Effect of gamma-irradiated textile effluent on plant growth

Introduction Textile industry produces large quantities ofhighly colored effluents, which are generally toxic andresistant to biodegradation. The present study was carriedout to find out the efficiency of using gamma radiation todegrade or decontaminate combined textile effluent and itspotential application as irrigation water on spleenamaranth.Results The change of absorption spectra, physicochemicalparameters of gamma-irradiated textile effluentrevealed that all these properties have improved afterirradiation at (10–15) kGy. Analysis of ammonium andtotal nitrogen concentration of the effluent also showed thatboth of them are increased after irradiation and can be usedfor irrigation purposes. Application of irradiated textileeffluents on spleen amaranth have increased dry mass(10.77 g), plant height (10.53/week), root length (19.00cm), number of leaves (6/week) compared to the plantswhich were nourished with raw textile effluent and onlywater. Elemental analysis showed trace amount of heavymetal uptake by the plant. Moreover, the plants containmineral nutrients essential for plant growth.Conclusions The treatment of textile effluents by gammairradiation (10–15 kGy) is a promising tool as it produceszero waste and has the possibility of alternative use forirrigation water with fertilizing properties.