• SHIGEE KALLADITHODI

Fertilizers are one of the important components in agriculture which are highly used to balance the essential nutrients in the soil which is required for the plants. The soil amendments can be a waste material of organic origin which can be recycled by using it as an organic fertilizer. In the present study, an attempt has been made to prepare soil amendment using various household waste products namely crab shell, clam shell, green mussel shell, coconut shell charcoal and eggshell in a powder form. The percentage mass of Calcium carbonate(CaCO3) in these shell powders were determined using Acid/ Base Titration. The different proportions of these shell powders (2g,4g,6g,8g,10g) were added to the soil to measure germination percentage, relative germination percentage and mean shoot length of Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum). The highest seed germination percentage of 100% was observed in 8g clam shell powder pot and it might be because clam shell contains 77.034% of calcium carbonate. The clam shell powder had the highest mean shoot length at the concentration of 2 gm in the pot which was 18.48cm. It was observed that increased concentration of the clam shell decreases the shoot length. The overall mean shoot length of tomato plants grown in 2g,4g and 6g of shell powders were higher than the mean shoot length of control setup which was 9.63cm. The study suggests that clam shell increases the germination of seeds and shoot length of the tomato seeds in the lesser concentrations when compared to other shells. Clam shells also contain a higher concentration of calcium carbonate when compared to other shells.

Soil amendments, Organic Fertilizer, Solanum lycopersicum, shell waste, germination percentage, relative germination percentage, mean shoot length.

"A study on effect of various soil amendments [crab shell powder, clam shell powder, green mussel shell powder, coconut shell charcoal and eggshell powder] on the growth of Tomato plants ( Solanum lycopersicum)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 1, page no.g452-g462, January-2024, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2401654.pdf

"A study on effect of various soil amendments [crab shell powder, clam shell powder, green mussel shell powder, coconut shell charcoal and eggshell powder] on the growth of Tomato plants ( Solanum lycopersicum)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 1, page no. ppg452-g462, January-2024, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2401654.pdf