EFFECT OF FERTIGATION ON LEAF PROLINE, SOLUBLE PROTEIN AND ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY OF BANANA

A field experiment was conducted at Bipco Green Belt Greenery situated at Thekkampatty Village, Coimbatore District during 2002- 2003 to evaluate the influence of fertigation through treated board mill effluent on enzymatic activity besides improving productivity of banana and on soil and ground water quality. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with two replications. In the main plots, irrigations (fertigation) were taken. Treated board mill effluent after filtration was fertigated through drip irrigation with 75 and 50 per cent NK for banana while basin irrigation was done with 100 and 75 per cent NK. Surface irrigation with river water along with 100 per cent NK (farmerʹs practice) was used as control for comparison. In the subplots amendments viz., fly ash, biocompost, fly ash + biocompost + green manure were applied. Soluble protein were increased due to effluent fertigation with 75 per cent NK over basin application of treated effluent and farmerʹs practice (control). The plant enzymes viz., superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activity increased due to basin irrigation of the effluent than rest of the irrigation treatments, indicating that surface irrigation of the effluent increased the stress in plants. The catalase and nitrate reductase activity were increased due to effluent fertigation with 75 per cent NK.