Introduction

Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants. The seeds are typically about 1 or 2 mm in diameter. Mustard seeds may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are important spices in many regional cuisines. The seeds can come from three different plants: black mustard (Brassica nigra), brown Indian mustard (B. juncea), and white mustard (B. hirta/Sinapis alba).

Earliest reference to mustard in India is from the story of Buddha in 5th century BCE (http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/btg/btg85.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-28).

The French have used mustard seeds as a spice since 800 AD, and it was among the spices taken by the Spanish on explorations throughout the fifteenth century.. Mustard oil is very good for body massage during extreme winters, as it keeps the body warm and moist. Mustard seeds generally take three to ten days to germinate if placed under the proper conditions, which include a cold atmosphere and relatively moist soil. Major producers of mustard seeds include Canada (90%), Hungary, Great Britain, India, Pakistan and the United States. Brown and black mustard seeds return higher yields than their yellow counterparts. In Pakistan after cotton, rapeseed-mustard is the second most important source of oil in Pakistan. It is cultivated over an area of 307,000 hectares with annual production of 233,000 tones and contributes about 17% to the domestic production of edible oil. Mustard seed is a rich source of oil and protein. The seed has oil as high as 46-48 %, Whole seed meal has 43.6 % protein.

Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean (technically castor seed as the castor plant, Ricinus communis,([Euphorbiaceae]) is not a member of the bean family). Castor oil (CAS number 8001-79-4) is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is 313 °C (595 °F) and its density is 961 kg/m3.1 It is a triglyceride in which approximately 90% of fatty acid chains are ricinoleic acid. Oleic and linoleic acids are the other significant components22.

In the food industry, castor oil (food grade) is used in food additives8, flavorings, candy (e.g., chocolate)36, as a mold inhibitor, and in packaging. Polyoxyethylated castor oil (e.g., Cremophor EL)3 , is also used in the foodstuff industries4. Castor oil penetrates deep into the skin due to its molecular mass, which is low enough to penetrate deep into the stratum corneum. Castor isostearate succinate is a polymeric mixture of esters with isostearic acid and succinic acid used for skin conditioning, such as in shampoo, lipstick and lip balm. Ricinoleic acid is the main component of castor oil, and it exerts anti-inflammatory effects . One study has found castor oil decreased pain more than ultrasound gel or Vaseline during extracorporeal shockwave application19. The use of cold pressed castor oil (CPCO) in folk medicine predates government medical regulations. The oil is also used as a rub or pack for various ailments, including abdominal complaints, headaches, muscle pains, inflammatory conditions, skin eruptions, lesions, and sinusitis. Castor oil has also been noted for its acne-healing abilities. In Ayurvedic medicine used to enhance memory15.

Castor oil has numerous applications in transportation, cosmetics and pharmaceutical, and manufacturing industries, for example: brake fluids (Ado737879, 2007), caulks, dyes, electrical liquid dielectrics, humectants, Nylon 11 plastics, hydraulic fluids, inks, lacquers, leather treatments, lubricating greases, machining oils, paints, pigments, polyurethane adhesive2, refrigeration lubricants, rubbers, sealants, textile, adhesives (a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,I 2007), washing powders, and waxes. Since it has a relatively high dielectric constant (4.7), highly refined and dried castor oil is sometimes used as a dielectric fluid within high performance high voltage capacitors. Castor oil is the preferred lubricant for bicycle pumps, most likely because it does not dissolve natural rubber seals23. Castor oil was the preferred lubricant for rotary engines, such as the Gnome engine after that engine’s widespread adoption for aviation in Europe in 1909. It was used almost universally by the rotary engined allied aircraft in World War I. Cultivation of castor plants for the production of biodiesel started in 2008 in the Waletia and Goma Gofa regions of Ethiopia. The initiative is run by energy company Global Energy Ethiopia, who are also conducting a research and development programme to create new varieties of castor with better yields. (Sub-Saharan Africa gateway, Science and Development Network website, 2008). As a means of punishment, the force-feeding with castor oil still lives on in animated cartoons such as Tom and Jerry.

Molasses (one of the important byproduct of sugar industry) is the main source for the production of Ethanol in distilleries by fermentation method. About 08 (eight) liters of waste water is generated for every liter of ethanol production in distilleries, known as raw spentwash(RSW) which is characterized by high biological oxygen demand (BOD:5000-8000 mg/L) and chemical oxygen demand (COD :25000-30000mg/L), undesirable color and foul odor16. Discharge of raw spentwash into open land or near by water bodies is dangerous, since it results in number of environmental, water and soil pollution including threat to plant and animal lives. The RSW is highly acidic and contains easily oxdisable organic matter with very high BOD and COD24. Also, spentwash contains high organic nitrogen and nutrients27. By installing biomethenation plant in distilleries, reduces the oxygen demand of RSW, the resulting spentwash is called primary treated spent wash(PTSW) and primary treated to RSW increases the nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium(K) and decreases calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), chloride(Cl-), and sulphate (SO42-) (Mahamod Haroon and subhash Chandra Bose, 2004). The PTSW is rich in potassium (K), sulphur (S), Nitrogen(N), Phosphorous(P), as well as easily bio degradable organic matter and its application to soil has been reported to increase the yield of sugarcane37, rice13 wheat, rice yield,25 quality of groundnut and physiological response of soybean28. Diluted spentwash could be used for irrigation purpose without adversely affecting soil fertility1718 Raverkar et.al., 2000), seed germination and crop productivity30. The diluted spentwash irrigation improved the physical and chemical properties of the soil and further increased soil micro flora141718. Twelve pre-sowing irrigations with the diluted spentwash had no adverse effect on the germination of maize but improved the growth and yield35. Diluted spentwash increases the growth of shoot length, leaf number per plant, leaf area and chlorophyll content of peas31. Increased concentration of spentwash causes decreased seed germination, seedling growth and chlorophyll content in sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) and the spentwash could safely used for irrigation purpose at lower concentration3230. The spentwash contained in excess of various forms of cations, anions, which are injurious to plant growth and these constituents should be reduced to beneficial level by diluting the spentwash, which can be used as substitute for chemical fertilizer33 the spentwash could be used as a compliment to mineral fertilizer to sugarcane9. The spent wash contained N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S and thus valued as a fertilizer when applied to soil through irrigation with water34. The application of diluted spentwash increased the up take of Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn) in Maize and wheat as compared to control and the highest total uptake of these were found at lower dilution levels than at higher dilution levels26 mineralization of organic material as well as nutrients present in the spent wash were responsible for increased availability of plant nutrients. Diluted spentwash increase the up take of nutrients, height, growth and yield of leaves vegetables75 nutrients of cabbage and mint leaf10, nutrients of top vegetable6 pulses, condiments, root vegetables11 and yields of condiments12. However no information is available on the studies of germination of Mustard and Castor oil seeds irrigated by distillery spentwash. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to study the influence of different proportions of spentwash on the germination of Mustard and Castor seeds.

Materials and Methods

Field work was conducted at own land in Halebudanur village near Mandya, Karnataka. Before cultivation, a composite soil sample was collected from experimental site at 25.cm depth at different sites, mixed and dried under sunlight. The sample was analyzed by standard procedures (Table-1). The PTSW was used for irrigation with a dilution of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 ratios. The physical and chemical characteristics and amount of nitrogen(N) Potassium(K), Phosphorous(P) and sulphur (S) present in the PTSW, 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 distillery spentwash were analyzed19 using standard procedures (Table-2 and 3).

Table 1. Physico-chemical properties of soil.

Units: a – µS, b-mg\L, c-%

Table 2. Chemical characteristic of distillery spend wash at different dilution.

Table 3. Amount of N, P, K and S (Nutrients) in Spentwash.

Unit: a- mg/L, PTSW: Primary treated spentwash

Oil seed plants selected for the present investigation were Mustard and Castor. The seeds were sowed and irrigated (by applying 5-10 mm3/cm2 depends upon the climatic condition) with raw water (RW), 1:1,1:2 and 1:3 SW at the dosage of twice a week and rest of the period with raw water depend upon the climatic condition. Trials were conducted for three times and average growth were recorded (Table-4).

Table 4. Growth of plants at different irrigations (cm).

Results and Discussion

Characteristics of experimental soils such as pH, electrical conductivity, the amount of organic carbon, available nitrogen(N), phosphorous(p), Potassium(K), sulphur (S), exchangeable calcium(Ca), Magnesium(Mg), Sodium(Na), DTPA iron(Fe), manganese(Mn), copper(Cu) and zinc (Zn) were analyzed and tabulated (Table-1). It was found that the soil composition is fit for the cultivation of plants, because it fulfils all the requirements for the growth of plants. Chemical composition of PTSW, 1:1,1:2 and1:3 SW such as pH, electrical conductivity, total solids (TS), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids(TSS), settelable solids (SS), chemical oxygen demand(COD), biological oxygen demand(BOD), carbonates, discarbonates, total phosphorous(P), total potassium(K), ammonical nitrogen (N), calcium(Ca) magnesium(Mg), sulphur(S), Sodium(Na), chlorides(Cl), iron(Fe), Manganese(Mn), zinc(Zn), copper(Cu), cadmium(Cd), lead(Pb), chromium(Cr) and nickel (Ni), were analyzed and tabulated (Manivasakam N,1987; Piper,1996) (Table-2). Amount of N, P, K and S contents are presented in Table-3.

In both cases, the germination was 100% in 1:3 SW, 25% in 1:1 SW, 80% in 1:2 SW and 95% in RW irrigations. Growth rate was very poor in 1:1 SW irrigation compare with RW, 1:2 SW and 1:3 SW irrigations. Maximum growth rate was observed in 1:3 SW compare to RW, 1:1 SW and 1:2 SW irrigations.

Conclusion

It was found that the germination of was good (100%) in 1:3 SW irrigation, while very poor in 1:1SW (25%), moderate in 1:2 SW (80%) and 95% in RW irrigations. In 1:1 dilution, the germination was very poor (25%), this could be due to the high concentration of spentwash makes mask on the upper layer of soil, through which the seeds may not sprout within the stipulated time and spoil. But in 1:3 dilution 100% germination was observed, this could be due to the sufficient quantity of moisture and plant nutrients available to seeds.