Sewage Water Irrigation Research Articles

Effect of conjuctive use of water on yield and production efficiency of irrigated radish crop(Raphanus satuvus L.CV.Pusa chetaki)

This study was conducted during 2001-2002 to evaluate the effect of sewage water irrigation in conjunction with tube-well water on radish crop (Raphanus Sativus L.cv. Pusa Chetaki). The experimentwas laid out in a randomized block design taking four treatments T0(100% tube-well water-Control plot),T1(75% tube-well water+25% sewage water), T2(50% tube-well water+50% sewage water), T3(25% tube-well water+75% sewage water), and T4(100% sewage water). It was observed that the treatment with 100% sewage water provided the maximum yield of radish as compared to other treatments.Irrigation production efficiency was also observed to be significantly higher (38.4kg/m3) with 100% sewage water treatment and found to decrease significantly with decrease in sewage content. The microbialtests showed that the fresh water mixed with 50% or less sewage can be safely used for irrigation. The economic analysis showed that the benefit ratio of 6.66 with the tube-well water and sewage water of 1:1.The study shows that the conjunctive use of sewage and fresh water can decrease the hazardous constituents by improving effluent quality.

Sewage Water Irrigation and Growth Response of Leucaena leucocephala Inoculated With Glomus intrarradices and Application of Organic Matter

Sewage Water Irrigation and Growth Response of Leucaena leucocephala Inoculated With Glomus intrarradices and Application of Organic Matter

Chemical, biochemical, and biological impact of untreated domestic sewage water use on Vertisol and its consequences on wheat (Triticum aestivum) productivity

In the peri-urban areas of central India, sewage water is a valuable resource for agricultural production. In this study, impact of domestic sewage water irrigation for 5 years on Vertisol with no previous history of sewage irrigation was investigated in an ongoing field experiment at Bhopal (India) under subtropical monsoon type climate. The wheat (Triticum aestivum) crop was grown during post-rainy winter season with 30 cm of irrigation (groundwater or sewage water) and four nutrient treatments (T(1), 0; T(2), 100%; T(3), 50%; and T(4), 50% of general recommended doses of NPK + FYM at 10 Mg/ha). Results showed that sewage irrigation of about 150 cm over a period of 5 years resulted significant increases in salinity as well as available fractions of N, P, K, and micronutrients, viz., Zn, Fe, and Mn in soils. Carbon and phosphorus applied through sewage water were accumulated more in subsoil layer compared to topmost plough layer. Soil microbiological activity, as indicated by soil respiration, microbial biomass C, as well as dehydrogenase enzyme activity was higher in sewage water-irrigated soils. There was also significant increase in fungal and actinomycetes as well as total coliform population in such soils. Nutrients supplied through sewage water were not able to raise the productivity of wheat to the level that obtained through fertilizers at the recommended level which indicated that additional nutrients through fertilizers are required to obtain higher productivity of wheat under sewage farming. Protein and Zn content in wheat grains were more when the crop was grown with sewage irrigation. Overall results show that except for increase in coliform population, short duration (5 years) of municipal sewage water irrigation did not have any appreciable harmful effect on soil quality as well as crop productivity; rather, it proved beneficial in improving soil fertility, wheat productivity, and produce quality.

Sewage irrigation increased methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice paddies in southeast China

Greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies under sewage irrigation deserve much attention since domestic sewage effluents are increasingly used for agriculture in developing countries. A field experiment was conducted to simultaneously measure methane (CH 4) and nitrous oxide (N 2O) emissions from rice ( Oryza sativa L.) paddies under sewage and unpolluted river water irrigation in southeast China. The rice paddies were under a local typical water regime, which was characterized by flooding–midseason drainage–reflooding–moist intermittent irrigation but without water logging. Relative to unpolluted river water irrigation, sewage irrigation significantly increased CH 4 and N 2O emissions from rice paddies. Seasonal fluxes of CH 4 averaged 1.51 mg m −2 h −1 for the plots irrigated by river water and 1.92 mg m −2 h −1 for the plots irrigated by sewage. In contrast with river water irrigation, sewage irrigation increased CH 4 by 27% and 33% for paddy plots with and without chemical N addition, respectively. Under sewage irrigation, seasonal fluxes of N 2O-N averaged 26.79 μg m −2 h −1 for the plots without N application and 74.07 μg m −2 h −1 for the plots applied at the rate of 200 kg N ha −1. Relative to river water irrigation, sewage irrigation increased N 2O by 68% and 170% for the plots with and without N application, respectively. The direct emission factor of fertilizer N for N 2O was estimated to be 0.71% for the rice paddies under sewage irrigation and 0.52% for the plots irrigated by river water. Besides direct N 2O emissions, N input by sewage irrigation induced substantial indirect N 2O emission from rice paddies. The results of the net GWPs from CH 4 and N 2O indicate that sewage irrigation would intensify the radiative forcing of rice paddies with midseason drainage and moist irrigation.

Trace Elements Estimation of Canal Water Irrigated vs. Sewage Water Irrigated Vegetables and its Comparison to Food Safety Standards

Trace Elements Estimation of Canal Water Irrigated vs. Sewage Water Irrigated Vegetables and its Comparison to Food Safety Standards

Nutrient Monitoring of Sewage Water Irrigation: Impacts for Soil Quality and Crop Nutrition

Agriculture in the Middle East region, specifically crop production (mainly cereals and food and forage legumes), is invariably limited by low rainfall and thus soil moisture. Although irrigation is contributing to increased yields, its potential is also limited because of few surface‐water sources (rivers, lakes) and declining groundwater tables. The only source of water that is increasing is urban wastewater. Such waters are rarely treated in the Middle East but are nonetheless used for irrigation in perimeters of urban areas. Despite the potential health hazards of using such waters, crop benefits are evident to farmers. This study involved monitoring of the Quake River, south of Aleppo, Syria, where it irrigates about 10,000 ha of mixed crops (e.g., cotton, cereals, oil crops, and vegetables). The water was sampled at various points along the river in winter and summer (1997–98) and again 6 years later (2003) and analyzed for nitrate, ammonium, phosphate, potassium (K), micronutrients, salinity, and pH. A similar suite of analyses, plus organic matter, was done on soil profiles along the river and progressively away from it. The river water was rich in major and micronutrients and, with normal irrigation amounts, was sufficient to supply the needs of most crops, thus avoiding fertilizer use. These nutrients increased in the soil profiles with time. The nutrient value of such untreated wastewater, as well as being a source of irrigation water, re‐enforces the argument for treatment plants to promote the safe use of this valuable resource in a drought‐prone and nutrient‐deficient region.

Fractional loading isotherm of heavy metals in an arid-zone soil

Environmental problems associated with heavy metals in agricultural soils are increasing as a result of reuse of reclaimed sewage water for irrigation, disposal of wastewater sludge and municipal refusal, application of animal waste and atmospheric fallout. The fractional loading isotherm, proposed here, depicts relationships of heavy metals between the total input and individual solid-phase fractions in contaminated soils by combining isotherm and selective sequential dissolution techniques. The redistribution and transformations of copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) in an arid-zone soil were demonstrated through the fractional loading isotherm. The results showed that linear adsorption model better described fractional adsorption data than Freundlich model, and these metals retained in all solid-phase fractions were characterized by linear partitioning behavior under the loading levels used in the present experiments. Fractional loading isotherms not only effectively depicted the transformation direction and pathways, but also reflected effects of the nature of the metals and time period. Compared to the traditional isotherm, fractional loading isotherm is more informative in exploring the adsorption and binding mechanisms, mobility and (bio)availability of metals in the solid-phase components of contaminated soils.

Instances of Soil and Crop Heavy Metal Contamination in China

Both general and specific investigations of soil and crop heavy metal contamination were carried out across China. The former was focused mainly on Cd, Hg, As, Pb, and Cr in soils and vegetables in suburbs of four large cities; the latter investigated Cd levels in both soils and rice or wheat in contaminated areas throughout 15 provinces of the country. The results indicated that levels of Cd, Hg, and Pb in soils and some in crops were greater than the Governmental Standards (Chinese government limits for soil and crop heavy metal contents). Soil Cd ranged from 0.46 to 1.04 mg kg−1, on average, in the four cities and was as high as 145 mg kg−1 in soil and 7 mg kg−1 in rice in the wide area of the country.Among different species, tuberous vegetables seemed to accumulate a larger portion of heavy metals than leafy and fruit vegetables, except celery. For both rice and wheat, two staple food crops, the latter seemed to have much higher concentrations of Cd and Pb than the former grown in the same area. Furthermore, the endosperm of both wheat and rice crops had the highest portion of Cd and Cr. Rice endosperm and wheat chaff accumulated the highest Pb, although the concentrations of all three metals were variable in different parts of the grains. For example, 8.3, 6.9, 1.4, and 0.6 mg kg−1 of Pb were found in chaff, cortex, embryo, and endosperm of wheat compared with 0.11, 0.65, 0.71, and 0.19 mg kg−1 in the same parts of rice, respectively.Untreated sewage water irrigation was the major cause of increasing soil and crop metals. Short periods of the sewage water irrigation increased individual metals in soils by 2 to 80% and increased metals in crops by 14 to 209%. Atmospheric deposition, industrial or municipal wastes, sewage sludge improperly used as fertilizers, and metal-containing phosphate fertilizers played an important role as well in some specific areas.

Soil fertility management in fodder cultivated area through sewage water irrigation

Field experiments were conducted at AC & RI, Madurai to study the effect of sewage effluent on nutrient availability in soils besides improving the fodder yield and quality" of bajra napier hybrid grass (BN 2). Field experiments were conducted in a spilt plot design with two irrigation sources viz., ordinary water (1,) and sewage effluent (1) as main plots and four N leves viz., 0, 50, 75 and 100 kg N ha as sub plot treatments with three replications. BN 2 grass was grown as a test crop. The analyses of sewage effluent collected at periodic intervals showed that the sewage effluent was alkaline in reaction (pH 8.3). non-saline (EC: 1.1-1.5 dSm-1). The total N, P, K, Ca and Mg contents ranged from 220-700 ppm, 3-14 ppm, 16-268 ppm, 18-292 ppm and 19-134 ppm, respectively. The micronutrients like Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe ranged from traces 0.18, traces- 0.06, 0.03- 0.21 and traces-12.84 ppm respectively. The heavy metals like selenium and cadmium were absent whereas lead, chromium and nickel were present in trace amounts. The bacterial, fungi and actinomycetes population in sewage water were 3.55 x 10'ml-1, 2.68 x 10'ml-1 and 5.55 x 10'ml, respectively. Periodic soil samples were taken after 2nd, 4th and 8th cuts during first year and after 4th and 8th cuts during second year. Addition of increased levels of N increased the available N content in soil. Irrigation with sewage effluent increased the organic carbon content (0.96%) compared to ordinary water (0.65%). A built up in soil available N, K and organic carbon content was observed due to sewage effluent irrigation.

Efficient utilization of sewage water for improving the forage yield and quality of bajra-napier hybrid grass

Field experiments were conducted at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai to compare the effect of sewage effluent on yield and quality of Bajra Napier hybrid grass with two irrigation sources viz.. ordinary water (1,) and sewage effluent (1) as main plots and four N levels viz, 0, 50, 75 and 100 kg N ha-1 as sub plot treatment in a split plot design with three replications. BN 2 grass was grown as a test crop. Among the different levels of N, application of 100 kg N ha-1 recorded the highest green fodder (303 t ha-1). dry matter (61 ha-1) and crude protein (5.26 t ha-1) yield. Sewage effluent irrigation increased the green fodder, dry fodder and crude protein yield. The interaction effect between sewage effluent irrigation and N showed that 100 kg N ha with sewage effluent irrigation recorded the highest green fodder yield of 357 t ha-1, dry matter yield of 72 t ha-1 and crude protein yield of 6.37 tha. Sewage water irrigation showed increased total K, Ca, Fe, Mn and Zn content in BN 2 grass. The oxalic acid content was within the safe limit at all the levels of N tried (2.04- 2.08%) and with sewage effluent irrigation (2.14-2.61%). A decrease in crude fibre content was observed due to the increased addition of N at both the source of irrigation because of involvement of N in protein synthesis and consequent reduction in carbohydrate, ultimately leading to better digestibility of the grass.

Sewage water irrigation effects on some potentially toxic trace elements in soil and potato plants in northwestern India

Sewage water is used for irrigation to improve crop yields, but it may affect the soil and crop quality. The effects of discharging the effluents of a leather complex on the concentrations of some potentially toxic elements (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Al, As, Cr and Ni) in sewage water and the effects of irrigation with contaminated sewage water on the concentrations of these elements in soils and in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) leaves and tubers were studied near Jalandhar city, Punjab, in northwestern India. Two treatments were 10 yr of irrigation with 300 mm of sewage water + 300 mm of ground water per annum (SW) and with 600 mm of ground water per annum (GW). Soils of the study fields were Typic Ustochripts with sandy to loamy sand texture. The concentrations of all elements except As increased following the addition of leather complex effluents in the sewage water, with the biggest increase in the concentration of Cr (from 2.7 mg to 14.0 mg Cr L−1). The SW treatment increased concentrations of all elements in soil except As, and the increase was significant to 60 cm depth for Fe, Mn, Zn, Al and Ni and to 30 cm depth for Cu and Cr. Irrigation with SW also increased the concentrations of these elements in potato leaves and tubers and the increase was generally higher in leaves than in tubers. The proportional increase of Cu, Fe, Zn and Al was less in plants than in soils, that of Mn and Cr was almost similar in plants and in soil, and that of Ni was more in plants than in soil. These elements, which accumulate in soils and crops, may become health hazards to humans and/or animals. Therefore, continued monitoring of the concentrations of potentially toxic elements in soil and plants and/or treatment of sewage water before using for irrigation is needed. Key words: Irrigation, leather industry effluent, Solanum tuberosum, potentially toxic elements, sewage water

Effect of sewage water irrigation on growth performance, biomass and nutrient accumulation in Hardwickia binata under nursery conditions

The effects of different concentrations of sewage water (0, 25, 50 and 100%) on growth performance, biomass and nutrient accumulation of Hardwickia binata growing under nursery conditions were examined. Maximum growth was observed at the 50% concentration of sewage water application. Biomass (g/plant) and leaf area (cm 2) of the H. binata seedlings treated with sewage water (50%) showed an increase over the control. Photosynthetic pigments and total soluble protein decreased with an increased concentration of sewage water application. At the higher concentration of sewage water applications, the accumulation of both nitrogen and phosphorus in different components of H. binata seedlings was as follows; root > stem > leaves. The accumulation of heavy metals resulting from short-term application of sewage water was in the following order; Mn > Zn > Pb > Cu. The sewage water concentration at 75 and 100% retarded the growth of seedlings and only the 50% concentration was suitable for growth of H. binata seedlings.

Quality of ‘Flamekist’ nectarine fruits from an orchard irrigated with reclaimed sewage water

SummaryThe effect of irrigation of an orchard of nectarine (Prunus persica L. cv. Flamekist) with reclaimed sewage water on fruit quality and storability was investigated during two seasons. Irrigation with reclaimed sewage water was also combined with additional nitrogen fertilizer, summer pruning, and reduced irrigation during the month before harvest, and compared with fruits from trees irrigated with fresh water. Average fruit size was unaffected by the treatments, although there was a higher percentage of fruits larger than 70 mm in diameter from trees irrigated with fresh water. Trees with additional nitrogen fertilizer had fewer fruits and delayed ripening. The treatments did not affect firmness or titratable acidity at harvest, but fruits from trees irrigated with sewage water had higher soluble solids than those from fresh water irrigation. Summer pruning further enhanced, and extra nitrogen decreased, soluble solids in one out of two seasons. After six weeks of controlled atmosphere storage 35-50% of the fruits from fresh water and from sewage water irrigation had healthy flesh, but fruits from fresh water were less juicy. The only treatment which gave a majority of fruits with acceptable eating quality (80 to 90%) was reduced irrigation with reclaimed sewage water during the month before harvest.

Effect of sewage water on chemical properties and heavy metals content of El Gabal El Asfar sandy soils

Nine soil profiles were taken from the El Gabal El Asfar area, 25 km north east of Cairo, to investigate the effect of prolonged irrigation with sewage water, for up to 70 years, on chemical properties and heavy metal accumulation of the sandy soils. Eight profiles represented soils cultivated with citrus trees and irrigated with sewage water for 5,20,30,40,50,60 and 70 years. The remaining one was from an uncultivated virgin area. Prolonged irrigation with sewage water for 70 years decreased the pH, especially in the upper layer. EC decreased with sewage water irrigation for 30 years then increased. EC of irrigated soil was lower than that of unirrigated, and was higher in the upper layer than in the subsoil. The content of sulphate and chloride followed that of total soluble salts, whilst bicarbonate increased with duration of irrigation. Total and soluble nitrogen, as well as available phosphorus, increased with prolonged application of sewage water; maximum accumulation was in the upper layers of the soil. A similar distribution of lithium and heavy metals was found. Variation in soluble boron was small, the highest concentration being in the subsoil. The concentration of lithium and heavy metals in the soils was within the permissible limits and below that causing toxic effects on plant growth.