Growth with Some Biochemical Responses in Two Cultivars of Cicer arietinum L. to Fly Ash Amended Soil

Abstract

Background: According to the United Nations “the world population prospects 2019” report, the population of the world is expected to increase currently from 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion in 2050. This rapid growth in the population will adversely put incredible stress on our climate, food and health. As we are already running out of natural resources, it is high time to rethink our policies. Sustainable development is the need of an hour. Some policy decisions are required to overcome such expected challenges. To maintain the balance between the demand and supply there should be a prearranged, preplanned mechanism to be adopted for the sustainable growth and development of the production-cum-consumption system at a global level. In this paper, we will try to experimentally demonstrate how the growth of some legume crops is helpful to us we will also scientifically prove the utility of environmental pollutant fly-ash as an alternative fertilizer. Methods: An experiment was conducted during the month of October to February (2018-2019) at the C.C.S. University Campus, Meerut. Different amounts of fly ash of 20, 40, 60 gm/m2 and two diverse chickpea genotype JG-11 and JG-14 were taken as experimental material. Result: Fly ash in a sufficient amount increases the availability of macro- and micro-nutrient of the soil which is beneficial to plant growth and development. Fly ash significantly improved the physio-chemical properties of soil such as pH, CEC, BD, PD and also improves chickpea growth and yield. Fly ash found safe for agriculture applications in 20-40 gm/m2 range in the context of fertilizer.