Effect of distillery effluent on seed germination in some vegetable crops

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 82; no. 3; pp. 273 - 275
• Main Authors: Ramana, S, Biswas, A.K, Kundu, S, Saha, J.K, Yadava, R.B.R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2002; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Allium cepa; Biological and medical sciences; Crop; Crops, Agricultural; Cucumis sativus; Distillery effluent; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Germination (%); Germination value; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Industrial Waste; Lycopersicon esculentum; Momordica; Onions; Other nutrients. Amendments. Solid and liquid wastes. Sludges and slurries; Peak value; Plant Development; Seeds - growth & development; Soil Pollutants; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Speed of germination; Vegetable crops; Water; Germination value; Distillery effluent; Germination (%); Speed of germination; Vegetable crops; Peak value; Distillery by product; Allium cepa; Laboratory study; Monocotyledones; Germination; Cucurbitaceae; Cucumis sativus; Liliaceae; Vegetable crop; Dicotyledones; Seed; Angiospermae; Concentration effect; Liquid effluent; Lycopersicon esculentum; Flavoring crop; Capsicum annuum; Spermatophyta; Solanaceae
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/S0960-8524(01)00184-5

A laboratory experiment was conducted to study the effect of different concentrations (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) of distillery effluent (raw spent wash) on seed germination (%), speed of germination, peak value and germination value in some vegetable crops: tomato, chilli, bottle gourd, cucumber and onion. The distillery effluent did not show any inhibitory effect on seed germination at low concentration except in tomato, but in onion the germination was significantly higher (84%) at 10% concentration as against 63% in the control. Irrespective of the crop species, at highest concentrations (75% and 100%), complete failure of germination was observed. The speed of germination, peak value and germination value also followed a similar trend. We found that a concentration of 5% was critical for seed germination in tomato and bottle gourd, and 25% in the rest of the crops. Based on the tolerance to distillery effluent, the crops studied have been arranged in the following order: cucumber> chilli> onion> bottle gourd> tomato . We conclude that the effect of the distillery effluent is crop-specific and due care should be taken before using the distillery effluent for pre-sowing irrigation purposes.