Impact of Agronomic Inputs in Sugarcane Farming on River Kuywa Surface Water Quality Traversing Sugarcane zones in Western Kenya.

Abstract

For sustainable agriculture, the health of people indulged in this activity is paramount. Disease causative agents in these areas should be constantly checked and mitigation measures taken. This research determined levels of pH, turbidity, total phosphates, nitrate nitrogen, and dissolved oxygen in River Kuywa surface water as impacted upon by sugarcane plantations in western Kenya. The surface river water were sampled before the sugarcane farms, in the middle of the farms, at the end of the farms and in specific canals within the farms draining water from sugarcane farms at different stages. This was done both during the long dry and wet seasons to asses if agronomic inputs in sugarcane farming influence the quality of river water. Mean river water dry season values before the farms were 7.30, 58.73 NTU (nephelometric turbidity units), 0.82mg/l, 1.28mg/l and 14.40mg/l respectively, and after the farms were 7.00, 65.54 NTU, 1.39mg/l, 3.44mg/l and 9.51mg/l respectively. Mean wet season values before the farms were 6.27, 956.70 NTU, 8.26mg/l, 14.70mg/l and 21.50mg/l respectively while after the farms were 6.00, 983.64 NTU, 10.26mg/l, 20.72mg/l and 6.76mg/l respectively. Runoff water from the farms were found to be the major transport agents of the pollutants to the river water hence the need to treat them before being discharged into river systems. The values were above WHO and USEPA drinking water standards, therefore unsuitable for domestic use hence the need of a treatment plant in these regions to provide high quality domestic water. Aquatic life might be stressed with these values necessitating the need for alternative farming methods and or corrective measures to ensure aquatic life sustainability. Key words: Agronomic inputs, Nitrogenous fertilizer, Sugarcane farms, River water quality.