The Effect of Faecal Sludge Compost on Growth and Yield Performance of Red Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus)

Abstract

The study  was conducted at the  field Laboratory of Soil,  Water and  Environment Discipline,  Life Science School,  Khulna  University,  Khulna,  Bangladesh  during  24  October,  2019  to  20  February,  2020  to determine  the  effects  of  faecal  sludge  (FSC)  on  seed germination  and  yield  performance  of Amaranthus cruentus  plant  and find  out  the appropriate  doses of  faecal  sludge compost  for maximum  yield.  Before sowing the seeds, different ratios of   FSC   was incorporated  with agricultural soils. Seed  germination  and growth parameters of  plant  were recorded after  45 days of seed sowing. We  observed that plants growth parameters like number of leaves per plant, shoot length per plant, plant height, root length per plant, fresh weight, dry weight, moisture content and dry matter content varied significantly (p＜0.05) in the soil added with FSC in comparison to  control. No significant differences were found in  seed germination percentage. But yield  increment  was found  by the increasing of  faecal  sludge rate. The  highest  germination (97.78%) was observed in  treatment T2 in combination of FSC and soil at  2:98. Highest Plant height (23.87cm) and yield performance  (0.041kg/pot) was observed in treatment  T2 in combination of FSC  and soil at  2:98.  In addition,  other  growth  parameters  were  also  observed  with  combinations  of  FSC  and  soil  at  2:98. Therefore, for growth and  yield of  red amaranth, application  ratio of  faecal sludge  compost to soil  (faecal sludge compost: soil = 2:98) was the best for uses and it is recommended for the plants.