Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A case study of fly ash utilization for enhancement of growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) to sustainable agriculture

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fly ash (FA) is a coal combustion by-product of brick kiln, thermal power and incineration plants operated either based on coal and biomass or industrial solid waste. It creates environmental problems attached with their unfair utilization and problems of disposal. The growing of environmental awareness and increasing energy and material requirement will foster recycling. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have prepared guidelines for utilization of FA in agriculture as soil ameliorant and modifier. Recycling will promote reuse of precious materials which would otherwise be wasted and alleviate energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from extraction and processing. FA has potential to serve as fertilizer for improving the soil textures at optimum amount. The main purpose of this work was to use the pollutant as fertilizer. Present work was done to study the effect of FA on some biochemical and morpho-physiological properties and yield of V. unguiculata. From the obtained results after statistical analysis of data, it can be evinced that the use of FA in lower amount (25 g/m2) has sufficient quantity of macro- and micro-nutrients, which appear to be useful for the plant growth and yield of V. unguiculata, but higher amount (50, 100 g/m2) of FA showed detrimental impact on plant. The low concentration of FA improves the structure, texture of the soil which enhances the fertility of soil. So, FA can be used as a fertilizer for the enhancement of growth and yield of cow pea.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gheorghe IF, Ion B (2011) The effects of air pollutants on vegetation and the role of vegetation in reducing atmospheric pollution. The impact of air pollution on health, economy, environment and agricultural sources:241–280. https://doi.org/10.5772/17660

  2. Dwivedi A, Jain MK (2014) Fly ash – waste management and overview: a review. Recent Res Sci Technol 61:30–35

    Google Scholar 

  3. Das V, Kumar V, Ram S, Kumar L (2019) Effect of silica fume and fly ash on compressive strength of unfired clay bricks. International Journal of Modern Research in Engineering and Management 2:11–16

    Google Scholar 

  4. Singh RP, Singh P, Araujo AS, Ibrahim MH, Sulaiman O (2011) Management of urban solid waste : Vermi-composting a sustainable option. Resour Conserv Recycl 55:719–729

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Panda RB, Biswal T (2018) Impact of fly ash on soil properties and productivity. International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Biotechnology 11:275–283

    Google Scholar 

  6. Sahu G, Bag A, Chatterjee N, Mukherjee A (2017) Potential use of fly ash in agriculture: a way to improve soil health. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 6:873–880

    Google Scholar 

  7. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change. 2019. Utilization of fly ash Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No: 3325.

  8. Report of MoEF&CC, CPCB, IIT Roorkee-O.A. No. 117,102 & 499 of 2014.

  9. Surabhi S (2017) Fly ash in India: generation vis-à-vis utilization and Global perspective. Int J Appl Chem 13:29–52

    Google Scholar 

  10. Prodanov M, Sierra I, Vidal–Valverde C (2004) Influence of soaking and cooking on the thiamin, riboflavin and niacin contents of legumes. Food Chem 84:271-277.

  11. Chinma CE, Alemede IC, Emelife IG (2008) Physicochemical and functional properties of some Nigerian cowpea varieties. Pak J Nutr 7:186–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Clark A (2007) Cowpeas: Vigna unguiculata. Managing Cover Crops Profitably. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, 3rd edn. University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA, pp 125–129

    Google Scholar 

  13. Arumuganathan K, Earle E (1991) Nuclear DNA content of some important plant species. Plant Mol Biol Report 9:208–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Muñoz-Amatriaín M, Mirebrahim, H Xu, P Wanamaker, SI, Luo M, Alhakami H, Bozdag S (2017) Genome resources for climate-resilient cowpea, an essential crop for food security. Plant J 89: 1042-1054.

  15. FAO (2002) World Agriculture: towards 2015/2030. Summary report, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  16. Thorp S, M Davison O, Frost, Pickstock M (2012) New agriculturist: the highs and lows of cowpea IPM. Wren Media Ltd., Suffolk, UK.

  17. Rajpoot P, Kumar K, Asma KA (2018) Impact of ammonium sulphate (paper maker’s alum) on some physiological growth characteristics of lentil and soil parameters. International journal of creative research thoughts 6:2320–2882

    Google Scholar 

  18. International Seed Testing Association (1976) International rules for seed testing. Rules 1976. Seed Sci Technol 4:43–49

    Google Scholar 

  19. Arnon DI (1949) Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts. Polyphenoloxidase in Beta vulgaris. Plant physiology 24:1.

  20. Snell FD, Snell CT (1967) Colorimetric method of analysis including photometric methods. Van Nostrand, Company Inc.: Princerton New Jersey 4:217.

  21. Bradford MM (1976) A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem 72:248–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Bates LS, Waldren RP, Teare ID (1973) Rapid determination of free proline for water-stress studies. Plant Soil 39:205–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Bergersen FJ, Turner GL (1980) Properties of terminal oxidase systems of bacteroids from root nodules of soybean and cowpea and of N2-fixing bacteria grown in continuous culture. Microbiology 118:23–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Olsen SR (1954) Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. United States Department of Agriculture, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hagman RH, Reed AJ (1980) Nitrite reductase from higher plants. In method in enzymology Academic Press 69:270–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Guerrero MG (1982) Assimilatory nitrate reduction. In: Techniques in Bioproductivity and Photosynthesis, 1st edn. (Eds. Coombs, J. and Hall, D. O.), Pergamon Press New York:124–130.

  27. Beasley A (2009) EPA says coal ash is safe to use as fertilizer on crops. http://www.coal-ash-spill.com/news/2009/12/24/epa-says-coal-ash-is-safe-to-use-as-fertilizer-on-crops/

  28. Kramer U (2007) Phytoremediation-novel approaches to cleaning up polluted soils. Curr Opin Biotechnol 16:133–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Bilski J, McLean K, McLean E, Soumaila F, Lander M (2011) Revegetation of coal ash by selected cereal crops and trace elements accumulation by plant seedlings. Int J Environ Sci 1:1033–1046

    Google Scholar 

  30. Du T, Wang D, Bai Y, Zhang Z (2020) Optimizing the formulation of coal gangue planting substrate using wastes: the sustainability of coal mine ecological restoration. Ecol Eng 143:105669

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Peralta-videa JR (2004) Effects of the growth stage on the heavy metal tolerance of alfalfa plants. Adv Environ Res 8:679–685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Tang Q, Li LY, Zhang S (2018) Characterization of heavy metals in coal gangue-reclaimed soils from a coal mining area. J Geochem Explor 186:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Wong MH, Bradshaw AD (1981) Comparison of the toxicity of heavy metals, using root elongation of rye grass Lolium perenne. New Phytol 91:255–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Vollmer AT, Tumer FB, Straugham IR, Lyons CL (1982) Effects of coal precipitator ash on germination and early growth of desert annuals. Environ Exp Bot 22:409–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Singh SN, Kulshreshtha K, Ahmad KJ (1997) Impact of fly ash soil amendment on seed germination, seedling growth and metal composition of Vicia faba L. Ecol Eng 9:203–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Rizvi R, Khan AA (2009) Response of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) to fly ash and brick kiln dust amended soil. Biology and Medicine 1:2–24

    Google Scholar 

  37. Kumar K, Kumar A (2016) Effect of fly ash on morpho-physiological properties of soil and Vigna mungo L. International Journal of Biological sciences Biotech Today 6:49–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Rajpoot L, Kumar K, Asma KA (2018) Approach for improve plant (Pisum sativum L.) growth and yield using kiln coal fly ash amended soil. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research 5:72–77

    Google Scholar 

  39. Sharma SK, Kalra N (2006) Effect of fly ash incorporation on soil properties and productivity of crops: a review. J Sci Ind Res 65:383–390

    Google Scholar 

  40. Pani KI, Samal P, Das R, Sahoo S (2015) Effect of fly ash on growth and yield of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research 7:64–74

    Google Scholar 

  41. Faizan S, Khan AA (2004) Effect of coal ash application on growth productivity and biochemical characteristics of lentil (Lens culinaris L.). Chemical and Environmental Research 13:277–284

    Google Scholar 

  42. Katiyar D, Singh A, Malaviya P, Pant D, Singh P, Abraham G, Singh SK (2012) Impact of fly ash amended soil on growth and yield of crop plants. Int J Environ Waste Manag 10:150–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Dash S, Sahoo S (2017) Effect of fly ash amendment on growth of mustard. International journal Applied Environmental Science 12:1617–1629

    Google Scholar 

  44. Stambulska UY, Bayliak MM, Lushchak VI. 2018. Chromium (VI) toxicity in legume plants: modulation effects of rhizobial symbiosis. Hindawi BioMed Research International : 13.

  45. Alva AK, Bilski JJ, Sajwan KS, van Clief D (2000) Leaching of metals from soils amended with fly ash and organic byproducts. In: Sajwan K et al (eds) Biogeochemistry of trace elements in coal and coal combustion. Kluwer Academic, New York, pp 193–207

    Google Scholar 

  46. Faizan S, Kausar S (2010) Impact of coal ash on growth, yield, biomass and nodulation of lentil (Lens culinaris). Industrial Pollution Control 26:161–165

    Google Scholar 

  47. Lal B, Khanna S (1994) Selection of salt tolerant Rhizobium isolates of Acacia melotica. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 10:637–639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Martensson AM, Witter E (1990) Influence of various soil amendments on nitrogen fixing soil microorganisms in a long term field experiment, with special reference to sewage sludge. Soil Biol Biochem 22:977–982

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Gupta DK, Rai UN, Tripathi RD, Inouhe M (2002) Impacts of fly-ash on soil and plant responses. J Plant Res 115:401–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Rai P, Kehri HK (2016) Effect of fly ash and microbes on the growth, nodulation and mycorrhization in pea (Pisum sativum (L.) Var. Ap3). Int J Adv Res 410:1174–1193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Singh S, Gond DP, Pal A, Tewary BK, Sinha A (2011) Performance of several crops grown in fly ash amended soil. In World of Coal Ash (WOCA) Conferences: 9-12.

  52. Prakash M, Narayanan GS, Kumar BS (2012) Effect of fly ash seed pelleting on seed yield in Blackgram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper]. Legume Research-An International Journal 35:64–67

    Google Scholar 

  53. Yu CL, Deng Q, Jian S, Li J, Dzantor EK, Hui D (2019) Effects of fly ash application on plant biomass and element accumulations: a meta-analysis. Environ Pollut 250:137–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Khan RM, Khan MW (1996) Effect of fly ash on plant growth and yield of tomato. Environ Pollut 92:105–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Rajpoot L, Kumar K, Asma KA (2018) Potential use of brick-kiln fly ash to ameliorate biochemical parameters and nitrogen fixation efficiency of Pisum sativum L. International journal of Pharmaceutical research and Bio-Science 7:29–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Rai P (2017) Effect of fly ash application on the chlorophyll and proline content of pea (Pisum sativum L) plant. SSRG International Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Science 4:4

    Google Scholar 

  57. Kupper H, Kupper F, Spiller M (1998) In situ detection of heavy metal substituted chlorophylls in water plants. Photosynth Res 58:123–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Vazquez MD, Poschenrirder CH, Barcello J (1987) Chromium VI induced structural and ultra-structural changes in Bush bean plants (Phaseolus valgaris L.). Ann Bot 59:427–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Pavlovic P, Mitrovic M, Djurdjevic L, Gajic G, Kostic O, Bojovic S (2007) The ecological potential of Spirea Van-Hauttei (Briot.) zabelforurban (the City of Belgrade) and fly ash deposit (Obrenovac) lands caping in Serbia. Pol J Environ Stud 16:427–431

    Google Scholar 

  60. Sharma AP, Tripathi BD (2009) Biochemical responses in tree foliage exposed to coal-fired power plant mission in seasonally dry tropical environment. Environ Monit Assess 158:197–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Iqbal M, Jura-Morawiec J, WŁoch W (2010) Foliar characteristics, cambial activity and wood formation in Azadirachta indica A. Juss. as affected by coal-smoke pollution. Flora-Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants 205:61–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Kumar K, Kumar A (2017) Effect of fly ash on some biochemical properties of Vigna mungo L. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Bio-science 6(2):1–13

    Google Scholar 

  63. Ahmad G, Khan AA, Ansari S (2017) Interaction of a fly ash and root-knot nematode pathogens on Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch. ex Lam.) Tropical Plant. Research 4:449–455

    Google Scholar 

  64. Pardo SB, Fernández-Pascual M, Zornoza P (2012) Copper microlocalisation, ultrastructural alterations and antioxidant responses in the nodules of white lupin and soybean plants grown under conditions of copper excess. Environ Exp Bot 84:52–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Kumar K, Kumar A (2020) Sustainable use and applications of brick kiln coal fly ash in agriculture sector for promotion of legume productivity. Plant Archives 20:3571–3579

    Google Scholar 

  66. Tripathi RD, Vajpayee P, Singh N, Rai UN, Kumar A, Ali MB (2004) Efficacy of various amendments for amelioration of fly ash toxicity: growth performance and metal composition of Cassia siamea Lamk. Chemosphere 54:1581–1588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Sinha S, Gupta AK (2005) Assessment of metals in leguminous green manuring plant of Sesbania cannabina L. grown on fly ash amended soil: effect on antioxidants. Chemosphere 61:1204–1214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Gupta AK, Sinha S (2009) Growth and metal accumulation response of Vigna radiata L. var PDM 54 (mung bean) grown on fly ash-amended soil: effect on dietary intake. Environ Geochem Health 31:463–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Pandey VC, Abhilash PC, Upadhyay RN, Tewari DD (2009) Application of fly ash on the growth performance and translocation of toxic heavy metals within Cajanus cajan L: Implication for safe utilization of fly ash for agricultural production. J Hazard Mater 166:255–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Pandey VC, Singh JS, Kumar A, Tewari D (2010) Accumulation of heavy metals by chickpea grown in fly ash treated soil : effect on antioxidants. Clean Soil Air Water 38:1116–1123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Singh G, Agnihotri RK, Sharma R, Reshma MA (2012) Effect of lead and nickel toxicity on chlorophyll and proline content of Urad (Vigna mungo L.) seedlings. Int J Plant Physiol Biochem 4:136–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Sultenfuss JH, Doyle WJ (1999) Functions of phosphorus in plants. Better Crops 83(1):6–7

    Google Scholar 

  73. Shaheen SM, Peter S, Hooda CD, Tsadilas (2014) Opportunities and challenges in the use of coal fly ash for soil improvements: a review. J Environ Manag 145:249–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Beevers L, Hageman RH (1969) Nitrate reduction in higher plants. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 20:495–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Melavanki VC (2012) Effect of fly ash on growth, physiological and biochemical traits and yield in groundnut [Arachis hypogaea (L.)]. Doctoral dissertation, UAS, Dharwad

    Google Scholar 

  76. Qurratul JS, Khan R (2014) Effect of fly ash on function and biochemical activity of (Catharanthus tinctorius L.) plant. Israel journal of plant sciences 61:12–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Irfan A (2017) Utilization of thermal plant wastewater and coal fly ash to improve growth and yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). International Journal of Applied Environmental Sciences 12:155–178

    Google Scholar 

  78. Kumar S, Joshi UN (2008) Nitrogen metabolism as affected by hexavalent chromium in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). Environ Exp Bot 64:135–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  79. Sangwan P, Kumar V, Joshi UN (2014) Effect of chromium (VI) toxicity on enzymes of nitrogen metabolism in clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.). Enzyme research.

  80. Kleinhofs A, Warner RL (1990) Advances in nitrate assimilation. Biochemistry of Plant 16:89–120

    Google Scholar 

  81. Mings ML, Schlorholtz SM, Pitt JM, Demirel T (1983) Characterization of Fly Ash by X-Ray Analysis Methods. Transp Res Rec 941

  82. Ayanda OS, Fatoki OS, Adekola FA, Ximba BJ (2012) Characterization of fly ash generated from Matla power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Journal of Chemistry 9:1788–1795

    Google Scholar 

  83. Alehyen S, Achouri MEL, Taibi M (2017) Characterization, microstructure and properties of fly ash-based geopolymer. Journal of Material Environment Science 8:1783–1796

    Google Scholar 

  84. Reddy CS, Mohanty S, Shaik R (2018) Physical, chemical and geotechnical characterization of fly ash, bottom ash and municipal solid waste from Telangana State in India. International Journal of Geo-Engineering 9:1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  85. Liu Y, Zeng F, Sun B, Jia P, Graham IT (2019) Structural characterizations of aluminosilicates in two types of fly ash samples from Shanxi Province. North China Minerals 9(358):1–16

    Google Scholar 

  86. Chen Y, Xu L, Tan SN, Sun X, Deng Y, Yang W (2020) Solidification and multi-cytotoxicity evaluation of thermally treated MSWI fly ash. J Hazard Mater 122041:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  87. Das AK, Chakraborty R, de la Guardia M, Cervera ML, Goswami D (2001) ICP-MS multi-element determination in fly ash after microwave-assisted digestion of samples. Talanta 5:975–981

    Article  Google Scholar 

  88. Joshi N, Menon P, Joshi A (2019) Effect of coal fly ash on early growth factors of Vigna Acontifolia L. and Pennisetum Glaucum L. International Journal of Research 8:171–179

    Google Scholar 

  89. Panda SS, Mishra LP, Muduli SD, Nayak BD, Dhal NK (2015) The effect of fly ash on vegetative growth and photosynthetic pigment concentrations of rice and maize. Biologija 61:94–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  90. Kumar K, Kumar A (2017) Effect of fly ash on morpho-physiological properties of soil and Vigna mungo L. Biotech Today 6(2):49–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors are obliged to the H.O.D. and faculty members of Botany Department, CCS University Campus Meerut for providing all facility to conduct this experiment.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Chaudhary Charan Singh University Campus Meerut, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, 250004, India

    Kuldeep Kumar & Ashok Kumar

Authors
  1. Kuldeep Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ashok Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Kuldeep Kumar carried out all the work including designing of the study and performed the statistical analysis under the supervision of Dr. Ashok Kumar. The manuscript drafted by Dr. Ashok Kumar. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kuldeep Kumar.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kumar, K., Kumar, A. A case study of fly ash utilization for enhancement of growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) to sustainable agriculture. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 13, 7571–7584 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01459-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01459-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation