S. K. Biswas
Senior Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
M. S. Rahman
Senior Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
A. R. Akanda
Principal Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
P. K. Sarkar
Principal Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
I. Hossain
Principal Scientific Officer
AWRC, Rajshahi
A field experiment was conducted in Barind area, Terokhada, Rajshahi during the winter season of 2011-2012 to investigate the suitability and effect of urban wastewater for irrigating maize crop. No significant yield differences were found among the treatments of fresh water-irrigation with full fertilizer doses, wastewater irrigation with three fourth of fertilizer doses, and wastewater irrigation with full fertilizer doses (T1, T4 and T5). Water quality parameters like pH, NO3-N, N, P, K, S, Zn, Na, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe and Mn of urban wastewater did not exceed the limit of standards for agricultural use to comply with WHO, FAO, DoE and GoB guidelines. On the other hand, EC, TDS, and B levels were found to be ranged from slight to moderate variations from the standards for irrigation. The nutrients of N, P, K, Zn and B added into the soil through wastewater irrigation ranging from 24% to 99% of standard fertilizer doses. The soil properties like OM, EC, N, P, K, S and B, were found to be increased to a considerable level in the wastewater-irrigated soil (T2-T5) including erratic changes in pH, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu level.
Barind area, wastewater irrigation, maize, water quality
Terokhada, Rajshahi
Crop-Soil-Water Management
The study was conducted to investigate the suitability and effect of urban wastewater for irrigating maize crop.
The experiment was conducted with Maize (Variety: BARI Hybrid Maize-5) crop at the farmer’s field in Terokhada, Rajshahi during 2011-2012. The soil was a silty clay loam having a bulk density of 1.44 gm/cc and field capacity of 29.57%. A total of five treatments were tested. The treatments were as follows:
T1 = Irrigations with fresh water and full standard fertilizer doses (N250 P20 K100 S10 Zn0.75 B0.5 kg/ha)
T2 = Irrigations with wastewater and zero fertilizer doses
T3 = Irrigations with wastewater and ½ of standard fertilizer doses (N125 P10 K50 S5 Zn0.38 B0.25 kg/ha)
T4 = Irrigations with wastewater and ¾ of standard fertilizer doses (N188 P15 K90 S7.5 Zn0..56 B0.38 kg/ha)
T5 = Irrigations with wastewater and full standard fertilizer doses (N250 P20 K100 S10 Zn0.75 B0.5 kg/ha)
The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The unit plot size was 5 m× 4 m. Maize seeds @ 30 kg/ha were planted on 26 November 2011 with a spacing of 75×25 cm. Irrigations were applied four times to each of the treatment and these were: irrigation at 25 days after sowing (DAS), 45 DAS, 70 DAS and 90 DAS. Wastewater of Rajshahi city and freshwater of a nearby pond was used as irrigation water. Plants were randomly selected from different plots of the treatments for measuring the average values of the yield contributing parameters (i.e. plant height, plant population, cob/plants etc) at harvest on 26 April 2012. All the collected data were analyzed statistically using the MSTAT program.
BARI Annual Report 2011-2012
Urban wastewater provides not only an opportunity for dry season irrigation-water availability to the farmers, but also a source of high nutrient materials to increase crop yield, and reduce the need for costly fertilizer inputs. From the above findings, it is evident that more than 25% of standard fertilizer doses can be saved if wastewater is used for irrigation. The application of wastewater to cropland can improve organic matter and nutrient status (P, K, B, S,) of the soil which may help next cropping. Urban wastewater irrigation with properly reduced fertilizer management can be a profitable option for maize cultivation.
Report/Proceedings