Elham Namazy1, Ebrahim Pazira , Yaaghoob Hosseini3, Davod ...sciencejournal.in/data/documents/Trends-Life-Sci.-4-3-33.pdf · Elham Namazy1, Ebrahim Pazira2, Yaaghoob Hosseini3,

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Volume- 4 Issue- 3 (2015) ISSN: 2319–4731 (p); 2319–5037 (e) © 2015 DAMA International. All rights reserved. 222

EFFECT OF RECYCLED MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER ON SOIL PROPERTIES

Elham Namazy1*

, Ebrahim Pazira2, Yaaghoob Hosseini

3, Davod Samsampour

4

1 Department of soil science, Faculty of Agriculture and natural Resources, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad

University, Tehran, Iran 2Department of soil science, faculty of Agriculture and natural Resources, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad

University, Tehran, Iran 3Department of Soil and Water, Hormozgan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, Bandarabbas, Iran.

4Department of Horticultural science, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hormozgan University,

Bandarabbas, Iran.

*Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT The water crisis is one of the fundamental issues in areas with consecutive droughts such as Iran; therefore the use of

unconventional waters where high quality water is not available is growing. One of these sources is the recycled

municipal wastewater. The use of wastewater in agriculture can be beneficial or harmful, depending on its

characteristics and wastewater quality and it should be evaluated based on its effects on soil and crops. Therefore, in

this study, the combined effect of urban wastewater and soil on growth and yield of tomato plants has been studied. A factorial experiment was performed in a completely randomized design with three replications. In this study, the

treatments was performed at the 5 level of tap water (no wastewater), 75% tap water and 25% wastewater , 50% tap

water and 50% waste water and 75% tap water and 25% wastewater , and waste water (without adding tap

water),with the soil texture in two level of the sand and clay for 8 months. The results showed that wastewater up to

50% increases the dry weight of roots and shoots of plants and the quantity of fruits while in the ratio of 75% and

100%, the properties is reduced. By increasing the waste water, the soil salinity and SAR increases and fruit quality

characteristics are also improved by increasing the proportion of waste water. Considering the results, it may be

stated that the use of urban wastewater should be done with caution and the use as a mixture of tap water and

alternatively irrigation with tap water is also recommended.

KEYWORDS: Recycle, Municipal wastewater, soil properties, natural resources

INTRODUCTION

As demand for fresh water intensifies, wastewater is frequently being seen as a valuable resource. In most arid and

semiarid regions of the world, including the lands of Iran (above 80%) water crisis is considered as one of the main

problems on the path of sustainable agriculture [Galavi, 2010]. Despite the potential benefits of treated wastewater

irrigation as alternative water and nutrient sources for agricultural crop production (Pescod, 1992; Al Salem, 1996;

Yadav et al., 2002; Da Fonseca et al., 2007a), its land application may also cause environmental risks (Feigin et al.,

1991; Toze, 2006). In this context, Bond (1998) pointed out that monitoring of soil accumulation of phosphorus; salts,

sodium, and toxic trace elements are highly required. Also information on changes in soil physical properties and

leaching of nitrate or other mobile contaminants are of crucial importance. Increased Na concentrations and

exchangeable sodium %age (ESP) are one of the most adverse effects after effluent irrigation over time, documented

for a wide range of cropping systems (Tillman and Surapaneni, 2002; Toze, 2006; Da Fonseca et al., 2007a).Treated

sewage effluent (TSE) commonly presents high concentrations of sodium relative to other cations that is quantified by

sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). High SAR is expected to cause an increase in soil ESP, enhancing the risk of

sodification associated with soil structure degradation. This may result in waterlogging, decreased water infiltration and

limited plant yield (Balks et al., 1998; Bond, 1998; Oster and Shainberg, 2001). Various factors may influence the

effective soil behavior under sodium richwater irrigation such as: (i) soil texture and mineralogy; (ii) bulk density; (iii)

pH; (iv) aggregate binding agents (organic matter, iron and aluminum oxides); and, (v) mechanical stress (Halliwell et

al., 2001). This indicates the complexity of interactions between soil ESP, soil solution concentration of Na+ and soil

structure parameters and, moreover, the difficulty to predict a priori the quantitative extent of sodium impacts on agro-

systems (Bond, 1998). Some research on the effects of treated wastewater on soil properties have been done in the past

year. Soil pH ,Soil Na, water electrical conductivity, and soil adsorption ratio were found to increase in the long term of

wastewater land application (Hu et al.2005;Qian and Mecham 2005;Walker and lin 2007).the accumulation of Pb, Mn,

Ni and Co in the soil significantly increased after wastewater land application and such an accumulation decreased with



depth; Ca and Mg in wastewater were found to be adsorbed to the soil particles in some soil layers and soil Al content

decreased after wastewater land application however Heidarpour impact of wastewater land application on soil Na .

Tomato is a common vegetable grown in the tropics and has attained worldwide importance because its versatility in

use in very many preparations. High salt concentrations in the soil can result in a ―physiological ―drought condition

because the roots are unable to absorb water (Fipps, 2003). Thus, salinity management procedures are imperative. The

demand for crops with moderate to elevated salinity tolerance can be a solution. Tomato plants have a moderate salt

tolerance (Tuna et al., 2007). These plants present irrigation water and soil maximum salinity tolerances of 1.7 and 2.5

dS m−1 (Fipps, 2003), respectively. The tomato crop irrigation with saline water has positive and negative aspects.

Several research studies have reported reductions in the yield and in the fruit fresh weight under saline conditions (Sato

et al.,2006; ZushiandMatsuzoe, 2009). Additionally, changes in the intracellular concentration of organic and inorganic

compounds in the plant tissues are important factors for the osmotic adjustment, specifically, in leaves (Aziz et al.,

1999; Tuna et al., 2007). Accumulation of the amino acid proline (Zushi and Matsuzoe, 2009), sodium and chloride

(Alian et al., 2000; Maggio et al., 2007; Martinez et al., 1987), calcium and magnesium (Martinez et al., 1987) has

been described. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of recycled municipal waste water as irrigation

water applied in different treatments and different levels of urban wastewater in two types of soil texture on the

performance and characteristics of tomato plants and properties of soil.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A) Study area

The study was performed in the greenhouse in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas with the population of 435

751 people (2712 ° latitude and longitude 5622) with the height of 10 meters above sea level and the average annual

rainfall of 185.9 mm.

B) The materials

The recycled waste water was prepared from wastewater treatment supply in Bandar abas. The recycling method has

been activated sludge and waste water used for experiment was taken from the final purification step and tap water is

used as the control. Sandy and clay soils are prepared from the region in 10 km south of Bandar Abbas from the area of

Nahalestan and Bostanlu. Seedlings of tomato plants were obtained from Agricultural Jihad Organization.

C) The research method

At the beginning each pot were encoded to indicate a certain treatment. In a plastic pot, 10 kg of soil was dumped and

seedlings were planted in each pot and different levels of water applied during growth and number of fruits per plant

and total yield were measured during cultivation. After cultivation of tomato, various level of wastewater is irrigated to

the samples. The samples were transported to the laboratory and research center, and traits such as the number of

titratable acidity, vitamin C, and fruit Brix and average fruit weight was measured. TSS was measured using a

spectrophotometer. To determine the acidity titration, filtered fruit extract was used. In order to determine the titratable

acidity of fruit, 50 ml of filtered extract was diluted with distilled water and a few drops of dilute phenolphthalein

solution were added and the titration procedure was performed using 0.1 N NaOH up to pH 7.8 or 8.2 and finally the

acidity was calculated in grams per liter (AOA.C, 1975). For Vitamin C measurement, five fruits were randomly

selected and then washed, chopped and homogenized using a mixer. From this mixture, 30 g of sample was selected

and titration was performed using colored solution of 2, 6-Dichloroindophenol (Nabrt, 1959). After harvest, leaf

chlorophyll index of each pot was measured by chlorophyll meter.

After removing the contents of the pot out, the air section that was isolated from the roots were placed in the paper

envelope. Then shoot and root dry weight was measured. In the next step to obtain the dry weight, plant part were oven-

dried at 75 ° C for 48 h. After passing through a sieve with 2 mm mesh, soil extracts was prepared with extractor device

and were transported to the laboratory for calculating the properties of minerals and some features. Calcium and

magnesium and sodium content of the soil were determined and the soil sodium content was determined by photometry

Film. For pH measurement (Ned Massey, 1982), EC (Kalut, 1986) was read by the pH meter conductivity of digital

thermometers. After the measurement of sodium, calcium, magnesium by above mentioned methods, sodium

absorption ratio of soil was calculated using the following formula (1):

(1)



D) Statistical Analysis

A factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four replications. For this purpose, soil

texture treatment was applied in both sandy and clay texture with irrigation at 5 levels (tap water, municipal

wastewater, 50 % municipal wastewater and 50 % tap water, 75% tap water and 25% wastewater, 25% tap water and

75% municipal wastewater). Based on the collected data, the analysis of variance was performed and finally the data

analysis was conducted using SAS software and mean comparison was performed according to Duncan test at 5%

level.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

A. Effect of irrigation with wastewater on growth characteristics of tomato plants

The results of analysis of variance on the tomato plant growth characteristics is presented in table 1 and the results

show that all the traits in the growth at 1% level for all variation sources (the ratio of wastewater, soil and the

interaction between these two variables) was significant.

Table 1: Analysis of variance in relation to the characteristics of roots and stems of tomato plants

Variation

source

Degree

of

freedom

Mean Square (MS)

Chlorophylls

Index

The wet

weight of

stem

The dry weight of

stem

The wet

weight of

root

The dry weight of

root

Wastewater

% (B)

4 **

250.2 **

116514.0 **

34792.1 **

16136.8 **

4820.3

Soil texture

(C)

1 **

1955.3 **

2054047.4 **

613338.2 **

126922.8 **

37896.3

Interaction

BC

4 ns

3.8 **

5092.6 **

1519.8 **

6547.5 **

1953.8

Error 60 3.1 114.9 34.3 23.6 7.1

(C.V% ) 5.2 4.0 4.0 5.8 5.9

Comparison of the average characteristics of the vegetative traits (Table 2) shows that the character of the chlorophyll

index has significant difference s between the ratios of 0, 25 and 50 % with the ratios of 75 and 100 and chlorophyll

index at the ratio of 50% higher than the rest and by increasing the proportion of waste water, it has risen up to 50

% and by increasing the amount of wastewater up to 75%, it is reduced. In the shoot dry weight examination, it was

determined that there was no significant difference between the proportion of 0 and 25% and there is significant

difference between these two proportions and ratios of 50, 75 and 100% and the highest fresh and dry weight was seen

in the ratio of 50% while the lowest value of these two characters was related to the ratios of 75 and 100 %.

The study results showed Calcium and magnesium and vegetative characteristics such as chlorophyll index are

increased by using waste water (Stack, 2012) and in this experiment, it was shown that up to 50 %, it increases

vegetative characteristics that the difference between the results is related to the different quality of recycled waste

water that is improved by adding tap water and cause the better growth of the vegetative part of the plant.



Table 2: Comparison of growth characteristics in respect to different wastewater level in irrigation water

Wastewater ratio

(%)

Growth

Characteristics

0 25 50 75 100

Chlorophylls Index 36.0 a36.8

a37.3

b31.0

c29.1

The wet weight of

stem (g) b310.2

b316.1

a346.5

c199.6

d163.3

The dry weight of

stem (g) b169.5

b172.8

a189.3

c109.1

d89.2

The wet weight of

root (g) c92.7

b105.8

a114.5

d52.3

d50.9

The dry weight of root

(g) c50.7

b57.8

a62.6

d28.6

d27.8

Fruit number b11.4

b11.4

a12.4

c8.4

c7.7

Comparison of vegetative tomato index (Table 3) shows, there as significant differences between the soil textures in the

chlorophyll index, shoot and root dry weight and the sandy texture has more increase in these traits than the clay.

Katerji et al. in 2002 in a study showed that the type of soil has influence on plant performance. The more coarse

texture will increase more the tomato yields and also characteristics of the vegetative section are better in coarser

texture than clay.

Table 3. The comparison of the vegetative traits in respect to soil texture

Soil texture

Trait sand clay

Chlorophylls Index a38.7

b29.4

The wet weight of stem (g) a418.2

b116.1

The dry weight of stem (g) a228.5

b63.4

The wet weight of root (g) a120.8

b45.7

The dry weight of root (g) a66.0

b25.0

The comparison of the average of all growth factors (Table 4) shows that in each of the various wastewater levels, there

are significant differences in chlorophyll index between sandy and clay texture and the level of this indicator is more in



sandy texture. In the sandy texture, chlorophyll index was the highest level in the ratio of 50% that has not significant

difference with wastewater ratio of 0 and 25 %. The ratio of 75 and 100 % had the lowest index in sandy soil that has

significant differences with the ratio of 0, 25 and 50 % of waste water in sandy soil. Clay soil has similar results with

sandy soil in every 5 level of waste water and its only difference was between ratio of 75 and 100 % of the wastewater.

In the mean wet and dry weight of stem examination, it was shown that in sandy soil, the highest index was related to

50% and its amount has significant differences with all ratio of the waste water and the proportion of 0 to 25 % in

sandy soil have not significant differences while about 75% and 100% - sandy has the lowest dry and wet weight of

stems that have significant differences with the ratios of 0, 25 and 50%. Clay soil results were similar to sandy soil in

every 5 level . The comparison of mean wet and dry weight of roots showed that in sandy texture showed that the

highest index is related to 50% - sandy and its amount has not significant difference with wastewater in 0 and 25% ratio

in sandy texture while the 75 % and 100 had the lowest index and has significant difference with the ratio 0, 25 and 50

%. Clay soil results were similar to sandy soil in every 5 level. In overall, the vegetative traits result of the interaction

between waste water and tissues are as follows: The overall results show that the highest growth is related to 50%-

sandy: Sandy 50> Sandy 25> Sandy 0> Sandy 75> Sandy 100> clay 50> clay 25> clay 0> clay 75> clay 100

The overall results showed that the characteristics of the vegetative is increase until water levels have increased up to

50% due to the accumulation of nutrients in the soil and after this proportion, increasing levels of soil salinity

wastewater will lead to a decline in the growth characteristics and the treatment of the clay texture has more salt

compared to sandy one.

Hajar et al also reported decreased fresh and dry weight of stems and roots of tomato in saline conditions, respectively.

Salinity effects on nutrient concentration and their transmission to the roots, stems and fruit plants.

According Anjum, Yildirim, and Ranham et al., with increasing salinity,distribution of trace elements changes in

shoots and roots of plants in comparison with non-saline conditions that lead to reduced plant growth characteristics.

Table 4: Comparison of growth characteristics influenced by the interaction of different wastewater ratio in

irrigation water and soil texture

Trait Chlorophylls

Index The wet weight

of stem

The dry weight

of stem

The wet weight

of root

The dry weight

of root Wastewater ratio ×)%(

Soil texture

0 sand

a39.5

b469.4

b256.5

c134.6

c6/37

clay c32.5

f151.0

f82.5

e50.9

e27.8

25 sand

a40.2

b468.7

b256.1

b157.6

b86.1

clay c33.3

f163.6

f89.4

e54.1

e29.6

50 sand

a40.8

a512.1

a279.9

a173.3

a94.7

clay c33.8

e180.8

e98.8

e55.8

e30.5

75 sand

b36.7

c355.3

c194.1

d70.4

d38.5

clay d25.3

g44.0

g24.0

f34.2

f18.7

100 sand

b36.3

d285.6

d156.0

d68.2

d37.3

clay e21.9

g41.0

g22.4

f33.5

f18.3

B) The effect of irrigation with wastewater on soil properties

Analysis of variance in relation to the characteristics of the soil in the table (5) is provided and the results show that all

the traits in the growth at 1% level for all variation sources (level of wastewater, soil and the interaction between these

two variables) was significant.



Table 5: Analysis of variance in relation to the characteristics of the soil

Variation

source

Degree

of

freedom

Mean square (MS)

pH Soil Ec Soil Soil

calcium

Soil magnesium Soil

Sodium

SAR

Soil

Waste water

% (B)

4 **

0.2882 **

34.87 **

236.5 **

71.98 **

916.6 **

69.68

Soil texture

(C)

1 **

2.3749 **

159.5 **

1456.0 **

424.24 **

9194.4 **

577.96

Interaction

BC

4 **

0.0229 **

4.26 **

90.7 **

22.40 **

115.1 **

5.36

Error 60 0.0005 0.05 1.6 0.09 1.4 0.76

(C.V% ) 0.3 5.2 14.6 6.1 4.3 8.0

Comparison of the average properties of the soil (Table 6) show that the characteristics of pH, magnesium, sodium and

SAR of soil have significant differences at five levels and are as follows:

100> 75> 50> 25 > 0 %

Other soil properties studied in this research were the amount of calcium in soil and soil EC. The results of the

comparison showed that the maximum amount of calcium were in the ratio of 100 % and by increasing the proportion

of wastewater the amount of calcium increase in the soil and there is no significant relationship between the ratios of 25

and 50 % but there is a significant difference between the two ratios compared to the rest.

Marcus et al. (2009), examined the impact of urban wastewater treatment plants into the soil oxy Sul in Brazil and

finally concluded that the concentration of sodium and starlings and soil salinity (EC) increased with the increase of

wastewater at any time which is compatible with the results of this study (Pereira leal, et al, 2009)

The high mobility of sodium in the soil as well as excess sodium added to the soil by the wastewater are considered as

a major factor in raising the levels of sodium in the soil and soil solution at the end of the experiment.

These changes lead to increased dispersion of clay and loss of soil aggregates and soil pores that all of these factors

lead to a decrease in the permeability of the soil (Bond, 1998). Increased levels of exchangeable sodium is one of the

characteristics of the soil after addition of municipal wastewater that is observed in a wide range of farming systems

(Da Fonseca et al, 2007). No overall increase in soil salinity resulting from treated wastewater irrigation was detected

( Jean et al,2012). Sodium dynamics in agro-systems receiving wastewater are dependent on a number of factors such

as: (i) Na concentration in the wastewater; (ii) magnitude of plant uptake; (iii) soil permeability; and, (iv) dynamics of

other ions such as Ca, Mg, carbonates (CO3 2_) and bicarbonates (HCO3_) (Rengasamy and Olsson, 1993; Tillman

and Surapaneni, 2002; Santos, 2004) . Increases in soil salinity can be problematic and thus require increased soil

management practices such as leaching the sodium from the soil structure by periodic irrigation with lower salinity

water. The flood irrigation method in conjunction with the drainage system in the area held the soil salinity at low

levels (compared to effluents salinity), thus retarding the salinization rate of the soil. The salinization rate of a soil is

not easily predicted because it depends on many factors (water quality, irrigation method, physical and chemical soil

properties, drainage conditions, groundwater level, and climate). )( Papadopoulos.et al,2009 (.



Table 6: The comparison of the soil traits influenced by different ratios of wastewater in irrigation water

Waste water ratio (%)

Trait 0 25 50 75 100

pH Soil e7.60

d7.71

c7.79

b7.84

a7.93

Ec Soil 2.761 c3.480

c3.702

b5.059

a6.246

Soil calcium(ppm) d5.20

c6.47

c7.29

b9.18

a14.47

Soil magnesium(ppm) e2.78

d3.67

c4.33

b5.62

a7.92

Soil sodium(ppm) e18.71

d23.62

c26.77

b30.74

a37.51

Soil SAR (ppm) e8.26

d9.98

c11.06

b12.12

a13.38

In the investigation of the characteristics of the soil (Table 7), the results of mean comparison showed that there are

significant differences between the two soil texture and all the characteristics of clay soil is more than sandy texture .

Soil texture can have a profound effect on many other properties and is considered among the most important physical

properties (McCauley,et al,2005).

Table 7: The comparison of soil traits influenced by soil texture

Soil Texture

Trait Sand Clay

pH Soil b7.61

a7.94

Ec Soil b2.918

a5.581

Soil calcium(ppm) 4.50 a12.54

Soil magnesium (ppm) b2.69

a7.04

Soil sodium(ppm) b17.36

a37.58

Soil SAR (ppm) b8.43

a13.49

In the Comparison of the effects of interactions (Table 8) of the ratio of water and soil, it was found that the soil pH and

soil magnesium and calcium in all levels in clay texture is more than sandy texture and by increasing the amount of

wastewater in both, the soil traits increased and there are significant differences in all the treatments and the study of

soil electrical conductivity is similar to the pH of the soil. The only difference is that the treated clay of 50% -25%,

have no significant difference and there are no significant differences between 75 % and 100% sandy texture and the

calcium comparison results show that there were no significant differences in the sandy texture at all levels except the 0

level with 75 and 100% and also between 100% with 0, 25 and 50 %. In the clay texture, the results showed that there

are significant differences between the treatments except in the 25 and 50 % in clay texture. In the study of sodium

absorption in sandy soil, it was found that there are significant differences between the all levels of waste water and at

clay-texture it was found there is significant difference in sodium amount in 75 and 100% with the other level of waste

water. After pH, Sodium is the most important indicator of soil quality and in addition to acting as a store-house of the

plant nutrients, plays a major role in nutrient cycling (Rattan, 2005).

The impact of irrigation with wastewater on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of tomato fruits

Analysis of variance of the quantity and quality of tomato in the table (9) is provided and the results show that all traits

except for fruit weight and fruit yield per plant in the interaction at 1% for all sources of change (%age of wastewater,

soil and the interaction between these two variables) was significant.



Table 8: Comparison of soil characteristics influenced by the interaction of various traits wastewater in

irrigation water and soil textures

Trait

pH Soil Ec Soil Soil calcium Soil magnesium Soil Sodium SAR Soil Wastewater ratio (%)× Soil texture

0 Sand

j7.38

g1.57

g2.80

j1.24

j9.88 5.02

Clay e7.82

d3.95

d7.60

e4.31

e27.54

de11.49

25 Sand

i7.55

f2.28

fg3.73 2.22

i15.46

h7.78

Clay 7.87 c4.68

c9.20

d5.11 31.78

cd12.18

50 Sand 7.65 2.74 4.22

h2.84

h18.17

g9.12

Clay c7.92

c4.66 10.36 5.82

c35.37 13.00

75 Sand

g7.71

d3.93

ef5.16 3.29

g20.09

fg9.80

Clay 7.97 b6.18 13.20

b7.96 41.39 14.45

100 Sand 7.77

d4.06

de6.58

f3.87 23.21 10.41

Clay 8.09 a8.43 22.36 11.98 51.81 16.35

Table 9: data analysis, qualitative and quantitative traits

The variation

Source

Degree of

Freedom

Mean square (MS)

Fruit

Brix

Titratable

acidity

Vitamin

C

The % of

dry matter

The average

weight

Single plant

yield

Waste water %

(B) 4

**0.759

**0.0321

**58.4

**10.17

**18940.6

**1373060.5

Soil texture (C) 1 **

4.624 **

0.2176 **

802.6 **

65.79 **

360230.3 **

17849360.8

Interaction BC 4 **

0.055 **

0.0029 **

2.0 **

1.04 ns

559.2 ns

11797.9

Error 60 0.008 0.0003 0.2 0.04 245.1 14068.0

% (C.V ) 2.0 3.9 2.5 3.0 6.7 8.2

In investigation of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics (Table 10), the following results is revealed. In The

study outcome of the percent of fruit Brix, it was found that there is significant difference s between the ratio of 0, 25

and 50%, but there isn’t significant difference between 75 and 100% and also these ratios has significant difference

with other mentioned ratios and the highest Brix ratio is related to 75 to 100% with the 4.67 and 4.74 value,

respectively. Other tested fruit quality characteristics include titratable acidity, vitamin C and fruit dry matter. The

results suggest that there are significant differences between the 5 level of wastewater and by increasing the amount of

wastewater, the attributes listed in the fruit will increase.

Another trait that has been studied is the average weight of a single fruit. This trait result showed that there isn’t

significance relationship between 0, 25 and 50 % ratios and also between 75 and 100%. However, significant difference

was seen between the two mentioned groups while the highest fruit weight was related to the ratio of 0, 25 and 50%,

respectively, with the 250.4, 256.8 and 261.3 g value, respectively. The most yields of the fruit is related to the

50% and this ratio has significant difference s with other ratios and two ratio of 0 and 25 % have significant difference

with 75 and 100% that the amount of fruit in the primary ratio is higher than the latest ratio . The results of the yield of

per plant showed that there is no significant differences between the 0 and 25 % ratios and also between 75 and 100%

ratio but these two groups have significant difference with each other. The highest yield per plant is for 50% and after

that, the ratios of 0and 25 has the greatest yield while the lowest is related to ratios of 75 and 100 %.

The results of a study about the use of treated wastewater has shown that the high salinity wastewater impact on plant

growth (Papadopoulos. et al, 2009) that the results of this study confirm it too. The study carried out by Morgan et al

(2011) showed that the using waste water will lead to increased electrical conductivity and sodium absorption via

increase in soil salinity that this had an impact on the performance of the tomato plant that corresponded with our

results. Lin and Glass reported that the increase in electrical conductivity will result an improvement in fruit flavor and

increase vitamin C level and has also relationship with the ratio of soluble solids and titratable acids.



Table 10: Comparison of different traits affected by different ratio of wastewater in irrigation water

The ratio of wastewater (%)

Trait 0 25 50 75 100

Fruit Brix d4.23

c4.42

b4.53

a4.67

a4.74

Titratable acidity (%) e0.384

d0.421

c0.440

b0.470

a0.492

Vitamin C (%) e16.58

d18.50

c19.18

b20.60

a21.11

The average weight (%) a250.4

a256.8

a261.3

b195.7

b199.1

The ratio of dry matter 5.7 d6.2

c6.6

b7.1

a7.6

The number of fruits b11.4

b11.4

a12.4

c8.4

c7.7

Single plant yield (%) b1614.2

b1618.5

a1724.4

c1196.6

c1117.8

In the investigation of the comparison of the trait related to fruit the result (table 11) showed that there is significant

relationship in all traits of the fruits and the weighted average yield of fruit, the trait amount is more in clay texture in

comparison with the sandy one and in characteristics of Brix, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and dry matter content, the

characteristics value of the clay is more than sandy texture.

In the study of plant performance, comparison results show that there are significant differences between the two

textures and the total yield of tomato plant in a sandy soil is more than clay. In 2002, Katrjy et al. showed that the type

of soil have effect on yield of tomato plants and whatever it was coarser texture, tomato yield and average fruit weight

is increased and other research showed the type of soil has effect on crop yield because when it is irrigated with treated

municipal wastewater, plant performance is more in soft texture (Toze 2006) that corresponded with our results.

Table 11: Comparison of traits influenced by soil texture

Soil texture

Trait Sand Clay

Fruit Brix (%) b4.29

a4.75

Titratable acidity (%) b0.392

a0.490

Vitamin C (%) b16.21

a22.18

The average weight (%) b5.8

a7.5

The ratio of dry matter a295.9

b169.4

The number of fruits a13.5

b7.0

Single plant yield (%) a1899.6

b1009.0

The investigation of the interaction between the ratio of wastewater and soil texture(Table 12) showed that the fruit

quality characteristics has increased by increasing the proportion of wastewater in both soil texture while this trait in

clay texture is more than sandy one and most of the properties is observed in the clay -100 %. The fruit Brix in 0 %

ratio in sandy texture has significant difference with other treatments. The ratios of 75 and 100 % have a significant

difference with other treatments while other treatment was not significantly different. In total acidity trait, it was

observed that the ratios of 0 and 25 % have significant difference with other treatments and in clay texture, 75 % and

100 % has significant difference with other treatments and about the amount of vitamin C, there was significant

difference between all treatments with 25 and 50 % in clay texture and in fruit dry matter, there was also a significant

difference between all treatments except 75% and 100% in sandy soil. Tomato fruit flavor is mainly measured by

factors such as the amount of sugar (glucose and fructose) and organic acids (citric acid), and total acidity. The more

amount of sugar and acid in fruit will cause the better flavor of the tomato. Serio et al. showed that although the salinity

decreases the yield of tomato fruit but it cause that the fruit tastes better, but it increases the quality of the fruit. Sato et

al observed Tomato fruits grown in nutrient solution with NaCl salt taste better than the control. The results also

showed that the salinity promotes fruit quality characteristics (degree Brix, Vitamin C, total acidity. Ben-Oliel et al.

suggested tomato quality improvement is due to increase the amount of glucose, amino acids and soluble salts in the

fruit. Flores et al reported similar reasons for improvement of the quality of tomato fruits and ammonium salt.

Sakamato et al. reported that salinity can cause decrease the absorption of water by root, the reduction of the water



transformation into the fruit, and increasing the concentration of dissolved salts and as a result causes improvement in

the taste of the fruit.

In the investigation of the average fruit weight, it was found that there are significant differences between waste water

at ratios of 0, 25 and 50 % with 75 and 100 % and the highest single fruit weight is observed in the 50% treated sand

and performance results of the fruit is the same in the clay texture. Salinity has negative influence on the performance

via decreasing weight and the marketable characteristics (small fruit). Sato et al. stated that the increasing salt of

nutrient solution fresh weight is decreased.

The research has also shown that with increasing waste water level more than 50 % salinity rise sharply which reduces

the weight of the fruit in comparison with the waste water level in the level lower than 50%.

Table 12: Comparison of different traits influenced by the interaction of wastewater different ratio in irrigation

water and soil

Trait Fruit

Brix (%)

Titratable

acidity (%)

Vitamin C

(%)

The % of

dry matter

The average

weight (%)

Single plant

yield (%) Wastewater ratio

(%)× Soil texture

0 Sand

g3.96

i0.322

h13.19 4.8

a317.2

a2083.8

Clay cd

4.50 de

0.446 c19.96 6.6

d183.6

c1144.6

25 Sand

f4.26

h0.383

g15.66

h5.6

a322.5

a2058.8

Clay bc

4.59 cd

0.458 b21.34

d6.9

cd191.0

c1178.2

50 Sand

ef4.37 0.405

f16.48

g6.0

a318.5 2176.8

Clay 4.70 c0.474 21.89 7.2

c204.1

c1272.0

75 Sand

de4.40

fg0.419

e17.31

f6.3

b264.9

b1657.2

Clay a4.94

b0.522

a23.90

b8.0

e126.6

d736.1

100 Sand

cd4.49

ef0.431

d18.41

ef6.4

b256.5

b1521.6

Clay a5.00

a0.5520

a23.81

a8.8 141.7 713.9

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