Effect of Distillery Raw Spent Wash (RSW) on Cowpea(Vigna SinensisCV Russian Joint)

Abstract

Indiscriminate disposal of waste by large no. of industrial units has led to rapid deterioration of the quality of aquatic environment. The effluent is disposed off through several water drains that ultimately cause pollution in rivers & others water bodies. Farmers of adjacent village irrigate their crops with the polluted water of the factory. Plant growing on soil irrigated by polluted water may accumulate these elements of high levels & such plants or their products. Use of distillery effluents as irrigation water may solve the difficult problem of its disposal and may recover a lot of useful materials like organic substance, Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphate and other trace elements and may also provide large amount of cheap and highly effective fertilizers to increase the crop yield. This may be used in various industries and agriculture successfully. The study has been focused on effect of untreated (RSW) distillery effluent (Shamli distillery and chemical works) on cowpea. Different concentration i.e. 0.5%, 1.5%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40, and 50% were used for irrigation. The tap water served as control. Exposure of high concentration of RSW i.e. 50% inhibited the seed germination, whole plant growth, Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and Protein content of leaves. Lower concentration of effluent (<20%) show beneficial effect on treated plants.