM).

Dr Bhattarai presented a talk on 'Improving water use efficiency of crop production' to participants of the Nepal Agriculture Research Council in Katmandu, Nepal.

While seeking to initiate the groundwork on a potential collaborative project with Nepal, Dr Bhattarai also visited and presented a project concept note on IWRM to the directorate of research at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Nepal.

Dr Bhattarai’s presentation in Nepal was well received and was instrumental in creating awareness about the most pertinent issues of water resource management and about the need for major changes to the irrigation industry in Nepal, in order to attain food security and a stable agricultural industry.

Photo: Dr Surya P. Bhattarai .