Effect of Effluents of Textile Industry on the Growth of Tree Species and Soil Properties in an Arid Environment

The paper deals with utilisation of textile industrial effluents for irrigation in forest plantations and its effect on soil properties in arid land of Western Rajasthan. The mean chemical composition of textile effluents showed pH of 9.4, RSC 34.6 mel⁻¹, SAR 152.2, Na 2025 ppm, carbonates 430 ppm and near absence of calcium, magnesium, Pb and Cd. The performance of eight tree species of economic value viz. Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Acacia nilotica, Azadirachta indica, Prosopis cineraria, Colophospermum mopane, Hardwickia binata, Prosopis juliflora and Acacia tortilis irrigated with these effluents was studied, under field conditions. The soil in the planting pit was treated with gypsum (3 kg/pit), FYM (5 kg/pit) and gypsum + FYM before transplanting of seedlings besides keeping a control. The rate of growth during one and half year after planting was normal, though the increase in growth varied with the tree species and soil treatment. Maximum height was recorded in E. camaldulensis (ranging from 213 to 252 cm/ tree). The growth in general was higher when soil was treated with gypsum + FYM followed by gypsum alone. The results thus indicate that highly sodic textile effluents can be used for growing the tree species, and its deleterious effect on soil can be mitigated by addition of gypsum in soil.