Role of textile effluent fertilization with biosurfactant to sustain soil quality and nutrient availability

The textile industry is one of the world's most pollution generating industries, and management of its toxic effluent has become a global issue. However, the use of textile effluent as source of nutrients can be a viable option due to the presence of some essential minerals, although the presence of several toxic elements can deteriorate soil health. Therefore, experiments were conducted to identify the potential of textile effluent fertilization together with biosurfactant amendment to increase the soil health and nutrient status for agricultural sustainability. In this study, soil fertilized with different concentrations of textile effluent treatments (i.e. T1A, T2A and T3A) was treated with two different concentrations of biosurfactants to accurately appraise the suitability of a set of soil quality parameters including, physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological activities. A thorough analysis of all soil health parameters was undertaken before sowing the seeds and after cultivation of either Triticum aestivum (cv. LOK-1 and GW-496) or Capsicum annum (cv. GVC-101 and GVC-121). The results indicated that lower concentrations of textile effluent are a good source of nutrients while biosurfactants served as good solubilizers of metals and made it more available at the higher effluent concentration (T2C). Under these conditions, not only did fertilizers significantly increased, but also the microbial population as well as the enzymatic activity of soil was enhanced. Lower concentrations of micronutrients in the soil after crop cultivation is attributed to the higher level of their availability to the plants during their growth and development. This study provides new insight into the biosurfactants application to enhance soil micronutrients availability and increase crop productivity using textile effluents as a source of nutrients.