वनस्पति: पादप अनुसंधान का एक अंतर्राष्ट्रीय जर्नल

Impacts of Biogas Slurry Application on Soil Environment, Yield and Nutritional Quality of Baby Corn

Lal Chand Malav, Shakeel Ahmad Khan and Navindu Gupta

Impacts of Biogas Slurry Application on Soil Environment, Yield and Nutritional Quality of Baby Corn

Large amount of biogas slurry is produced in India and their disposal is a major concern for the environment. So resource utilization of biogas slurry appears to be prospective and obligatory for now days. This study investigates the potential use of by-products of biogas production, i.e. biogas slurry (BGS) from agricultural waste treatment, as nutrient sources in agriculture. The BGS contain considerable amounts of plant nutrients, their use as soil amendment may improve crop production and physical properties of soil by preventing adverse environmental impacts of chemical fertilizers and waste disposal. Thus, field trials were conducted in 2013-2014 indicating that 50% BGS along with 50% chemical fertilizer gave 20% more yield in terms of cob as well as biomass. Combination of BGS and N fertilizer increase protein and total sugar content of the baby corn cob up to almost 100% and 41% respectively over control. There was enhancement in the organic matter, bulk density and porosity of soil matter in the soil after BGS application. It indicates that BGS in combination with fertilizers (1:1) should be used as soil supplement for production increments and soil amelioration.