​Effects of Application of Soil Amendments on Concentrations of Heavy Metals and Quality of Berseem Grown on Soil Irrigated with Sewage Water

Abstract

The pot culture experiment for two consecutive years was conducted at Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, MPKV, Rahuri to study the influence of various soil amendments on concentrations of heavy metals viz. Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb in berseem fodder crop. The pots were filled with soil irrigated with sewage water for more than thirty five years. The soil was treated with different amendments viz. FYM, gypsum, fly ash and their combinations. All the pots were supplied with recommended dose of chemical fertilizers by maintaining five plants per pot. The experiment was laid out in CRD with eight treatments and three replications. Initial soil properties were pHe 8.38, ECe 4.1 dSm-1, organic carbon 7.6 g kg-1, calcium carbonate 83.8 g kg-1, heavy metals viz. Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb were 0.35, 2.60, 2.23, 10.34 mg kg-1, respectively. Total four cuttings of berseem in each year were taken and analyzed for heavy metal concentrations. Two years pooled mean showed that, there was significant effect of different soil amendments on decreasing concentration of cadmium, chromium and lead as compared to control. Pooled mean of both years showed that the combined application of FYM + gypsum + fly ash each @ 10 g kg-1 soil (T8) registered significantly lower concentration of Cd, Cr and Pb in berseem as compared to rest of the treatments, but found at par with treatment (T5) FYM + gypsum each @ 10 g kg-1 soil. The reduction in concentrations of these heavy metals were higher in treatments where FYM was applied either alone or in combination with other amendments followed by gypsum and fly ash. Pooled mean values of two years showed significantly higher crude protein content due to application of FYM + gypsum + fly ash each @10 gkg-1 soil (T8) and at par with treatment T5. Pooled mean of two years showed numerically higher crude fiber due to treatment T8 (application of FYM + gypsum + fly ash each @ 10 g kg-1 soil) followed by T5 (application of FYM + gypsum each @ 10 g kg-1 soil). Significantly higher Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) was recorded in T2 (application of FYM @10 g kg-1 soil) followed by T3 (application of gypsum @ 10 g kg-1 soil) treatment.