Abstract
Shortage of water in arid and semiarid areas throughout the world makes utilization of marginal water for agricultural irrigation a necessity. The marginal water most used for irrigation in Israel is secondary-treated urban effluents. In spite of the water treatment process, these waters often contain higher levels of bacterial human pathogens than the potable water from which they were derived. Utilization of the treated effluents for irrigation in Israel is strictly regulated according to the water quality and the irrigated crop. Due to health concerns, and a lack of experimental data, the treated effluents are not yet used for irrigation of vegetables. In the present study we have evaluated safety and agronomic issues involved in irrigation of summer melon with secondary-treated urban effluents, administered to the production field by surface and sub-surface drip irrigation according to the national regulations. Two water qualities were compared, secondary-treated wastewater and potable water. The effluents contained higher levels of EC, pH, Na and Cl, N, P, K, microelements, and heavy metals than the potable water. Potable water was applied by surface drip irrigation, and three irrigation regimes were compared for the treated effluents. These included surface irrigation, and subsurface irrigation at 20 or 40 cm below the soil surface. No differences in yield quantity and quality were found between treatments. Na concentrations and SAR levels of the soil were higher under irrigation with the effluent. Contamination by E. coli, fecal coliforms, and total coliform bacteria were found on the melon peel of all treatments, and the quantity and quality of the contamination did not vary significantly between treatments. E. coli and fecal coliforms were found in the surface 0-2 cm soil samples of treatments irrigated with both water qualities by surface drippers, but no contamination was found in the treatments irrigated by subsurface irrigation. The fact that the microbial contamination of the fruit was not prevented by subsurface drip irrigation or by irrigation with fresh water suggests that environmental factors, rather than an irrigation treatment affect, were the cause for the microbial spread. Further analysis is required concerning effects of environmental factors, such as the interaction between weather conditions and distance from the effluent oxidation ponds on temporal geospatial distribution of the bacterial human pathogens and the potential for subsequent contamination of fresh produce in the field.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
The treated effluents contained higher levels of EC, pH and Na than potable water.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“The effluents contained higher levels of”
e1“EC, pH, Na”
e2“microelements, and heavy metals than the potable water”
Claim · model-written summary
The treated effluents contained higher levels of Cl, N and P than potable water.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“The effluents contained higher levels of”
e1“Cl, N, P”
e2“microelements, and heavy metals than the potable water”
Claim · model-written summary
The treated effluents contained higher levels of K, microelements and heavy metals than potable water.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“The effluents contained higher levels of”
e1“K, microelements, and heavy metals”
e2“microelements, and heavy metals than the potable water”
Claim · model-written summary
No differences in yield quantity and quality of summer melon were found between irrigation with secondary-treated urban effluents and potable water treatments.
- Taxon
- summer melon
.jpg?width=60)
Cucumis meloe0 - Treatment
- secondary-treated urban effluentse0
- Outcome
- yield quantity and qualitye1
- Direction
- No differencese1
- Comparator
- potable watere2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“irrigation of summer melon with secondary-treated urban effluents”
e1“No differences in yield quantity and quality were found between treatments”
e2“Two water qualities were compared, secondary-treated wastewater and potable water”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil Na concentrations and SAR levels were higher under irrigation with the effluent.
- Treatment
- irrigation with the effluente0
- Outcome
- Na concentrations and SAR levels of the soile0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“Na concentrations and SAR levels of the soil were higher under irrigation with the effluent”
Claim · model-written summary
E. coli, fecal coliforms and total coliform bacteria contaminated the melon peel in all treatments.
- Taxon
- melonCucumis meloe0
- Organ / stage
- peele0
- Interactor
- E. coli
.jpg?width=60)
Escherichia colie0other - Outcome
- Contaminatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“Contamination by E. coli, fecal coliforms, and total coliform bacteria were found on the melon peel of all treatments”
Claim · model-written summary
The quantity and quality of the contamination on melon peel did not vary significantly between treatments.
- Taxon
- melonsCucumis melot0
- Outcome
- quantity and quality of the contaminatione0
- Direction
- did not vary significantlye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the quantity and quality of the contamination did not vary significantly between treatments”
t0“field-grown melons”
Claim · model-written summary
E. coli and fecal coliforms were found in the surface 0-2 cm soil of treatments irrigated by surface drippers with both water qualities.
- Treatment
- surface dripperse0
- Interactor
- E. coliEscherichia colie0other
- Outcome
- E. coli and fecal coliformse0
- Qualifier
- surface 0-2 cm soil samplese0
Not reportedTaxon
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“E. coli and fecal coliforms were found in the surface 0-2 cm soil samples of treatments irrigated with both water qualities by surface drippers”
Claim · model-written summary
No contamination was found in the treatments irrigated by subsurface irrigation.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“no contamination was found in the treatments irrigated by subsurface irrigation”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest that environmental factors, rather than irrigation treatment, caused the microbial spread, since fruit contamination was not prevented by subsurface drip or fresh-water irrigation.
- Taxon
- melonsCucumis melot0
- Outcome
- microbial spreade0
- Qualifier
- environmental factorse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“suggests that environmental factors, rather than an irrigation treatment affect, were the cause for the microbial spread”
t0“field-grown melons”
The same questions in other papers
irrigation · nutrient: content · Cucumis melo (muskmelon)Positive and negative results
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- positive
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See all 6 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.