Article-52

Eco. Env. & Cons. 24 (4) : 2018; pp. (1819-1823)

Copyright@ EM International
ISSN 0971–765X

Effect of city sewage wastewater irrigation on the

nutrient and heavy metal status of soil and crops
Afroza Akhter1*, Abdul Rashid Dar1, Irfana Amin1 and Arif Inam2

1
Assistant Professor’s, Department of Botany, Abdul Ahad Azad Memorial Degree College
Bemina, Srinagar 190 018, Jammu and Kashmir
2
Plant Physiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002,
India

(Received 12 December, 2017; accepted 24 January, 2018)

ABSTRACT
In India, city sewage and industrial effluents are being judiciously used for enhancing the productivity of
crops but this practice usually results in the accumulation of toxic substances in the soil and also in the
crops. Keeping this view in mind, a pot experiment was conducted to study the nutrient and heavy metal
status of soil, irrigant (city sewage wastewater); legumes and oleferous seeds. Physico-chemical characteristics
of sewage wastewater met the irrigation quality requirements and were within the permissible limits
videFAO’S water quality guidelines. However, some heavy metals viz., Mn,Co,Cu,Cr and Cd exceeded the
corresponding permissible limits. As such, the soil and various vegetative organs and the seeds showed the
higher concentration of heavy metal.

Key words: Legumes, Oleferous crops, Heavy metals & City sewage wastewater

Intoduction al., 2009; Vasudevan et al., 2010). Indian Farmers are

As fresh water reserves are rapidly depleting. This
is expected to significantly impact many densely
populated areas of the world, both developed and
developing countries will face water stress in future,
unless existing water resources are managed effec-
tively. Although developing countries have low per
capita water consumption, inefficient use of water
resources across sectors is expected to lead to water
scarcity in the future. Keeping in view these limita-
tions and to meet the irrigational demands, waste-
water irrigation is becoming an attractive practice
for agriculture as its use not only provides N and P
but also helps in water conservation, recycling of
nutrients in wastewater, reducing direct fertilizer
inputs and minimizing pollution loads to the receiv-
ing water bodies (Hylander et al., 2007; Thapliyal et
turning to these non-conventional resources to meet
irrigation water demand. This practice increases
crop productivity but results in the accumulation of
toxic substances as sewage is usually contaminated
with obnoxious pollutants such as heavy metals and
polychlorinated substances from the domestic and
industrial wastes that enter the sewer system (Shah
et al., 2004). This usually results in the build-up of
heavy metals in the food chain while as the major
plant nutrients present in the sewage are subject to
crop removal and leaching. The objectives of
present study was to assess the impact of city sew-
age wastewater on the nutrient and metal status of
soil and different crops viz., chickpea, mungbean,
mustard and linseed irrigated with city sewage
waste water.

*Corresponding author’s email : afrozatak5174@gmail.com

1820 Eco. Env. & Cons. 24 (4) : 2018

Materials and Methods sential inorganicplant nutrientsviz.,NO3-N, total ni-

trogen, potassium and total carbon was appreciably
A pot experiment was conducted during the rabi high in city sewage wastewater (APHA, 2005).
season of 2010-2011 in the net house of Plant Physi- Comparatively higher amounts of essential nutri-
ology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Aligarh ents viz., N, P, K may lead to luxuriant growth of
Muslim University, Aligarh for studying the effect crops if utilized properly by plants, thus can also
of city sewage wastewater on the nutrient and augment the use of inorganic fertilizers (Tabassum,
heavy metal status of soil and various crops viz., 2013). Moreover, the concentration of Cu, Mn, Co,
mustard (Brassica juncea), linseed (Linumusita Cr and Cd enhanced the permissible limits in irriga-
ttissimum), chickpea (Cicer arientum) and mungbean tion water indicating the pollution level, resulting in
(Vigna radiata). The soil used for pot filling was ob- accumulation of these nutrients in irrigated soils
tained from the farmers field. A composite soil and also in plant part.
sample was taken before pot filling and after the The soil analysis (Table 1) revealed that its tex-
harvest of crops kept in polythene bags with proper ture as sandy loam with an alkaline pH which is
labelling and both the soils were analysed for vari- consideredgood for root growth and nutrient up-
ous parameters according to Ghosh et al. (1983), take. But the value of pH was lower in the soil when
Table (1). Soil for heavy metals was analysed by analysed after harvest. Similar drop in pH of soil as
atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The seeds a result of sewage wastewater irrigation was re-
used for the experimental work were procured from ported by Rattan et al. (2005). There was build up of
IARI, (Delhi). Before sowing, the seeds were surface heavy metals viz., Pb, Cd, Cr, Co and Ni in city sew-
sterilised with alcohol and then sowed in earthen age irrigated soil, (Fig. 1) however their range was
pots of 10 inch diameter. These pots were irrigated lower than normal range as proposed by Tietjen
daily with city sewage wastewater which was col- (1977) and by Market et al., (1990). Similarly the con-
lected in plastic jerry cans from the municipal waste centration of carbonates, bicarbonates, chlorides,
water drain going along the Mathura road, Aligarh, total organic carbon and total phosphorous were
India. These jerry cans containing city sewage also high.
wastewater were transported to the Laboratory and
sampling was done within 24 hours according to Table 1. Physico-chemical characteristics of soil. All de-
APHA(2005). The leaves, straw and seeds of various terminations in mgL -1 (except for pH and elec-
plants were analysed for various nutrients and trical conductivity)
heavy metals. The material used for sampling was
Parameters Before sowing After harvest
first dried in a hot air oven at 800C for two days and
then powdered with a mortar and pestle. The ash PH
7.01 6.22
was equilibrated with 2M Hcl and supernatant Electrical conductivity 3.2 3.00
analysed for Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cr and Pb by atomic Chloride 275 312
absorption spectrophotometer by model variant Total carbonates 15 20
Total bicarbonates 55 81
AA975.
Total phosphorus 17 26
Organic Carbon 3 6
Results and Discussion Pb 0.09 27
Cd 0 0.7
Sewage wastewater possesses a high chemical oxy- Cu 0 25
gen demand (COD) representing the pollution level. Zn 0 8
The tolerance limit of some of the parameters pre- Mn 1.5 298
scribed for the discharge of sewage wastewater on Fe 3 1900
land by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) are pH: Ni 0.09 6
Co 0.07 2.5
5.9-9.0, total solids: 2100 mgL-1, BOD: 500 mgL-1,
Cr 1.5 0.6
COD: 250 mgl-1 and chlorine 600 mgL-1. Above 70
mgL-1 sodium is known to cause specific toxicity to
plants. However in wastewater, the value for so- The four crops were tested for some heavy met-
dium was far below the level. The pH of the effluent als like Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb (Table 4) and fortunately
was nearly neutral (Fig. 2). The concentration of es- their concentration was within the permissible lim-
AKHTER ET AL 1821

its corroborating the findings of Pendias and higher accumulation in leaves may be due to large
Pendias (1984). The highest concentration of Cd, Cu canopies expressed as leaf area which puts an exten-
and Pb was found in the leaves followed by stems sive demand on the roots to extract more available
and seeds of mungbean (Table 5) but were within nutrients .The enhanced leaf area may be due to
the permissible critical limits (WHO, 1989). The wastewater application which might have allowed
plants to trap more radiant energy required for en-
Table 2. Physico-chemical characteristics of sewage
wastewater. All determinations in mgL-1 (ex-
cept pH and electrical conductivity)
Parameter Sewage wastewater
pH 6.9
EC 10.5
BOD 302.1
COD 515.3
Chloride 190.0
Total carbonates 62.0
Bicarbonates 2.1
Organic carbon 5.4
Nitrate Nitrogen 2.1
Total Nitrogen 13.4 Fig. 3. Concentration of heavy metals in the city sewage
Sodium 15.0 waste water. All determinations in mgL-l.
Potassium 18.0
Table 3. Concentration of heavy metals in the city sew-
age wastewater. All determinations in mgL-l
Parameters Sewage wastewater
Pb 0.19
Cd 0.13
Cr 0.37
Cu 0.39
Zn 0.72
Mn 2.02
Fe 3.07
Ni 0.11
Co 0.17
Fig. 1. Physico-chemical characteristics of soil (before
sowing) and after harvest (city sewage irrigated Table 4. Heavy metal concentration mg-KG in leaves (av-
soil). erage of three samples)
Crops Cd Cu Zn Cr Pb
Mustard 1.29 0.33 0.56 0.46 1.56
Linseed 1.89 0.17 0.69 0.23 1.78
Chickpea 2.32 0.26 1.55 0.21 1.99
Mungbean 2.52 0.86 0.36 0.17 2.01

Table 5. Heavy metal concentration mg-KG in the stems of

different crops
Crops Cd Cu Zn Cr Pb
Mustard 0.021 0.22 0.47 0.33 1.47
Fig. 2. Physico-chemical characteristics of sewage waste- Linseed 0.019 0.19 0.42 0.49 1.09
water. All determinations in mgL-1(except pH and Chickpea 0.012 0.42 0.78 0.31 2.01
electrical conductivity). Mungbean 0.081 0.62 0.28 0.52 1.58
1822 Eco. Env. & Cons. 24 (4) : 2018

hanced photosynthetic activity which in turn might

have increased the yield (Hayat et al., 2000). These
findings are in agreement with some of the earlier
reports (Veer and Lata, 1987; Aziz, 1991; et al.,
2003). The lower value of these metal ions in seeds
(Table 6) may be a dilution effect phenomenon, thus
leading to less accumulation in seeds (Akhter, 2008).
The overall higher concentration of heavy metal
ions in mungbean (Fig. 6) may be attributed to the
differences in their genetic makeup and also the
pattern of their growth as different crops (Akhter,
Fig. 6. Heavy metal concentration mg-KG in the seeds of
2014). As a result these plants respond differently to
different crops
added concentration of metal ions in sewage waste-
water. Similarly among two oil seed crops, mustard
accumulated less concentration of metals as com- Conclusion
pared to I in seed. The present studies are in confor-
mity with the results of Hussain et al. (2006) who Though the present study proved that the city sew-
also reported that uptake and accumulation of age waste water can be effectively used as a substi-
heavy metals in plant parts varied according to ele- tute for ground water as an irrigant for enhancing
ment, plant species and organs. The results of productivity of cropsbut there is a need for continu-
present study are also in conformity with those of ous monitoring of the concentrations of potentially
Allaway (1968) and Barman et al. (2000) while work- hazardous heavy metal elements in soil and plants.
ing on distribution of heavy metals in wheat and So that their build up in soil and plants may be
mustard. avoided. Also, its use as an irrigant for crops may
minimize the problem of its disposal.

Acknowledgement

The authors are highly obliged to Prof. ArifInam for

his guidance, cooperation and valuable criticism
during the course of this study.

References

Akhter, A., Inam, A. and Inam, A. 2008. Response of mus-

Fig. 4. Heavy metal concentration mg -KG
in leaves (aver- tard and linseed to thermal power plant wastewa-
age of three samples). ter supplemented with nitrogen and phosphorus.
African Journal of Plant Sciences. 2 : 67-71.
Allaway, W.H. 1968. Agronomic Controls Over The Environ-
mental Cycling of Trace Elements. Adv. Agron.20: 235-
274. World countries having economical and techno-
logical constraints.
APHA, 2005. Standard Methods for Examination of Water and
Wastewater. 21st ed. American Public Health Associa-
tion, WashingtonD.C.
Ayub, S., Hussain, A. and Abad, R.K. 2011.Wastewater
characterization in urban urban areas : Acase study
of Aligarh city, U.P, India. J. Chem. Pharm. Res. 3 (1):
685-697.
Aziz, O., Inam, A. and Samiullah, A. 1999. Utilization of
petrochemical industry waste water for agriculture.
Fig. 5. Heavy metal concentration mg-KG in the stems of Water Air Soil Pollnt. 115 : 321-335.
different crops Barman, F.P., Sahu, R.K., Bhargava, S.K. and Chatterjee, C.
AKHTER ET AL
2000. Distribution of heavy metals in wheat,mustard
and wheat grown in field irrigated with industrial
effluents. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and
Toxicology. 6 : 489-496.
Gosh, A.B., Bajaj, J.C., Hassan, R. and Singh, D. 1983. Soil
and Water Testing Methods : A Laboratory Manual,
IARI, New Delhi.
Hayat, S., Ahmad, I., Azam, Z.M., Ahmad, A., Inam, A.
and Samiullah, A. 2006. Impact of treated wastewa-
ter from an oil refinery on growth and yield of Bras-
sica juncea and on heavy metal accumulation in the
seeds and soil.J. Environ Studies Policy. 3 : 51-39.
Hussain, F.H., Khalifa, R.Kh. M., El-Mergawi, R.A. and
Youssef, A.A. 2006.Utilization of treated municipal
wastewater for growing some aromatic plants to
produce volatile oils and study its nutritional status
in arid regions. The second international conference on
water resources and arid environment. 26-29th Nov.,
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Hylander, L.D., Kietlinska, A. and Siman, G.R.G. 2006.
Phosphorus retention in filter materials for waste-
water treatment and its subsequent suitability for
plant production. Biores. Technol. 97 : 914-921.
Javid, S., Akhter, A., Inam, A., Khan, N.A., Sheikh, F.A.
and Shah, S.H. 2003. Impact of Sewage wastewater on
physiomorphology and grain quality of Wheat cv.H. 239.
Poll. Res. 22 : 381-384.
Kabata-Pendias, A. and Pendias, H. 1984. Trace Elements in
Soils and Plants. CRC Press, Inc., Florida.
Market, B. and Thornton, J. 1990. Multi elements analysis
of english peat bog soil. Water, Air and Soil Pollnt. 49:
113-123.
Rattan, R.K., Dutta, S.P., Chhoukar, P.K., Suribabu, K., and
Singh, A.K. 2005. Long term impact of irrigation
with sewage effluents on heavy metals content in
soil,crops and ground water–a case study. Agricul-
1823
ture Ecosystems and Environments. 109 : 310-320
Shah, R.A., Javid, S. and Inam, A. 2004. Response of Triti-
cale under Sewage wastewater irrigation. Ecology
Environment and Conservation. 10 : 197-204.
Tabassum, D., Akhter, A. and Inam, A. 2013.Effect of
wastewater irrigation on growth,physiology and
yield of mustard. International Journal of Botany and
Research 3 : 27-34.
Tak, A., Parveen, S., Tabassum, D. and Inam, A. 2014.
Impact of city sewage wastewater on the perfor-
mance of linseed (Linumus sitattismum L.) CV.
Neelam. Journal of Functional and Environmental
Botany. 4 : 45-49.
Thapliyal, A., Vasundevan, P. and Dastidar, M.G. 2009.
Domestic Wastewater for Fertigation- A Solution for
Water Recycling and Irrigation. Proceedings of
Micropoland Echohazard. 6thIWA/GRA Specialized con-
ference on assessment and control of micropollutants/
hazardous substances in water. 8-10th June, San Fran-
cisco, USA. P. 317.
Tietjen, C. 1977. The admissible rate of waste (residue)
application on land with regard to higher efficiency
in crop production and soil pollution abatement. In:
Land as a Waste Management Alternative, [R.C. Loehr,
(ed.)]. Ann. Arbor, Science Publishers, Inc., Ann Arbor,
Michigan. 63-77.
Vasudevan, P., Thapliyal, A., Srivastava, R.K., Pandey, A.,
Dastidar, M.G. and Davies, P. 2010. Fertigation po-
tential of domestic wastewater for tree plantations.
J. Scientific Indus. Res. 69 : 146-150.
Veer, B. and Lata, K. 1987. Effect of polluted municipal
wastewater on growth, yield and levels of some bio-
chemical components of Triticumaestivum. Acta. Bot.
Indica. 15 : 242-246.
WHO. 1989. Health Guidelines for the Use of Wastewater in
Agriculture and Aquaculture. Tech. Report Series
NO.778, World Health Organisation.Geneva.