The chemical properties of soil perform significant functions in crop growth. The chemical processes and reactions transform the soil properties from ideal to worst in the chemical degradation of soil. The use of soil without considering its limits, make it difficult to supply essential elements for crops resulting into declining the agricultural productivity. Hence the present investigation aims to analyse the nature, extent and gravity of chemically degraded soils and recommend suitable reclamation measures in Panchganga basin. It is well watered and agriculturally developed part of the state which covers 45752.2 sq.km area and supports 26, 11,547 (2.6 percent of state) population. For the present investigation required village level data has been collected from Govt. Soil Survey and Soil Testing Laboratory, Kolhapur and supported by intensive field trips and interviews of the farmers. The extent and gravity of acidic, alkaline, saline, sodic and saline sodic soils are identified with the help of soil chemical analysis. The results obtained are represented through tables and choropleth map. The analyses reveal that the soils in the western hilly and high rainfall parts are mostly acidic in nature. By contrast the soils in the eastern plain areas are mostly alkaline, saline and saline sodic. This can be well attributed to the plain topography, low natural drainage, monoculture of sugarcane, unscientific practices of cultivation, excessive use of chemical fertilizers and irrigation etc. As a result the soil fertility has declined and hundreds of hectares of fertile soils have gone out of cultivation. To reclaims such soils site specific recommendations such as physical, chemical, agronomic and biological measures need be implemented immediately to reverse soil degradation process and to restore the valuable soil resource of the region.

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Received November, 2008; in final form July, 2009
Dr.C.T.Pawar,
Former Prof. and Head,
Department of Geography,
Shivaji University, Kolhapur
Email- ctpawar1@yahoo.co.in .
Diagnosis and Improvement of Degraded Soils in
Panchganga Basin (Maharashtra)AMicro LevelAnalysis
PawarC.T., Survase M. N., and PoreA.V.
Abstract
The chemical properties of soil perform significant functions in crop growth. The chemical
processes and reactions transform the soil properties from ideal to worst in the chemical
degradation of soil. The use of soil without considering its limits, make it difficult to supply
essential elements for crops resulting into declining the agricultural productivity. Hence the
present investigation aims to analyse the nature, extent and gravity of chemically degraded
soils and recommend suitable reclamation measures in Panchganga basin. It is well watered
and agriculturally developed part of the state which covers 45752.2 sq.km area and sup-
ports 26, 11,547 (2.6 percent of state) population. For the present investigation required
village level data has been collected from Govt. Soil Survey and Soil Testing Laboratory,
Kolhapur and supported by intensive field trips and interviews of the farmers. The extent
and gravity of acidic, alkaline, saline, sodic and saline sodic soils are identified with the
help of soil chemical analysis. The results obtained are represented through tables and
choropleth map. The analyses reveal that the soils in the western hilly and high rainfall
parts are mostly acidic in nature. By contrast the soils in the eastern plain areas are mostly
alkaline, saline and saline sodic. This can be well attributed to the plain topography, low
natural drainage, monoculture of sugarcane, unscientific practices of cultivation, excessive
use of chemical fertilizers and irrigation etc. As a result the soil fertility has declined and
hundreds of hectares of fertile soils have gone out of cultivation. To reclaims such soils site
specific recommendations such as physical, chemical, agronomic and biological measures
need be implemented immediately to reverse soil degradation process and to restore the
valuable soil resource of the region.

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Introduction
The chemical properties of the soils
have vital importance as they play signifi-
cant role in crop production. The ever in-
creasing population creates massive tress
on available agricultural lands and it causes
the use of land without consideration its lim-
its which lead to deviate the soil from its
ideal state. The essential soil nutrients re-
quired for crops are become difficult to
absorve in chemically degraded soils. It re-
sults in reducing the agricultural productiv-
ity and lastly it becomes uncultivable. Hence
it is essential to identify the nature and grav-
ity of different types of chemically degraded
soils. The analysis of soil properties leads
to identify the soil acidification, alkalization,
salinisationandsaline-sodicsoil,whichcould
be corrected by adopting suitable measures
for soil improvement.
Objectives
The present investigation aims
To analyse chemical properties of soil in
study region.
To analyse the nature, extent and gravity of
chemically degraded soils.
To recommend suitable reclamation mea-
sures to reclaim degraded soils.
Study Region
The selected region for the present in-
vestigation is the 'Panchganga Basin' of
south Maharashtra state comprising 7 tahsils
of Kolhapur district namely Shahuwadi,
Panhala, Gagan-Bawada, Karveer,
Hatkangale, and Shirol (Figure 1). The tri-
angular tract region lies between 160 13"
and 170 11" north latitude, and 730 41" and
740 42" east longitudes. It covers about
45752.2sq.km area and supports 26, 11,547
(2.6 per cent of state) population. The
Panchganga basin is well- watered and ag-
riculturally developed part of the state
(Shinde, 1973). This region is topographi-
cally complex, having river valley flood
plains to the east and hill ranges to the west.
The region located in rain shadow zone of
Western Ghats receives a decreasing
amount of rainfall from the west (6000mm)
to east (500mm) having temperate climate.
The soils of the region are mainly derived
from the Deccan trap (Deshpande, 1971).
Pedologically this region has laterite, brown-
ish & black soils.
Database and Methodology
Data regarding different properties of
soil and water at village is collected from
Government Soil Survey and Soil Testing
Laboratory, Kolhapur. The same data has
become very significant for the identifica-
tion of saline, alkali and all type of chemi-
cally degraded soils at village level, a unit
for present investigation. The data regard-
ing salt affected area is collected through

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field trips to the villages where the
problem is acute.Average of ten soil
samples results from each village in
the study region has been used as
village representative of soil proper-
ties. Area of saline soil, sodic soil,
saline-sodic soil, alkali soil and acidic
soil are identified with the help of soil
chemical properties. Different nature
of degraded soil has been depicted
on map with the help of various car-
tographic techniques and also repre-
sented in the form of tables.
Analysis and Results
Chemical Properties of Soil
For the assessment of soil chemi-
cal problems it is essential, to take
into consideration the actual chemi-
cal situation through the analysis of
soil chemical properties.
The chemical analyses revels that
the study region has immense difference in
chemical properties of soils. The following
table indicates the chemical characteristics
of the soils in the study region in per cent.
The negative logarithm of Hydrogen ion
(H+) concentration is called pH. The 38.62
per cent areas in the region have natural
soil pH reactions (from 6.50 to 7.50). The
large area (32.93per cent) has low soil pH
(below 6.50) which is mainly confined to
Figure 1
Panchganga Basin : Geographical Location
the western part of region. The 25.61 per
cent of areas fall in high (7.50 to 8.00) pH
category and only 2.85 per cent has very
high (above 8.00) soil pH mainly observed
in the eastern plain areas.
Electrical Conductivity is the ability of
soils to conduct the electric current. Most
of the areas (73.17 per cent) in the region
have low soil EC mainly in western part of
the study region. Only 26.83 per cent ar-

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eas have soil EC above 0.50 mS/cm mainly
in eastern part of the study region.
Calcium carbonate is the active ingre-
dient in agricultural lime, and is usually the
principal cause of hard water. In the study
region 71.14 per cent soils have low CaCo3
(below 4per cent) and 28.85per cent areas
poses CaCo3
above 4.00per cent.
Sodium is a metallic element essential
for all animal life and for some plant spe-
cies but the soils containing abnormally high
levels of sodium salt causes some problems.
Most of the areas (88.62 per cent) mainly
in western and middle part of the region are
SN Properties Very Low Low Moderate High Very High
1 pH < 6.00 6.00-6.50 6.50-7.50 7.50-8.00 > 8.00
2 EC in mS/cm < 0.25 0.25-0.50 0.50-0.75 0.75-1.00 > 1.00
3 CaCO3 in % < 2.00 2.00-4.00 4.00-6.00 6.00-8.00 > 8.00
4 Ex. Sodium in % < 2.50 2.50-5.00 5.00-7.50 7.50-10.00 > 10.00
5 Ex. Magnesium in% < 20.00 20.00-25.00 25.00-30.00 30.00-35.00 > 35.00
6 Ex. Calcium in % < 60.00 60.00-65.00 65.00-70.00 70.00-75.00 > 75.00
Table 1 : Categories for soil analysis
Source: Formulated by researchers.
covered with low to moderate (below 7.50
per cent) and the remaining areas (10.57
per cent) confined to eastern part of study
region have high (above 7.50 per cent) ex-
changeable sodium content.
Magnesium is a essential chemical ele-
ment for plant growth. It is the core of the
chlorophyll molecule in plant tissue. The
study region has variation in soil magnesium.
It is observed that 51.62per cent areas have
low (below 25per cent) soil magnesium and
49.6per cent areas have high (above 25per
cent) soil magnesium in the region.
Soil calcium is essential for proper func-
Table 2 : Panchganga Basin: Chemical Characteristics of the Soils (Figures in per cent)
SN Properties Very Low Low Moderate High Very High Total
1 pH 12.20 20.73 38.62 25.61 2.85 100
2 EC in mS/cm 38.21 34.96 12.60 6.91 7.32 100
3 CaCO3 in % 30.08 41.06 14.63 8.94 5.28 100
4 Ex. Sodium in % 9.76 60.16 18.70 6.10 4.47 100
5 Ex. Magnesium in% 18.29 33.33 29.27 10.98 9.35 100
6 Ex. Calcium in % 13.01 15.85 27.64 29.67 13.82 100

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tioning of plants and it helps in producing
healthy crop. The soil calcium in the region
varies with soil type. About 28.86 per cent
area in the region has low (below 65 per
cent) and the 71.13per cent areas have high
(above 65per cent) soil calcium.
Alkalisation of Soils
Alkaline soils are the soils with high pH
(above 7), poor soil structure and low infil-
tration capacity. The total amount of soluble
salts, especially sodium chlorides, is not ex-
cessive (EC < 4 to 8 dS/m). Often they have
a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 m. depth.
The exchangeable sodium content of soil
increases in the process of soil alkalisation
and it contains relatively more lime (Ellis
and Mellor, 1995).
These soils are unsuitable for agricul-
tural activities because of nutrients defi-
ciency, low infiltration capacity, irrigation
become impossible in dry period and prob-
lem of waterlogging emerges.
In the study region 46.72per cent area
has covered by alkaline soil. Out of that
31.96 per cent are slightly alkaline and 14.76
per cent are strongly alkaline (Table 3).
Most of the eastern tahsils such as Shirol
(94.59 per cent), Hatkanangle (83.33 per
cent), Panhala (52.94 per cent) and east-
ern part of Karveer (45.28 per cent) tahsils
have above 40per cent areas under alka-
line soils. The slight alkaline areas cover part
of Shirol (70.27per cent), Hatkanangle
(57.15per cent), Panhala (32.35per cent)
and Karveer (28.30per cent) tahsils and
strong alkaline soil areas are observed in
Shirol (24.32per cent), Hatkanangle
(26.19per cent), Panhala (20.59per cent)
and Karveer (16.98per cent) tahsils (Fig.
2.A). These four tahsils have high alkaline
areas because of relatively plain topogra-
phy, clay to clay loam textured soils, depo-
sition of lime washed out with runoff water,
excess use of irrigation water and chemi-
cal fertilizers, monoculture system of crop-
pingandoverexploitationofagriculturalland
(Pawar et. al., 2009). As compared to these
four tahsils remaining three tahsils such as
Gagan Bawada, Radhanagri and Shahuwadi
tahsils have none or insignificant proportion
of alkalisation. It is due to high sloping ar-
eas with comparatively more forested ar-
eas, course to sandy texture of soil, high
rainfall for washing out the lime, insignifi-
cant irrigation water use and relatively less
availability of land for agriculture. The ag-
ricultural practices become difficult in al-
kaline soil due to poor crop response and
nutrient deficiency. Hence, alkaline soils are
called degraded soils.
Soil Acidification
Soil acidification is the process of build-
ing the hydrogen cations by reducing the
soil pH. It occurs when base cations such

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as calcium, magnesium, potassium and so-
dium are lost from the soil. The acid depo-
sition causes the nutrient loss form soils; it
changes the properties of the soils leading
to difficulties in ploughing, poor water re-
tention, hardening the soils, susceptibility to
pests and diseases (Mosello et. al., 1995).
These soils are not able to grow most of
the common crops satisfactory and give very
poor yield.
For the analysis of soil acidification, soil
pH is the main indicator considered. The
soil pH with exact 7 is known as a neutral
reaction. The soils with below 7 pH are
known as acidic soil. With the consideration
of these facts to find out the intensity of
acidic soils, data of soil pH below 7 has clas-
sified into four groups from slightly acidic
to very strongly acidic. The tahsil wise
acuteness has been computed and area in
per cent of concern category of respective
tahsil is representedthroughthetable(Table3).
In the entire region 36.48per cent area
has been covered by acidic soils (Figure
2.A). Among which 21.72 per cent comes
under strongly to very strongly acidic and
14.76 per cent in slight to moderate acidic
soil condition. Most of the western tahsils
namely Gagan Bawada (92.31per cent),
Shahuwadi (83.87 per cent), Radhanagri
(73.53 per cent), Panhala (29.41per cent)
and Karveer (26.42 per cent) are facing the
problem of soil acidification (Figure 2.B).
The high rainfall (up to 6000 mm) within
short duration of monsoon and hilly terrain
result in high leaching process, high runoff
due to the sloppy land in western part of
the region (Pore, et. al., 2008) washedout
the common soil cations such as calcium,
magnesium, potassium and sodium. The pH
of such soils fall bellow 7 and it becomes
acidic. The certain landuse practices and
excessive use of inorganic nitrogen fertiliz-
ers form the soils acidic. As compare to
western part of the region, the eastern part
have negligible soil acidity because of the
low rainfall, plain surface and highly depo-
sition of lime through the flood water of
river. The rarely acidic patches are founds
because of acidification of surface waters
resulted from direct deposition of pollutants
into streams from the surrounding
catchments and its use for irrigation forms
acidic soil in Karveer and Hatkanangle
tahsils. Acidic soils in the region have lost
the nutrients; it has changed the properties
of the soils.As a result the crop performance
becomes very poor and get unsatisfactory
per hectare yield.
Salinisation is the process which accu-
mulates the soluble salt in soil and saline
soil is the non sodic soil containing enough
soluble salts to impair its productivity but
not containing excessive soluble sodium. In
the salinisation, the salts from the ground-

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water are raised by capillary action to the
surface of the soil.
Salinisation of soil is mainly recognised
through soil EC and pH. The higher the soil
EC higher is the salinisation. The pH of
highly saline soil is always more. The soil
EC is considered a main indicator and pH
is sub indicator. With the help of EC and
pH the combine index is computed and cat-
egorized into four groups from slightly sa-
line to very strongly saline. The tahsil wise
area falling in concern category is shown in
tabular form (Table 3).
The analysis reveals that the study re-
gion comprises 27.05 per cent saline soil ar-
eas of which 18.04per cent is slightly saline
and 9.02 per cent area strongly saline. The
eastern tahsils such as Shirol (67.57 per
cent), Hatkanangle (35.71 per cent) and
Table 3 : Panchganga basin: Chemically Degraded Soils
(Area in % of particular tahsil)
Karveer (22.64 per cent) have high propor-
tion of saline soil. Whereas western hilly
tahsil like Gagan Bawada, Shahuwadi and
Radhanagri have insignificant area under
saline soil. The very small patches are con-
fined in lowland areas of Radhanagri and
Shahuwadi tahsils. The hilly undulating ter-
rain,relativelyhighsloppylands,highamount
of precipitation, washing out of soils salty
cations, and relatively less interference of
man in natural process helped in keeping
land in natural state. By contrast eastern
plain areas have high salinity (Fig. 2.C).
Presence of white incrustation of salt on
the surface is observed due to excess of
calcium and magnesium chlorides, sulphates
and carbonates. It is due to the low laying
flood plain areas having high water table
which leads to intense capillary action. This
Sr.N Tahsil Acidic Alkaline Saline Saline-Sodic
V.Str. Str. Mod. Sl. V.Str. Str. Mod. Sl. V.Str. Str. Mod. Sl. Str. Mod. Sl.
1 G.Bawada 30.8 23.1 30.8 7.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2 Hatkanangle 0.0 2.4 2.4 0.0 4.8 21.4 16.7 40.5 7.1 0.0 14.3 14.3 7.1 7.1 9.5
3 Karveer 7.6 5.7 7.6 5.7 3.8 13.2 11.3 17.0 3.8 1.9 5.7 11.3 1.9 5.7 7.6
4 Panhala 5.9 5.9 14.7 2.9 5.9 14.7 8.8 23.5 0.0 2.9 5.9 11.8 2.9 5.9 5.9
5 Radhanagri 44.1 2.9 23.5 2.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.9 2.9 2.9 8.8 2.9 2.9 5.9
6 Shahuwadi 19.4 38.7 19.4 6.5 0.0 0.0 3.2 3.2 0.0 3.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 0.0
7 Shirol 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.7 21.6 48.7 21.6 18.9 13.5 18.9 16.2 18.9 16.2 10.8
8 Region 12.7 9.0 11.5 3.3 2.9 11.9 14.3 17.6 5.3 3.7 7.8 10.3 5.3 6.6 6.6
Note: 1. V.Str. - Very Strongly, Str.- Strongly, Mod.- Moderately, Sl. –Slightly.
2. Percentage cannot be tallied as there is a over lapping of alkaline, saline and
saline- sodic soils.
Source: Compiled and computed by researchers.

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Table 3 : Panchganga basin: Chemically Degraded Soils
(Area in % of particular tahsil)
Sr. Tahsil Acidic Alkaline Saline Saline-Sodic
No. V.Str. Str. Mod. Sl. V.Str. Str. Mod. Sl. V.Str. Str. Mod. Sl. Str. Mod. Sl.
1 G.Bawada 30.8 23.1 30.8 7.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2 Hatkanangle 0.0 2.4 2.4 0.0 4.8 21.4 16.7 40.5 7.1 0.0 14.3 14.3 7.1 7.1 9.5
3 Karveer 7.6 5.7 7.6 5.7 3.8 13.2 11.3 17.0 3.8 1.9 5.7 11.3 1.9 5.7 7.6
4 Panhala 5.9 5.9 14.7 2.9 5.9 14.7 8.8 23.5 0.0 2.9 5.9 11.8 2.9 5.9 5.9
5 Radhanagri 44.1 2.9 23.5 2.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.9 2.9 2.9 8.8 2.9 2.9 5.9
6 Shahuwadi 19.4 38.7 19.4 6.5 0.0 0.0 3.2 3.2 0.0 3.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 0.0
7 Shirol 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.7 21.6 48.7 21.6 18.9 13.5 18.9 16.2 18.9 16.2 10.8
Region 12.7 9.0 11.5 3.3 2.9 11.9 14.3 17.6 5.3 3.7 7.8 10.3 5.3 6.6 6.6
Note: 1. V.Str. - Very Strongly, Str.- Strongly, Mod.- Moderately, Sl. –Slightly.
2. Percentage cannot be tallied as there is a over lapping of alkaline, saline and
saline- sodic soils.
Source: Compiled and computed by researchers.
area is characterised by evaporation ex-
ceeding precipitation (Pawar, 1989). Ground
water is also rich in sodium salts. Lot of
agricultural land in lower part of the region
is gone out of cultivation due to salinisation.
The human induced most important causes
of soil salinity are poor irrigation practices,
use of brakish water for irrigation, uneven
intervals of irrigation watering, improper
drainage, use of excess chemical fertiliz-
ers, intensive agriculture system, monocul-
ture of sugarcane. These soil have reduced
their fertility status and per hectare yields
are declining (Pawar and Pujari, 2000).
Saline-Sodic Soil
This is a combination of saline and sodic
soils. These soils contain large amount of
soluble salts and greater exchangeable so-
dium. Both are highly significant in this type
of the degradation. The EC and ESP (Ex-
changeable Sodium Percentage) of the
same soil are relatively high from normal.
Soil pH is also commonly above 7. The high
concentration of salt with sodium in these
soils results to disperse the soil particles and
destroy the soil structure which reduce wa-
ter and air permeability. It becomes very
hard when dry, sticky, wet, and nearly im-
pervious to roots, water, and air. The saline
sodic soil significantly reduces the availabil-

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Figure 2 A, B, C : Panchaganga Basin
(Sampled villages for reaction of soil)

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ity of some plant nutrients and it adversely
affects on the plants growth.
The soil EC and exchangeable sodium
are the indicators of saline sodic soils. When
both the soil EC and exchangeable sodium
are high, such soil is known as saline sodic.
With consideration of these two properties
the saline sodic soil areas are identified. The
severity of saline sodic problem is classi-
fied into three groups such as slightly saline
sodic, moderately saline sodic and very
strongly saline sodic and tahsil wise area is
presented in the table 3.
The whole region covers 18.44 per cent
area affected by saline sodic soils. The soil
EC, and exchangeable sodium are high in
the same areas. Out of these 6.56 per cent
is slightly, 6.56 per cent moderately and 5.33
per cent areas are strongly saline sodic.
Shirol (45.95 per cent), Hatkanangle (23.81
per cent) and Karveer (15.09 per cent),
tahsils have high concentration of such soil.
The strong saline sodic soil areas are ob-
served mainly in Shirol (18.92 per cent) and
Hatkanangle (7.14 per cent) tahsils. West-
ern hilly tahsils have negligible saline
sodicity.
The saline-sodic soil has threatened
mostly eastern low-laying flood plain areas
of the region. It is due to high water table to
intense capillary action. Simultaneously use
of unsuitable water for irrigation (Survase
et. al., 2009), over watering, leakage of
water into adjacent agricultural land, pres-
ence of salts in the soil, excess use of chemi-
cal fertilizers, lack of water management
(Pawar, 1988), non-rotation system of crop-
ping and poor drainage are significant causes
in saline sodic soil formation.
Recommations for Reclamation
In acidic soil area use of Lime (CaCO3
)
is recommended. To reclaim saline soils it
is recommended to adopt open drainage sys-
tem, to maintain the natural drainage, adopt
surface and sub-surface drainage in saline
areas. Use of gypsum (CaSO4
·2H2
O),
sulpher (S), molasses & press mud in alka-
line, saline and sodic soils are suggested to
reclaim the soil. Rotation of crop, conjunc-
tive use of surface and ground water, mini-
mization of overexploitation of land and use
of adequate and recommended doses of fer-
tilizers are essential to reduce the problem
of chemical degradation of soil. In case of
soil gone out of cultivation and where prob-
lem is acute cultivation of salt tolerant crops
and trees and pond fish farming as an alter-
native landuse (Pawar, 2005) are recom-
mended to reclaim the soils partly and to
achive the economic gains from degraded
soils. This type of over degraded soils can
be brought under cultivation by leaching the
excess salt from the farm field.
Conclusions

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The afforsaid analysis of the soils clearly
indicates status of degraded soils in the re-
gion. As such soil in the western hilly parts
is acidic by nature. The high rainfall and
hilly terrain have leached out the common
soil cations such as calcium, magnesium,
potassium and sodium. By contrast eastern
plain areas have low proportion of acidic
soils. The acidic soils have declined the nu-
trients, having low water holding capacity.
As a result the crop performance has be-
come poor.
The soils in the eastern plains areas are
mostly alkaline, saline and saline sodic. Lack
of natural drainage, use of brackish water
for irrigation, excessive use of chemical
fertilizers and irrigation water, monoculture
of sugarcane are some of the major causes
for this status of soils. As a result the soil
fertility has declined and hundreds of hect-
ares of fertile soils have gone out of culti-
vation. To reverse the process of soil deg-
radation above cited recommendations need
be executed immediately.
References
Deshpande C.D. (1971) "Geography of Maharashtra",
N.B.T. of India. New Delhi, p. 14.
Ellis, S. and Mellor, A. (1995) "Soils and Environ-
ment" Routledge Publication, London.
Mosello R., Wathne B.M., Lien L. and Birks H.J.B.
(1995) AlPE projects "water chemistry and critical
loads.", Water, Air and Soil Pollution, vol. 85, pp.
493-498.
Pawar C. T. (1988) "Problems of Irrigated farming in
India", Reading in Irrigated Farming (Ed.) Shinde,
S. D., Viswhanil Publication, Pune, pp. 23 to 29.
Pawar C.T. (1989) "Impact of Irrigation A Regional
Perspective", Himalaya Publishing House, Bombay.
Pawar, C. T. (2005) "Reclamation of Degraded Soils A
Study on Economics of fish farming", The Indian
Geographical Journal, Vol. 80 (1), pp. 1 -5.
Pawar C.T. and Pujari A.A. (2000) "Soil Degradation
in Sugarcane Farming A Micro level Analysis",
Transction, Institute of Indian Geographical Jour-
nal, Vol.22, No. 1, pp. 25-34.
Pawar C.T, Pawar D. H., Potdar M. B., and Panhalkar
S.S.(2009) "Land Degradation, Land Conservation
and Improvement in Panchganga Basin
(Maharashtra) A Geo-Ecological Analysis", Unpub-
lished UGC Major Research Project, Shivaji Uni-
versity, Kolhapur.
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M. B., D. H. Pawar and Pawar, C. T. (2008) A
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Acknowledgement

12. 27
ISSN: 0974-6064
Enrich
Environment
Multidisciplinary
International
Research
Journal
Issue 08
Volume 03
Number 02
August 2010
Present paper is the outcome of U.G.C.
Major Research Project entitled 'Land Deg-
radation, Land Conservation and Improve-
ment in Panchaganga Basin (Maharashtra)
A Geo-ecological analyses'. Research team
is grateful to U.G.C authorities. Research
team is also grateful to Government Soil
Survey and Soil Testing Lab, Kolhapur for
providing data related to water quality.
Co-Authors
Survase M. N.,
Lecturer,
Annasaheb Dange College,
Hatkangangle.
Email- mnsurvase@rediffmail.com
Pore A. V.,
Research Scholar (Ph.D.),
Solapur University, Solapur.
Email- abhijitpore@rediffmail.com