Yield and Water Productivity of Capsicum under Different Concentrations of Treated Municipal Wastewater

Abstract

T he available water resources are depleting and planners are compelled to search for alternate options, which might be used economically and effectively to cope with the emerging situation. At the same time, with population expanding at a high rate, the need for increased food production and in turn water consumption is apparent (Murtaza and Zia, 2012).Among others, reuse of treated municipal wastewater may be a viable option. It is estimated that 4.36 billion cubic meters (BCM) of wastewater is generated annually in Pakistan, Out of which industrial waste-water is 1.30 BCM/year and domestic wastewater is 3.06 BCM/year (Izhar-ul-Haq, 2017).If planned properly, use of municipal wastewater eliminates surface water pollution problems and not only conserves valuable water resources, but, also the nutrients contained in sewage are beneficial to grow crops (Tamer et al., 2014).Use of wastewater in agriculture has significant benefits, but can also pose considerable risks to human health especially when untreated wastewater is used for irrigating crops. Wastewater percolation into groundwater aquifer can cause environmental risks in the form of soil and groundwater pollution. However, Abstract | The use of wastewater in agriculture sector is growing worldwide because freshwater resources are depleting.Waste water is considered suitable for growing vegetables after appropriate treatment. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the yield response factor of capsicum to different concentrations of municipal wastewater treatments through bioremediation. Four irrigation treatments were applied by using potable and wastewater in different ratios. These treatments were T 1, T 2, T 3 and T 4 (100% treated wastewater, 66% treated wastewater and 34% potable water, 34% treated wastewater and 66% potable water and 100% potable water respectively). In treatment T 1, the highest yields and crop water productivities of capsicum were 46.43 tons/ha and 9.43 Kg/m 3 in 2017 while 46.56 tons/ha and 9.49 Kg/m 3 were obtained in 2018 respectively . Results showed that yield response factor and water productivity of capsicum irrigated with treated waste water was 18% and 16% in 2017 and 2018 respectively which was higher than potable water. The level of essential nutrients in the waste water is higher as compared to potable water. From results it was concluded that waste water can be used for growing capsicum for increasing yield and water productivity.