The potential of thermal power plant fly ash to promote the growth of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) in agricultural soils

Abstract

The disposal of fly ash from thermal power plants causes significant economic and environmental problems. Although the fly ash contains several essential minerals, its application in agricultural practices is uncommon in India. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the possibility of fly ash application to agricultural soils to improve growth and yield in Indian mustard. This work was conducted to evaluate the effect of fly ash on growth, yield and chlorophyll content of the Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.cv. Varuna). For that, a greenhouse experiment was conducted to observe the effect of various fly ash concentrations (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% w/w) with normal field soil on plant growth, yield and photosynthetic pigments. The plant growth (length, fresh weight and dry weight of shoot and root; number of leaves and branches per plant), yield (number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and weight of 100 seeds per plant) and pigment content (chlorophyll ‘a’, chlorophyll ‘b’ and total chlorophyll) parameters were found to be significantly increased from 10 to 30% fly ash levels being maximum at 30%. However, at higher levels 40% to 50% of fly ash, growth, yield and pigment content parameters were reduced significantly. The perusal of the data revealed that 30% level of fly ash amendment in soil was found to be ideal for better growth, yield and pigment content of Indian mustard.