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Physicochemical Properties of Soil under Wheat Cultivation by Irrigation with Municipal Wastewater in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Irrigation with wastewater provides the opportunity to solve the problems of its disposal, reuse and water conservation. Freshwater, differentially diluted wastewater and undiluted wastewater (hereafter called wastewater) were used to grow wheat in sandy loam soil under fertilized and unfertilized conditions at the experimental farm of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh. Fresh groundwater and wastewater of Mymensingh municipality were used to irrigate a wheat field for three consecutive years to examine the effects of wastewater application on soil properties. In this study, the properties of wastewater-irrigated soil were compared with freshwater-irrigated soil. The application of wastewater reduced the bulk density of the surface soil by 1.92% and augmented the porosity by 5.89%. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and water retention capacity of the soil were improved under wastewater irrigation. Soil pH increased due to wastewater application but decreased, to a smaller extent, due to fertilizer application. Soil electrical conductivity (EC) increased both with wastewater and with fertilizer application; both parameters changed significantly in the 0–20 cm soil layer. However, at the deeper layers, they were not affected by wastewater application. The organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) level of the soils were higher under wastewater irrigation than under freshwater-irrigated soil. The organic C increased by 23.93% under wastewater irrigation in the top 20 cm soil layer. The N content of the soil showed similarities with the organic C contents. Available P and S concentrations were greater in the soil irrigated with wastewater compared with the soil irrigated with freshwater. The exchangeable cations – sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) – also increased significantly with wastewater application. Thus, farmers are advised for irrigation with municipal wastewater to ease pressure on freshwater and to improve soil fertility.