Phytotoxicity of industrial effluent to Raphanus sativus L. and Trigonella foenumgracum L.

A simple, fast and easy to perform method, was carried out for the quantification of the inhibitory effect of Battery manufacturing industry effluent on Raphanus sativus L. and Trigonella foenumgracum L. The method usesd seed germination and root elongation as parameters in the presence of varying concentration (25, 50, 75, 100%) of effluent. The effluent was alkaline in nature (pH 7.4), slight pungent in odour and muddish in colour. Cu, Cr, Cd, Ni, Pb and Mn concentrations (2.68, 0.12, 0.26, 1.26, 0.18, 0.12 mg/l respectively) were found to be higher than the prescribed ISI standard for potable and irrigation water, whereas Fe and Zn concentration (0.24 and 4.64 mg/l respectively) were found to be within the limit. Although effective concentration of the effluent for certain degree of inhibition was different but both the plants had a reduced seed germination and reduced radicle growth with increase in concentration. The germination percentage of seeds showed a nonsignificant increase at 25% effluent while all other treatments showed inhibition of germination. The percent phytotoxicity was found increased with increase in the concentration of effluent and ranged between 33.27 to 86.36 & 10.64 to 55.06% for Raphanus sativus and Trigonella foenumgracum respectively. However, the degree of inhibition was more in case of Raphanus sativus as compared to Trigonella foenumgracum. The findings indicate that Trigonella foenumgracum posses a higher level of tolerance to the effluent as compared to Raphanus sativus during early growth phase of the seedlings.