SONIA NASRIN1, MD. SHAHINUR RAHMAN2, FALGUNI AKTER3*, MOHAMMAD ZABER HOSSAIN4 and NIPA ADHIKARY5
1Associate Professor, Life Science School, Khulna University, Khulna, 2Research Fellow, Life Science School, Khulna University, 3Assistant Professor, Life Science School, Khulna University, 4Professor, Life Science School, Khulna University and 5Associate Professor, Life Science School, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh. *Corresponding Author Email: falguni@swe.ku.ac.bd.
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.
Keywords: Amaranthus cruentus, Faecal sludge, Germination and Growth parameters.