Studies on the Yields of Herbal Medicinal Plants Irrigated by Distillery Spentwash in Normal and Spentwash Treated Soil

Abstract

Cultivation of some herbal medicinal plants namely, Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), Kama kasturi (Ocimum basilicum) and Thumbe (Leucas asper) was made by irrigation with distillery spentwash of different proportions. The spentwash i.e., primary treated spentwash (PTSW) and 33% spentwash were analyzed for their plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and other physical and chemical parameters. Experimental soils i.e, normal soil (plot-1) and spentwash treated (plot-2) soils were tested for their chemical and physical parameters. The seeds of medicinal plants were sowed in the prepared land and irrigated with raw water (RW) and 33% spent wash in both soils. The yields were recorded at their respective maturity. It was found that the yields of all medicinal plants were high in 33% spentwash irrigation than raw water irrigation. Further, the yields were very high in spentwash treated soil (plot-2) than normal soil (plot-1) and raw water irrigations for all plants. It concludes that, the subsequent use of diluted spent wash for irrigation enriches the soil fertility and hence the diluted spentwash (33%) is an effective, eco-friendly irrigation medium for cultivation of herbal medicinal plants without any adverse effect on soil and environment.