The Phytotoxicity of Palm Oil Mill Effluent, its Degradation and Effect on Plant Growth
The presence of abundant agricultural residues in Malaysia prompted the need to utilize these wastes to overcome environmental pollution. A large portion of these wastes comes from the oil palm effluent. Palm oil meal (POMeal) has been used as an organic fertilizer to increase growth and yield of...
Saved in:
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Thesis |
Language: | English English |
Published: |
1996
|
Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/10363/1/FP_1996_3_A.pdf http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/10363/ |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | The presence of abundant agricultural residues in Malaysia prompted the need
to utilize these wastes to overcome environmental pollution. A large portion of these
wastes comes from the oil palm effluent. Palm oil meal (POMeal) has been used as
an organic fertilizer to increase growth and yield of several crops. However,
application of raw or undecomposed POMeal can also be detrimental to the growth of
certain plants. In view of this, the project conducted aimed to study the following
aspects: the inhibitory effect of different levels of raw POMeal on growth of
vegetables, the effect of decomposition on POMeal phytotoxicity and the degradation
of p-coumaric and vanillic acids by Pseudomonas sp. and Penicillium sp. In this study the water-soluble phytotoxic compounds present in raw POMeal will be identified.
Results of the glasshouse experiment showed that growth of tomato and
spinach was strongly affected by the type (raw or decomposed) and amount of
POMeal applied. Growth of both plants was inhibited by application of > 1% raw
POMeal. In contrast, application of 1% - 21% decomposed POMeal increased the
plant's growth, with maximum dry matter production at 6% POMeal. Increase in
shoot dry weight of tomato and spinach given decomposed POMeal was 7 and 178
times respectively. Increase in root dry weights was 1.6 and 62 times respectively,
compared to plants given raw POMeal. Soil N, P and K contents, pH and electrical
conductivity also increase with increase in PO Meal levels. The phytotoxicity of raw
POMeal was reduced when POMeal was decomposed for > 4 weeks. |
---|