Effect of industrial, municipal and agricultural wastes on peanut in lateritic sandy loam soil

Modern agriculture, worldwide, depends upon the external application of plant nutrients supplied mostly through chemical fertilizer to meet the crop needs. The natural recycling cannot provide the very large amount of nutrients needed year after year in an intensive cropping system and nutrients being a major constraint harvesting the nutrient energy from biological and industrial waste are of prime importance for maximizing the food grain production in the world. A number of industrial wastes like fly ash from thermal power plants, paper factory sludge from paper factory, sewage sludge from municipal source and farmyard manure from livestock farming are the important waste resources, having potentiality in recycling in agricultural land. When these wastes are recycled through soil for crop production, due to the degradative and assimilative capacity of soil, the pollution hazards of these wastes can be minimized to a greater extent as compared to direct disposing of at the site. Fly ash is a waste product residue resulting from the combustion of pulverised coal in coal-fired power generating station. Physico - chemical analysis of fly ash has revealed the presence of both macro-micro nutrients, which can sustain plant growth. Its application in the agricultural land acts as a liming material and improves crop growth by neutralizing the soil acidity, increasing the water availability for the plants and supplement of nutrients (Adriano et al, 1980, Molliner and Street, 1982, Schnappinger et al, 1975). Application of paper factory sludge has been reported to increase the organic carbon content in soil and nutrient content like P, K, Ca, Mg and micronutrients (Guerini et al, 1994, Muse and Mitchell, 1995). Sludge application also improves the organic carbon content of the soil and availability of nutrients like Ca, K and Mg besides improvement of physical properties (Pitchel and Hayes, 1990). Much is known regarding crop performance and changes in physical and chemical properties of soil due to the application of such organic wastes. However, little is explored regarding the influence of various wastes on soil microbiology and its impact on nodulation and yield of leguminous crop like peanut. Soil biology is a significant component of soil quality and is the catalytic agent responsible for many transformations occurring in soil, most notably the reactions involved in nutrient cycling (Karlen et al, 1997). Thus it is meaningful to evaluate the physical, chemical and biological aspects of soil quality by addition of such organic wastes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of industrial, municipal and agricultural waste on the performance of a leguminous crop like peanut and on the total microbial and Rhizobium population in soil rhizosphere