Treated municipal wastewater as option to the use of fresh water for the cultivation of valuable pastoral species Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.)

Abstract

The increasing aridity exacerbated by climatic changes is leading to loss of perennial herbaceous plants Cenchrus ciliaris, an apomictic, polyploid grass used as forage in hot and dry areas, and is currently under threat for the increased scarcity of water. In this study, treated municipal wastewater (TWW) was used to irrigate two ploidy levels of C. ciliaris for two consecutive years. The objectives were (1) to assess the possibility of using unconventional water for watering C. ciliaris and (2) to identify at what extent TWW irrigation affected growth and nutritive properties of C. ciliaris that differed for polyploidy level. TWW irrigation positively affected growth and physiological plant parameters. In leaves of TWW watered C. ciliaris, the concentration of Nt, P and K significantly increased. The tetraploid C. ciliaris showed a better growth and quality than the hexaploid ones, appearing the most suitable cultivar to be irrigated with TWW for feed uses. In short, TWW can be strategically used for irrigating forage species with the double output of ameliorating soil properties, recovering degraded area and improving the nutritive values of fodder species contributing to the promotion of a green and sustainable circular economy, more in climatically under pressure developing countries.

Use of reclaimed urban wastewater for the production of hydroponic barley forage: water characteristics, feed quality and effects on health status and production of lactating cows

“…However, these contaminants were at very low or near zero levels in the RUW used and were not detected in the HBF or in the milk samples collected at the end of the trial, i.e., after 7 weeks of daily feeding with the RUW-produced HBF. Compared to the existing literature, these results are of particular interest, because the use of RUW in traditional forage production systems can leads to feed contamination, exposing animals to an unavoidable microbiological risk (67,(69)(70)(71)(72)) and a dangerous increase in heavy metal intake (73-76).…”