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Sci Tech
Flyash: alternative source of micronutrients
Thermal power generation through coal combustion produces minute particles of ash commonly known as ‘flyash’. These ash particles consist of essential plant nutrients such as silica, oxides of Iron (Fe), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) and Copper (Cu) on the one hand and traces of toxic metals like lead (Pb), Arsenic (As) and Cobalt (Co) on the other. India generates about 112 metric tonnes of flyash annually.
Challenging task
The management of huge quantity of flyash is always a challenging task in most of the developing countries including India.
Researchers have been attempting to convert this waste into wealth by exploring practical avenues for flyash. In the recent past, flyash has been utilised for raising agricultural crops as an alternative source of plant nutrients.
Still, farmers are hesitating to apply it as a source of plant nutrients as well as soil amendments on large-scale basis, perhaps due to ill effects of flyash on land application. Flyash samples collected from the Kota thermal power station were analysed for micronutrients content. Fly ash contains good proportion of micronutrients.
Crop yields are primarily affected by moisture stress and nutrition deficient soils in the rainfed region.
Large areas of soils in Rajasthan are deficient in both Fe and Zn due to neglection of micronutrient application.
The cost of inorganic fertilizer is quite high and poor farmers are unable to afford it.
Therefore, flyash is an alternative source for supplementing these nutrients with minimum cost. Further it also helps in aggregation and stability of the soil.
Field experiments conducted proved the application of 5 to 10 tonnes of flyash per hectare increased yield of rainfed crops such as sorghum and pigeon pea by about 15-20 per cent.
J. SOMASUNDARAM
S.N. PRASAD
& ASHOK KUMAR
Central Soil and Water Conservation Research Institute, Kota, Rajasthan
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