Effect of distillery effluent on yield attributes of Brassica napus L.

A pot culture experiment was conducted to study the effect of untreated distillery effluent on yield attributes of gobi sarson (Brassica napus. L. var. Punjabi Special) at different effluent concentrations. The effluent showed unpleasant odour, acidic pH, high COD and high chlorides. Five concentrations of the distillery effluent (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) were used for irrigation of B. napus plants with tap water as control. Various characteristics of siliqua (number of siliqua, average siliqua length, weight of siliqua) and seeds (number of seeds, weight of hundred seeds, economic yield) were quantified to check the variations in the yield attributes of effluent irrigated test plant. Overall, 20% distillery effluent was found to be most effective for highest number and better quality of siliqua (62.0 siliqua plant-1; weight of ten siliqua 1.21 g) and seeds (836.3 seeds plant-1; weight of 100 seeds 0.39 g), and increased yield (economic yield 2.85 g plant1; stover yield 7.85 g plant1) of the test plant.