Studies on the Effect of Post Biomethanated Distillery Spentwash Application on Soil Biological Activities

The biomethanated distillery spentwash is a nutrient rich liquid organic waste obtained from molasses based distillery industries after biomethanation process. The spentwash, being loaded with organic compounds could bring remarkable changes on the biological properties of soils and thus influences the fertility of soil significantly. The effect of different levels and methods of spentwash application on soil microbial activity was examined through a field experiment. The field experiment was conducted on groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) as a test crop at Research and Development Cane Farm, The Salem Co-operative Sugar Mills Ltd., Mohanur, Namakkal District. Application of distillery spentwash significantly increased the microbial population viz., bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in soil. The application of spentwash at the rate of 120 m³/ha plus NP fertilizers recorded the highest microbial population. The continuous application of split doses was found to be better than one time application of spentwash in promoting the microbial activities.