Effect Of Wastewater Irrigation On Soil Environment, Vegetable Yield And Yield Components

The use of wastewater in agriculture either untreated or inadequately treated has become recently popular because of water scarcity and increasing population growth. Utilization of wastewater for agricultural production requires enhanced technology, thus the recourse to Effective Microorganism or EM Technology. This study takes a look at the application of EM Technology in the enhancement of wastewater utilization for irrigation. To this end, two seasonal field experiments were carried out in Jiangning district to determine the effects of wastewater on soil environment, yield and yield components of cabbage (Brassica). Results of pot experiments show that EM mixed with wastewater can decrease irrigation water requirements compared to wastewater alone or clean water. Analysis of field data indicate that for yield response curves irrigation at low level of field capacity increases linearly for all treatments, and EM mixed with wastewater treatment exhibit a great potential water saving irrigation while maintaining reasonable high levels of yields. Results also show that EM Technology improves soil environment and the availability of soil nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus while minimizing the negative impacts of wastewater, thus EM application can provide sustainable and safe agricultural production.