Abstract

To study the impact of brick kiln emissions on plant growth and productivity, a study was conducted on various biochemical parameters of three main vegetables Brassica oleracea L., Phaseolus vulgaris L., and Solanum melongena L. cultivated in the vicinity of the brick kiln area of the Panzan village of district Budgam (J&K). Plants in the vicinity of brick kilns are direct recipients of emissions and therefore important materials for assessing potential effects of kiln pollutants. The biochemical values of all the three vegetables of the brick kiln site when compared to the control site are significantly ( P ≤ 0.05) different. The findings of the present work depict that the brick kilns are the prime reason for the deterioration of important consumable vegetables, which could lead to chaos in the food security of the area in concern besides a threat to local people in terms of health if proper pollution control devices or the replacement of brick kilns are not put in place with new technology.

Results of the current study provide evidence that brick kiln emissions are a significant risk to vegetable plants in Panzan area of district Budgam. As a result, it depicts that brick kilns are the prime reason for the deterioration of important consumable vegetables, which could lead to both food as well as health concern among the local population. Also this is a serious threat to millions of people depending on the vegetables grown near such kiln emission areas. The imbalance in the biochemical constituents in vegetables will lead to serious consequences on the overall living standard of exposed people in the near future if mushrooming of brick kilns is not controlled or replaced with new technology.