Paper Details

Effect of irrigation with municipal wastewater effluent on selected chemical properties of three calcareous soils and heavy metals concentration in corn

Solmaz Ahmadifard, Mahmoud Kalbasi

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/5.2.133-138

Int. J. Biosci. 5(2), 133-138. July, 2014. (PDF)

Abstract:

Water is a vital resource but a severely limited one in most countries, due to water restrictions and increased water consumption using wastewater is considered as a solution to resolve agricultural water requirement. A study was carried out to investigate the effect irrigation with municipal wastewater effluent on selected chemical properties of three calcareous soils and heavy metals concentration in corn grown in the soils and irrigated with the wastewater. Surface soil samples (0-30 cm) were collected from Najafabad, Khatoonabad and Lenjan areas in Isfahan province, Iran.A pot experiment consisted of 2 irrigation treatments including irrigation with tap water and with wastewater and 3 soils was conducted in the green house. Plants were grown in pots and they were irrigated with urban water effluent for 70 days. Wastewater was collected weekly from Shahinshahr water treatment facilities. Soil and plant samples were analyzed after corn harvest. Soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and selected soil properties including total nitrogen and selected heavy metals were determined in soil extracts. Selected heavy metals and micronutrients concentration were also determined in corn .Results indicated that soil irrigated with wastewater had a larger EC, organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN), available potassium (K), and nickel (Ni) content but lower pH. Irrigation with waste water did not increase concentration of heavy metals in corn.