Effect of Amendments on Bioavailability of Heavy Metals to Alfalfa and Biomass Yield Irrigated with Wastewater
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 8
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of wastewater irrigation and various amendments on the bioavailability of metals to crops and its yield. Alfalfa was sown in plots receiving different amendments in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Five different amendments, farmyard manure (FYM; ), poultry manure (PM; ), humic acid (HA; ), di-ammonium phosphate (DAP; ), and triple superphosphate (TSP; ) were applied to the soil prior to sowing crop along with a control receiving either wastewater or tubewell without amendments. The plants’ biomass results indicated that wastewater irrigation, when supplied with or without amendment, produced significantly higher yield (56% increase due to HA and wastewater application) than tubewell irrigation, indicating its nutritive value. Concentrations of Cu, Ni, Pb, and Fe accumulated by crop from wastewater were higher (84%, 94%, 112%, and 45%, respectively) and may cause phytotoxicity if untreated wastewater is used in the long term. Application of FYM, HA, and DAP reduced the uptake of metals, probably by forming insoluble complexes with metals; thus, they are recommended as amendments where wastewater is applied to decrease the possibility of heavy metals entering food chain.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are greatly thankful to Prof. Dr. Md. Saghir Khan, Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India for his critical review. Authors are also thankful to Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad, Pakistan for providing financial support.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 8 • August 2016
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 28, 2015
Accepted: Jan 4, 2016
Published online: Mar 9, 2016
Published in print: Aug 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Aug 9, 2016
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