Responses of growth of lady's fingers (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) to different treatments methods of dairy wastewater.

OBJECTIVE

Water is one of the most important precious resources found on the earth, and are most often affected by anthropogenic activities and by industry. Pollution caused by human beings and industries is a serious concern throughout the world. Population growth, massive urbanization, rapid rate of industrialization and modern techniques in agriculture have accelerated water pollution and led to the gradual deterioration of its quality. A large quantity of waste water disposed of at sea or on land has caused environmental problems which have led to environmental pollution, economic losses and chemical risks caused by the wastewater, and its impact on agriculture. However, waste water which contain nutrients and organic matter has possible advantages for agricultural purposes. Therefore, the presented study was undertaken to assess the impact of Dairy Effluent (treated and untreated waste water) on seed germination, seedling growth, dry matter production and the biochemical parameters of lady's fingers (Abelmoschus esculentus L.).

METHODS

A field experiment in a green house was conducted to use raw and treated dairy wastewater for watering lady's fingers (Abelmoschus esculentus L.). The plants were watered using (WW) raw dairy wastewater, (T1) chemicals treatment, (T2) physical treatment, (T3) dilution method treatment and tap water (TW) in pot experiments. Ten plants of each treatment /3 replicate were randomly selected and labelled for the collection of data. The data was collected sequentially, starting with chlorophyll content pre-harvest, vegetative qualities (shoot, root and seedling length) and dry matter quality (shoot and root dry matter) pos-tharvest.

RESULTS

The effect was seen on the germination seed and growth of the plant. The results showed inhibitory effect from dairy effluent (WW) on seed germination and plant growth. Treatment with chemicals showed statistically significant differences with other treatments. Chemical treatment (TC2) at 20 mg/L Al2(SO4)3 and pH 6.5 improved all growth characteristics, compared with WW, and TW reached 85%, 70.8 cm, 28.6 cm, 99.4 cm, 65.36%, 15.86% and 3.543 Mg\g FW for seed germination, shoot length, root length, seedling length, shoot dry matter, root dry matter and chlorophyll, respectively. Also, 25% concentration and 6.5 pH from the dilution method treatment improved all the qualities, but at a lower level. A maximum favourable effect was also observed in the (T2) physical treatment, and ranged from average to moderate in terms of impact.

CONCLUSIONS

Thus, dairy effluent, after chemical treatment and proper dilution, can be used as a potential source of water for seed germination and plant growth in agricultural practices.