Wastewater Use: A Debatable Scenario and their Impacts on Crop Production

Abstract

About 90% of freshwater is used in agriculture for crop production and the world is already facing a scarcity of fresh water resources. Changing climate and rainfall pattern urge crops to demand more water while wastewater is excessively available and produce in huge amount which holds a maximum amount of organic matter and nutrients. Freshwater scarcity and demand for more food production urge farmers to use wastewater. Wastewater use has some pros and cons, in pros the addition of organic matter to soil bodies, while in cons are reduction in germination, growth, and yield. Wastewater helps farmers increment soil organic matter, total available macro and micronutrients. The negative effect is due to the addition of toxic material to soil bodies such as heavy metals, and it can't be reduced crop yield if it remains below the toxic limits. But the current scenario of wastewater uses and their positive and negative effects on the yield of crops are still under debate due many researchers showed that crop yield is reduced, and some mentioned that the crop yield increases or effects are insignificant. In this article, discussions are made about the impacts of wastewater irrigation and their correlation to seeds germination, plant growth and yield.