Effect of biochar application on growth and yield of brinjal (Solanum melongena L) under Bundalkhand Region

Introduction

Brinjal, scientifically known as "Solanum melongena" L., is an important vegetable belonging to the Solanaceae family and is one of the key vegetable crops grown extensively in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. It is primarily cultivated for its unripe fruits, which are utilized in various culinary dishes, pickling, and the dehydrated food industry. Additionally, brinjals are recognized for their medicinal properties and are particularly rich in vitamin A, making them beneficial for diabetic patients. Although brinjals are technically perennial plants, they are commonly grown as annual crops (Joshi, 2003). The yield of brinjals in Asia averages 34.15 tons per hectare, covering an area of 1,718,049 hectares (FAO, 2022). In Nepal, brinjal cultivation spans 11,292 hectares, with a total production of 149,075 tons and a productivity rate of 13.20 tons per hectare. In the Kaski district of Nepal, brinjals are grown on 125 hectares, yielding 2,136 tons with a productivity of 17.08 tons per hectare (MoALD, 2023). The low productivity of brinjals in Nepal can be attributed to various biotic and abiotic factors, as well as the lack of suitable cultivars Significant insect pests, such as aphids, brinjal fruit borers, and shoot borers, pose risks to the crop (Gallo et al. 1988) [9] . Additionally, environmental stressors like high temperatures, excessive soil humidity, salinity, water stress, and competition from weeds can lead to substantial yield reductions. Borers are known to adversely affect crop yields (Gallo et al. 1988). Additionally, factors such as high temperatures, excessive soil humidity, salinity, water stress, and weed competition can lead to significant reductions in yield (Attna et al. 2023). The high Si and Al contents in sugarcane bagasse fly ash can be used to synthesize zeolitetype adsorbents for removing heavy metals from wastewater. Especially, zeolite type A gives high heavy metal removals because of its higher surface area with small pore size and high adsorption capacity than other types, so it promotes good adsorption of heavy metals International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research 2026 ; SP-10(6 ): 562 -56 6 (Jangkorn et al. 2022) [12] . In previous studies, the synthesized zeolite P from bagasse fly ash is used for eliminating lead and cadmium in an aqueous solution (Shah et al. 2013) [21] , and the removal of copper is reported by the study of Oliveira et al. by the synthesized zeolite Na-A from sugarcane bagasse fly ash (Oliveria et al. 2019). In addition, the synthesized zeolite A from bagasse fly ash and sugarcane waste ash have been used for removing lead and cadmium in wastewater (Jangkorn et al. 2022; Fungaro et al. 2021) [8] . Although zeolites can adsorb with various toxic metals, improving zeolites to increase adsorption capacity with specific target contaminates is continuously interested. The natural zeolite modified with amine is used for remediat ing hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) in an aqueous media, and MEL-type zeolite nanosheet has been applied as a porous material for water purification from landfill leachate comprising PbCl [2] and CuCl [2] (Nasrollahhzadeh et al. 2020; Mousavi Khadem et al. 2022) [15] .

Materials and Methods

The pot experiment was conducted at the Organic Research Farm in Kargua ji, within the Department of Soil Science at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. The farm is located in the Jhansi district, at a latitude of 25° 31 " 07.1 " N and a longitude of 78° 33′ 47.4′³E, with an elevation of 284 meters above mean sea level (MSL). The area features a slope that ranges from gentle to steep (0.5 to 10%) and has low to medium organic carbon content, as well as varying water holding capacities from very low to high. Farming conditions and cropping patterns differ based on soil type, water availability, vegetation, and livestock. The experiment, which involved six treatment combinations, was designed as a completely randomized design with four replications. The layout included the following treatments: T₀ (Control), T₁ (100 Kg/ha N: 40 Kg/ha P: 40 Kg/ha K + 15 T/ha SBB+15 T/ha Zeolite), T₂ (150 Kg/ha N: 50 Kg/ha P: 50 Kg/ha K + 10 T/ha SBB + 15 T/ha Zeolite), T₃ (200 Kg/ha N: 75 Kg/ha P: 75 Kg/ha K + 5 T/ha SBB + 15 T/ha Zeolite), T₄ (100 Kg/ha N: 50 Kg/ha P: 50 Kg/ha K + 10 T/ha SBB + 15 T/ha Zeolite), and T₅ (150 Kg/ha N: 75 Kg/ha P: 75 Kg/ha K + 15 T/ha SBB + 15 T/ha Zeolite). Various growth and yield parameters were recorded throughout the experimental treatments.

Results and Discussion

The data related to plant height and the number of branches per plant at different growth stages is presented in Tables 1 and2. The findings indicate a significant impact of N: P: K application alone and in combination with various levels of zeolite and SBB on plant height and the number of branches. At all growth stages-30, 60, 90 days, and at harvest-brinjal plants exhibited the highest plant height and number of branches with the application of T₃ 200 Kg/ha N: 75 Kg/ P: 75 Kg/ K+5T / ha SBB + 15 T/ha Zeolite. This treatment was comparable to T₅ -150 Kg/ha N: 75 Kg/ P: 75 Kg / K+15T / ha SBB+15 T/ha Zeolite (28.62 cm) but was significantly superior to the other treatments at all stages of growth. In contrast, the control plot showed the lowest plant height and number of branches per plant. The reason for the increase in vegetative growth may be due to the availability of the necessary nutrients in the chemical fertilizer N, P and K added to the soil close to the root zone, its transfer to the vegetative system and its exploitation in the biological and physiological processes inside the plant such as carbon assimilation, respiration and the processes involved in the synthesis of nuclear acids necessary in the division of cells and new tissues that help the growth of different parts of the plant (Patil et al., 2008 [2,20] . Similar finding was observed by Neumann and Laing (2006) [17] , Shanmugaiah et al. (2009) [22] in cotton, and Akladious and Abbas (2014) in maize and Doni et al. (2014) [7] in rice. [10] in chilli, Anburani and Manivannan (2002) [3] in brinjal, Chumyani et al. (2012) [6] in tomato, Vimera et al. (2012) [24] in king chilli and Chumei et al. (2013) [5] in brinjal, Jaishwal et al. (2019) [11] in brinjal, who found improved flowering characters with treatment biochar and zeolite amended soil. [6] in tomato and Vimera et al. (2012) [24] . The increase in plant growth might be associated with secretion of auxin, gibberellins and cytokinin's. The increase in biomatter production may be due to the production of plant growth promoters or through indirect stimulation of nutrient uptake and by producing siderophore or antibiotics to protect plants from deleterious rhizosphere organism (Sundramoorthy and Balabaskar, 2013). (2014) [13] , Umalaxmi et al. (2015) [23] and Patidar and Bajpai (2018) [19] in brinjal crop

Conclusion

The present investigation was aimed at identifying the best combination of beneficial biochar and zeolite for getting good growth, yield of brinjal crop. This will be helpful in maintaining good soil health for longer time and enhances nutrient availability in soil and ultimately helps in getting better crop yield and physical properties. This is ecofriendly and helps to maintain harmony with nature. Based on the results of the experiment, it can be concluded that: In potculture experiment, the treatment combination of T₃ 200 Kg/ha N: 75 Kg/ P: 75 Kg/ K + 5 T/ ha SBB + 15 T/ha Zeolite showed better performance for most of the traits considered followed by T₅ (100 Kg/ha N: 50 Kg/ P: 50

Kg/K + 10 T/ ha SBB + 15 T/ha Zeolite) and comparatively poor performance was noticed in T₀ (Control).

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