title: Irrigating okra with secondary treated municipal wastewater: Observations regarding plant growth and soil characteristics.
abstract: The present study was carried out to probe the agronomic response of hybrid cultivar of okra (Hibiscus esculentus L. var. JK 7315) grown in secondary treated municipal wastewater irrigated soil with field investigations. The concentrations of the municipal wastewater viz., 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% along with the control (groundwater) were used for the irrigation of the H. esculentus. The study revealed that the concentrations of the municipal wastewater showed significant (p < 0.05/p < 0.01) effect on the soil parameters after wastewater fertigation in comparison to groundwater in both the seasons. The maximum agronomic performance of the H. esculentus was recorded with 60% concentration of the municipal wastewater in both the seasons. The contamination factor of heavy metals varied in the H. esculentus plants and soils. In the H. esculentus plants, following fertigation with municipal wastewater, the contamination factor of manganese was the highest, while that of chromium was the lowest. Intermediate contamination factor were observed for zinc, copper, and cadmium. Therefore, secondary treated municipal wastewater can be used as an agro-fertigant after appropriate dilution (up to 60%) to achieve the maximum yield of the H. esculentus.
authors.affiliation: a Agro-ecology and Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science , Gurukula Kangri University , Haridwar ( Uttarakhand ), India.
authors.forename: Vinod
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: a Agro-ecology and Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science , Gurukula Kangri University , Haridwar ( Uttarakhand ), India.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Chopra
authors.affiliation: a Agro-ecology and Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science , Gurukula Kangri University , Haridwar ( Uttarakhand ), India.
authors.forename: Sachin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.affiliation: a Agro-ecology and Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science , Gurukula Kangri University , Haridwar ( Uttarakhand ), India.
authors.forename: Jogendra
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: a Agro-ecology and Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science , Gurukula Kangri University , Haridwar ( Uttarakhand ), India.
authors.forename: Roushan Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Thakur
mesh_terms: D028483:Abelmoschus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D057914:Agricultural Irrigation; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000378:metabolism; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: activated sludge process; contamination factor; crop yield; fertigation; heavy metals; soil nutrients