title: Enzyme and fungal treatments and a combination thereof reduce olive mill wastewater phytotoxicity on Zea mays L. seeds.
abstract: The phytotoxicity of olive-mill wastewater (OMW) has been suggested to be mainly due to its phenolic components. This study investigated the impact of three different low-cost dephenolization treatments on the wastewater phytotoxicity. To this aim, germinability of maize (Zea mays L.) seeds sown on a sandy-loamy soil which had been spread with different volumes (from 40 to 160m(3)ha(-1)) of either biologically-treated OMW or relative incubation control was determined. Biological treatments included either Panus tigrinus liquid cultures or incubation with commercial laccase (1UIml(-1)) or an innovative sequential combination of laccase and P. tigrinus cultures. All treatments markedly reduced phytotoxicity and promising results were obtained with commercial laccase. In fact, germinability and mean germination times in soil spread with laccase-treated OMW, did not significantly differ from those observed in soil irrigated with tap water (control) up to OMW volumes of 120m(3)ha(-1). Although the highest phenol reduction (ca. 81%) was obtained by the sequential use of laccase and P. tigrinus, the feasibility of the enzyme treatment is undoubtedly more convincing under the technological point of view.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Agrobiologia e Agrochimica, University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo de Lellis snc I-01100 Viterbo, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Quaratino
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Annibale
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Federici
authors.forename: Carlo Fausto
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Cereti
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rossini
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fenice
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000378:metabolism*; D019149:Bioreactors; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D018525:Germination / Q000187:drug effects*; D042845:Laccase / Q000378:metabolism*; D031658:Olea / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D010636:Phenols / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D010636:Phenols; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D042845:Laccase