Chapter 5
Influence of Distillery Sludge-Based
Vermicompost on the Nutritional Status
of Rapanus sativus L. (Radish)
Susila Sugumar, Tamilselvi Duraisamy, Selvakumar Muniraj,
Ramarajan Selvam, and Vasanthy Muthunarayanan
Abstract The efficiency of the distillery sludge-based vermicompost to enhance the
growth of Raphanus sativus (radish) was tested with distillery sludge-based compost
(DSC) and vermicompost (DSV), vegetable waste vermicompost (VV), and commercially available chemical fertilizer (CF). This study reveals the suitability of
distillery sludge-based vermicompost to facilitate the growth of Raphanus sativus.
An enhancement of the biomass, antioxidants (38.45–52.49%), total phenolics
(22.56 mg GAE/g), and flavonoids (32.59–45.69 mg QE/g) was reported in the
plants treated with the organic manures. However, reducing sugars (0.61 mg/50 g)
was found to be in higher quantity in the plants treated with chemical fertilizer.
Significant increase in the antioxidants including phenols and flavonoids along with
enhanced DPPH and FRAP activity suggests the suitability of application of organic
fertilizers to promote plant growth. Among the treatments offered, distillery sludgebased vermicompost was found to enhance the content of antioxidants
(52.49 Æ 0.002%), phenols (31.24 Æ 0.002 mg GAE/g), flavonoids
(45.69 Æ 0.002 mg QE/g), mineral content (Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Cu, Mn), and growth
parameters too of Raphanus sativus, thus making the eco-friendly management of
the distillery sludge possible. Further, there are no significant polymorphisms in the
protein band of the DSV-grown radish.
Keywords DSV · CF · Antioxidant · SDS-PAGE
S. Sugumar · T. Duraisamy · S. Muniraj · R. Selvam · V. Muthunarayanan (*)
Water and Solid Waste Processing Lab, Department of Environmental Biotechnology,
Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
e-mail: vasanthy@bdu.ac.in
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
S. A. Bhat et al. (eds.), Earthworm Assisted Remediation of Effluents and Wastes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4522-1_5
69
Influence of Distillery Sludge-Based
Vermicompost on the Nutritional Status
of Rapanus sativus L. (Radish)
Susila Sugumar, Tamilselvi Duraisamy, Selvakumar Muniraj,
Ramarajan Selvam, and Vasanthy Muthunarayanan
Abstract The efficiency of the distillery sludge-based vermicompost to enhance the
growth of Raphanus sativus (radish) was tested with distillery sludge-based compost
(DSC) and vermicompost (DSV), vegetable waste vermicompost (VV), and commercially available chemical fertilizer (CF). This study reveals the suitability of
distillery sludge-based vermicompost to facilitate the growth of Raphanus sativus.
An enhancement of the biomass, antioxidants (38.45–52.49%), total phenolics
(22.56 mg GAE/g), and flavonoids (32.59–45.69 mg QE/g) was reported in the
plants treated with the organic manures. However, reducing sugars (0.61 mg/50 g)
was found to be in higher quantity in the plants treated with chemical fertilizer.
Significant increase in the antioxidants including phenols and flavonoids along with
enhanced DPPH and FRAP activity suggests the suitability of application of organic
fertilizers to promote plant growth. Among the treatments offered, distillery sludgebased vermicompost was found to enhance the content of antioxidants
(52.49 Æ 0.002%), phenols (31.24 Æ 0.002 mg GAE/g), flavonoids
(45.69 Æ 0.002 mg QE/g), mineral content (Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Cu, Mn), and growth
parameters too of Raphanus sativus, thus making the eco-friendly management of
the distillery sludge possible. Further, there are no significant polymorphisms in the
protein band of the DSV-grown radish.
Keywords DSV · CF · Antioxidant · SDS-PAGE
S. Sugumar · T. Duraisamy · S. Muniraj · R. Selvam · V. Muthunarayanan (*)
Water and Solid Waste Processing Lab, Department of Environmental Biotechnology,
Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
e-mail: vasanthy@bdu.ac.in
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
S. A. Bhat et al. (eds.), Earthworm Assisted Remediation of Effluents and Wastes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4522-1_5
69