Response of Pea (Pisum sativum) to Sugar Industry Effluent Treatment

Sugar mills play a major role in polluting the soil and water bodies by discharging a large amount of waste water as effluent. The present research work has been carried out to assess the impact of sugar mill effluent applied in different dilutions i.e 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% along with control on pea (Pisum sativum) seeds to investigate their effect on seed germination and growth parameters such as germination percentage, shoot length, root length, seedling vigour, plant fresh weight and dry weight by pot culture. The low effluent pH (4.3), Total dissolved solids (TDS, 1990 mg/L), Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD, 850 mg/L) and Chemical oxygen demand (COD, 2920 mg/L) indicated the high inorganic and organic content with an acidic load. The present study was carried out with the aim that sugar mill effluent shows positive or negative effect on plant growth. The result indicated that sugar mill effluent did not show any inhibitory effect on germination percentages and germination values at lower concentration in the seeds tested