Impact of sewage irrigation on mulberry varieties

The present experiment was conducted to analyze the effect of sewage water irrigation on the growth and leaf quality traits of two mulberry varieties (S-54 and M5). The chemical analysis of sewage water revealed that pH, EC, N, P, K, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu were found higher in sewage water (T1) compared to bore well water (T0). Similarly, soil pH, EC, F, K, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu were also found increased in T1 compared to T0 plot. In general, morphological traits such as plant height, number of shoots/plant, number of nodes/meter length, leaf yield, shoot yield and biological yield/plant; physiological traits, i.e. photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, water use efficiency and total chlorophyll content; biochemical traits, i.e. total protein, sugar, starch and amino acid contents in both the genotypes were found increased in T1 compared to T0. However, between two mulberry genotypes, M5 exhibited superior performance in both T0 and T1 for all the characters studied. A bioassay study with hybrid silkworm race (NB4D2) showed improvement in silkworm growth and cocoon parameters in T1 as compared to T0. An overview of the study revealed that domestic sewage water irrigation improved the soil fertility status, plant growth and leaf quality traits of mulberry varieties.