Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

FEASIBILITY STUDY ON USE OF AQUACULTURE EFFLUENT AS A SOURCE OF NUTRIENT AND IRRIGATION WATER FOR SALICORNIA (S. BRACHIATA ROXB.) IN COASTAL AREAS OF SOUTH GUJARAT

P.B. Patel, V. R. Naik*, B.K. Patel, H.G. Solanki and J.M. Patel

Abstract

A replicated field experiment using Salicornia (halophyte) as test crop was conducted consecutively for three years (2010-11 to 2012-13) at Coastal Soil Salinity Research Station, Danti (Gujarat) in split plot design. The main plot treatment comprises of two sources of irrigation water viz., S1-Seawater and S2-Aquaculture effluent and sub plot treatments consisting six combinations of two methods of sowing [M1- Broadcasting and M2- Line sowing with dry spikelet (30 cm apart)] and three levels of fertilizer (F1- No fertilizer, F2 -125: 37.5:25 NPK kg/ha and F3 - 250 : 75 : 50 NPK kg/ha). The results revealed that between the two sources, aquaculture effluent water (S2-) registered significantly higher values of plant canopy, number of branches per plant, number of spikes per branch, spike length and number of segments per spike as compared to sea water irrigation (S1). Fresh biomass yield of salicornia also followed similar pattern. In case of method of sowing, treatment M2 (line sowing) registered significantly higher values of plant height and plant canopy as compared to treatment M1 (broadcasting). For all the characters as well as fresh biomass yield, higher dose of fertilizer (F3) performed better than lower dose (F2) and control treatment (F1). Among all the possible interactions, during all the individual years as well as in pooled analysis, only S x F interaction effect was found to be significant on fresh biomass yield of salicornia. In all the cases, treatment S2F3 outyielded rest of the treatments by recording significantly higher fresh biomass yield of salicornia (45.72 t/ha). Higher gross income (Rs. 2,18,550/ha), net realization (Rs.1,68,826/ha) and CBR (3.40) values were recorded with treatment S2F3, followed by treatment S2F2.