Impact of Varied Distillery Wastewaters on Yield Attributes, Soil Properties, and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Pea (Pisum sativum L. var. Rachna)

Abstract

The study evaluates the suitability of untreated distillery wastewater, and wastewater obtained after primary treatment and secondary treatment stages on key pod characteristics and yield attributes of Pisum sativum L. var. Rachna. Four concentrations of the three wastewater types viz., 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% were used for the irrigation of P. sativum L. at regular intervals upto 120 days and various yield parameters along with iron and zinc dynamics in various plant parts were examined. The study’s findings showed that pod characteristics such as pods per plant (6.7), pod length (6.17 cm), total weight of pod (1.57 g), number of seeds per plant (27), and yield attributes, e.g., economic yield (7.12 g), stover yield (2.70 g), harvest index (83.61%), and seed output (31.26) were maximum at 50% concentration of secondary treated wastewater (ST₅₀). The minimum value of pods per plant (3.6 cm), pod length (4 cm), total weight of pod (0.8 g), number of seeds per plant (14.6), economic yield (2.75 g), stover yield (0.54 g), harvest index (67.824%), and seed output (11.0) were observed at 100% concentration of untreated wastewater (UT₁₀₀). Maximum accumulation of iron and zinc in various parts of the plant was observed at UT₁₀₀, while minimum at 25% concentration of secondary treated wastewater (ST₂₅) besides the control (tap water). Similar trends were observed for the enrichment factor, translocation factor, bioaccumulation factor, and mobility ratio.

Graphical Abstract