Abstract—Distillery spentwash contains all nutrients and organic matter and used in agriculture as a source of plant nutrients and irrigation water. Besides all the nutrients, spentwash contains appreciable amount of nitrogen also. The effect of different levels and methods of spentwash application on soil nitrogen dynamics was examined through a field experiment. The field experiment was conducted using Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) as a test crop. At all stages of groundnut growth, the amounts of NH4-N and NO3-N were greater in soil that received 120 m3 of spentwash with the recommended dose of NP fertilizers. Results shown that the spentwash not only adds mineral N (NH4-N and NO3-N) to soil, but also promotes the mineralization of soil organic N, thus resulting in large amounts of NH4-N and NO3-N in soil. The present study was, therefore, undertaken to study the nitrogen dynamics in soil under spentwash application and its impact on soil, crop and environmental quality.

Index Terms—Levels of spentwash, Mineralization, Nitrogen, Nitrogen dynamics.

P. Kalaiselvi , Corresponding author and Assistant Professor, Tapiocaand Castor Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Yethapur, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India-636119. (Email - kalaiphd@gmail.com) Mobile P. No. 9003303070
S. Mahimairaja, Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India- 641 003.(rajasmahimai@yahoo.co.in)

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Cite: P. Kalaiselvi and S. Mahimairaja, "Effect of Spentwash Application on Nitrogen Dynamics in Soil," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 184-189, 2010.