Sustainable Use of Sewage Sludge for Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) Cultivation: Experimental and Predictive Modeling Studies on Heavy Metal Accumulation

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of sewage sludge (SS) amendment on growth, yield, and biochemical attributes marigold (Tagetes erecta L. var. Pusa Basanti Gainda) crop. For this purpose, flowers were cultivated using three different treatments SS, i.e., 0% (control with no SS), 5%, 10%. Multiple linear regression (MLR) modeling was performed develop prediction models for soil properties heavy metals uptake by plants. results showed that plants significantly (p < 0.05) increased an increase in SS dose from 0 most feasible treatment found be 10%, which achieved a maximum flower yield 318.42 g/plant. On other hand, bioaccumulation factor (BAF) values (>1) plant capable uptaking significant contents six order Cd Cr Cu Zn Mn Fe. MLR-based predictive precisely predicting metal as indicated coefficient determination (R2 > 0.73), model efficiency (ME 0.49), root mean square error (RMSE 3.25), analysis variance (ANOVA; p results. Overall, presented novel approach floriculture sustainable management while reducing public health environmental impacts.