Impact of Treated Paperboard Mill Effluent and waste on china aster

The study was carried out in two stages viz., field experiment and laboratory analysis. The field experiment was carried out at Indian Tobacco Company - Paperboard and Specialty Paper Division (ITC - PSPD), Unit : Kovai located at Thekkampatti village near Mettupalayam in Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu to determine the impact of treated paperboard mill effluent and solid wastes along with recommended fertilizers on the yield and quality of China aster crop. The quality parameters of China aster crop irrigated with paperboard mill effluent along with amendments were found to be greater than well water irrigation. The quality parameters viz., internode length, flower diameter, vase life, shelf life, etc., were not affected much due to the addition of solid wastes. The soil microbial population and enzymes activities such as urease, phosphatase and dehydrogenase were higher under effluent irrigation, leads to increased soil health and crop growth. The harmful effects of continuous effluent irrigation could be ameliorated due to the addition of amendments like vermicompost, biocompost and fly ash.