Evaluation of distillery sludge as a soil amendment for improving soil quality and sugarcane (CO-265) yield

Abstract India is one of the largest producers of distillery products in the world. The sustainable management of distillery sludge is a major concern as the discharge of sludge without proper treatment can lead to serious environmental issue. This research paper is emphasized on the application of distillery sludge as a soil amendment for the growth of sugarcane (CO-265). The soil was amended with different concentrations (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10 and 20 MT/Acre) of sludge. The physico-chemical characteristics and microbial count were analyzed for soil and sludge samples prior to the application. Response of sludge dose was investigated through analyzing the leachability test, its impact on physico–chemical​ and microbial properties of soil and growth of sugarcane crop at bench-scale experiment. The soil amended with 3 MT/Acre sludge was identified as optimum dose for sugarcane growth for the study area. The optimized dose of sludge (3 MT/Acre) showed maximum sugarcane, root and total biomass yields 44.11, 9 and 61.82 MT/Acre, respectively. The repeated application of 3 MT/Acre sludge showed adverse impacts on the soil properties. It was concluded that one-time application of 3MT/Acre sludge as a soil amendment has a beneficial effect on soil fertility.