Agronomical Performance of High Yielding Cultivar of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) Grown in Sewage Sludge Amended Soil

Abstract

A field study was conducted to assess the agronomical performance of eggplant (Solanum melongena cv. Pusa Purple Long Hybrid-F₁) grown in sewage sludge amended soil in rainy and summer seasons during two consecutive years 2012 and 2013. The results showed that sewage sludge significantly (P < 0.05/P < 0.01) increased the Organic Carbon (OC), sodium (Na⁺), potassium (K⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺), Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), phosphate (PO₄^3-), sulphate (SO₄^2-), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) in the soil. The contents of metals were found below the harmful levels prescribed for soils in India. The maximum agronomic performance in the form of plant height, root length, dry weight, chlorophyll content, Leaf Area Index (LAI), yield/plant and biochemical components like total carbohydrate, crude protein and dietary fiber of S. melongena were observed at 50% concentration of sewage sludge in both seasons. The contents of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn in S. melongena were increased from 5% to 100% treatments of sewage sludge in both seasons. The order of Contamination factor (Cf) of different heavy metals was Mn > Cr > Cd > Zn > Cu for soil and Cr > Cd > Cu > Mn > Zn for S. melongena plants after treatment of sewage sludge. Thus, use of sewage sludge increased concentration of heavy metals in soil and S. melongena. Hence, sewage sludge can be governed as organic fertilizer in lower proportion to avoid the contamination of soil and S. melongena.