Vegetos

Abstract

Large amount of biogas slurry is pro-duced in India and their disposal is a major con-cern 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 pro-duction, i.e. biogas slurry (BGS) from agricultural waste treatment, as nutrient sources in agricul-ture. 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 im-pacts of chemical fertilizers and waste disposal. Thus, field trials were conducted in 2013–2014 indicating that 50% BGS along with 50% chemi-cal 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 en-hancement 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 sup-plement for production increments and soil ame-lioration.