Effects of irrigation with treated agro-industrial wastewater on soil chemical characteristics and fungal populations during processing tomato crop cycle

Abstract

This study was carried out in 2012 at Stornarella (Italy; 41° 15'29" N; 15° 43'56" E; 154 m a.s.l.). We investigated the effects of reuse of secondary treated agro-industrial wastewater for irrigation, in comparison with conventional groundwater, and we monitored soil chemical characteristics and fungal populations during the crop cycle of processing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Compared to the groundwater, the wastewater had significantly higher electrical conductivity, total suspended solids, sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium adsorption ratio, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand over five days, ammoniumnitrogen, phenols, bicarbonates, phosphates, sulphates and chlorides. Most of these parameters were significantly greater also in the wastewater-irrigated soil. During the tomato crop cycle, there were significant shifts in the structure of the soil microfungal community. Saprophytic species increased in the wastewater-treated soil, while phytopathogens such as Fusarium oxysporum progressively decreased. More investigations into the mechanisms by which wastewater acts on disease suppression is needed to make the use of such wastewaters more predictable. The irrigation water source did not significantly affect the qualitative traits of the crop yield. For both irrigation treatments, the most important qualitative parameters that characterized the processing tomato fruit (i.e., dry matter content, pH, soluble solid content, colour parameters) were in agreement with reports in the literature.

Irrigation with Treated Municipal Wastewater on Artichoke Crop: Assessment of Soil and Yield Heavy Metal Content and Human Risk

“…Water samples were collected and analyzed six times during the two growing seasons. In particular, during GS 1 water samples were taken at 5,71,128,191,247, 300 days after transplanting (S W1 -S W6 ), while during GS 2 , they were taken at 2, 58, 113, 185, 245, 303 days after transplanting (S W7 -S W12 ). The samples were taken as three replications using 1000 mL sterile glass bottles, transported in refrigerated bags to the laboratory, and were stored in a refrigerator at 4 • C. To prevent microbial activity, 1 mL concentrated HNO 3 was added to each water sample.…”

“…Industrial and municipal treated wastewaters are often used for irrigation of agricultural fields, particularly in arid and semi-arid countries, because this represents the most attractive option for alleviating the pressure on freshwater resources [1][2][3][4]. Moreover, wastewaters may represent a significant nutrient source for plants that are grown in low fertility soils [5,6]. However, in addition to plant nutrients, wastewaters may contain various potentially toxic mineral elements and organic matter, and these components can have harmful effects on human and animal health [7].…”

Impact of Potentially Contaminated River Water on Agricultural Irrigated Soils in an Equatorial Climate

“…Also, the ability to reduce fertilizer inputs due to the nutrient content of wastewater motivates farmers to use these waters to irrigate crops, and the application to cropland is often seen as being an environmentally acceptable disposal method for effluents [13,14,18]. Positive effects on soil biodiversity following wastewater application have also been reported [19].…”

Utilización de efluentes urbanos tratados para la producción de brócoli mediante riego por goteo subterráneo

“…El uso de aguas residuales en agricultura constituye una herramienta valiosa para reducir la contaminación ambiental y enfrentar el desafío de incrementar la producción agrícola con un recurso hídrico escaso (Sáenz Forero, 2006). En muchos lugares, los efluentes urbanos son vertidos directamente al cauce de los ríos, contaminando estos cursos de agua y provocando su eutroficación, y aumentando el riesgo de trasmisión de enfermedades a la población humana (Crespi, Camacho y Polo, 2009;Disciglio et al, 2015). El uso de efluentes en sistemas agrícolas no solo garantiza una fuente constante y segura de agua, sino también un aporte de nutrientes para los cultivos (González y Rubalcaba, 2011;Moazeni et al, 2017), posibilitando un importante ahorro en la utilización de fertilizantes de síntesis química (Tran, Schwabe y Jassby, 2016;Vergine et al, 2017).…”