Urban wastewater irrigation and its effect on growth, photosynthesis and yield of chickpea under different doses of potassium

Abstract

The deficiency of potassium (K) has resulted in decreasing the yield and quality of food grains. Moreover, with decreasing water resources the use of wastewater in agriculture as an alternative source of water and nutrients is being debated. This study was therefore undertaken to test wastewater for its suitability as irrigation water together with uniform basal doses of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and varying doses of potassium (K 0, K 20 , K 40 and K 60 ). It was observed that the plants receiving wastewater as a source of irrigation water performed better with a lower K dose. Potassium at 20 kg ha À1 along with wastewater resulted in better growth, photosynthetic rate (P N ), stomatal conductance (g s ) and yield of the chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Thus fertilizer rates could be lowered with the use of wastewater which can serve not only as the source of water but of nutrients also. However, regular monitoring of wastewater and soil for any buildup of heavy metal is necessary. The physical and chemical parameters of wastewater were also tested and most of them were found to be well within the permissible limits as set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Mitigation of Lead (Pb) Toxicity in Rice Cultivated with Ground Water and Waste Water by Application of Acidified Carbon

“…This increase was due to high N, P and K contents of waste water over ground water. Hamid et al 49 also reported similar kind of results. They argued that waste water is a rich source of nutrition for the plants.…”

“…They argued that waste water is a rich source of nutrition for the plants. It not only provide irrigation water for crops cultivation but also has potential to decrease the application rates of inorganic macronutrients fertilizers 49 .…”

Modification of pomological characteristics and flavour components of fruits and virgin olive oil following wastewater irrigation and soil tillage

“…The results related to the effects of the two studied agronomic practices on the olive tree yield were the most encouraging: olive trees responded well to the application of WW, yielding almost 50% higher than trees grown in rainfed conditions. Wastewater (WW) proved beneficial in enhancing the plant growth because it contains substantial amounts of essential nutrients . The enhancement of tree yield under WW irrigation could be due to the adequate supply of NH 4 + or NO 3 − suitable for the growth and development of plants .…”

Nitrogen level affects growth and reactive oxygen scavenging of fenugreek irrigated with wastewater

“…Use of diluted wastewater from the same source produced beneficial effects on Triticosecale Wittm. (Shah et al 2005), Lens culinaris Medikus (Tabassum et al 2007a), Brassica juncea L. (Tabassum et al 2007b), Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench (Kausar 2009, Faizan et al 2014, Kausar & Faizan 2015, Cicer arietinum L. (Tak et al 2010(Tak et al , 2012(Tak et al , 2013, Triticum aestivum L. (Akhtar et al 2012), Capsicum annuum L. (Iqbal et al 2012, Chalkoo et al 2014. Improvement in growth might be due to the presence of nitrogen.…”