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Antibiotic resistance (AR) is becoming a worldwide threat due to the increasing occurrence of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacterial strains. There is a general consensus about the potential implications of the use of antibiotics in livestock on the onset of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB), mainly through meat consumption. However, the ever-increasing use of reclaimed wastewater (RWW) in agriculture may also contribute significantly to the non-accounted exposure to antibiotics, ARB, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This position paper aims at evaluating the current knowledge concerning the occurrence of antibiotics, ARBs, and ARGs in edible parts of different common crops irrigated with RWW. We will discuss which regulations on the use of RWW may contribute to the minimization of the prevalence of these contaminants in crops, and provide recommendations on how to minimize the impact of these practices., The authors would like to acknowledge the COST Action ES1403 NEREUS “New and emerging challenges and opportunities in wastewater reuse”, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology, www.cost.eu) for enabling the collaboration among the authors of the paper.

In the present study pulp and paper industry effluent was treated with the help of aluminum electrode using electrocoagulation (EC) process with feasible sludge management. The influences of pH, time, current density and electrolytes dose were investigated and optimum conditions were established to reduce the maximum amount of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and color. At optimum conditions 70% of COD and 98% of color were removed. Additionally, the behavior of electrolytes (NaCl and Na2SO4) was determined; it has shown that Na2SO4 results in the generation of less secondary pollutants than that NaCl and thereby could be used as better replacement in paper industries for electrocoagulation mediated treatment of wastewater. The residual amount of operational parameters in EC treated water was compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India. It was found to be safe for utilization in irrigation. Furthermore, sludge produced during the EC process has been analyzed for physicochemical characteristics. To understand the physical and elemental phases of sludge, the analytical technique such as field emission electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy has been used to find out the possible management alternative.

HighlightsASABE/IA 6th National Irrigation Symposium includes 80 papers, with 36 introduced here in this Special Collection.Papers include current irrigation research about ET, management, turf systems, technology, humid region, water supply.Irrigation in the U.S. is growing more rapidly in humid regions, and pressurized irrigation continues to grow in usage.There has been much progress in irrigation science in the last decade, and the vision of the future looks bright.Abstract. This article introduces the ASABE Special Collection associated with the 6th Decennial National Irrigation Symposium: Beyond 2020, Vision of the Future. This U.S. symposium, jointly sponsored by ASABE and the Irrigation Association in December 2021, was postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic and consists of approximately 80 presentations, of which 36 were accepted as journal articles for this Special Collection. Irrigated land area appears to be growing slightly in the U.S. but is shifting geographically somewhat toward humid regions. Pressurized irrigation continues to grow, and gravity-fed irrigation continues to decline. Competition for stressed water resources among diverse water users remains great, and smaller numbers of irrigation scientists are available to meet the informational needs. Improved ability to acquire, assess, and use water and crop information helps to meet these challenges. This article discusses irrigation research progress in evapotranspiration (ET), irrigation management, turf systems, sensors and technologies, irrigation strategies in the humid region, and water supply. Challenges and opportunities continue to exist for irrigation in the U.S., but progress in the last decade has been steady, and a good vision for the future of irrigation beyond 2020 is anticipated. Keywords: Evapotranspiration, Irrigation, Irrigation management, Irrigation scheduling, Irrigation systems, Turf and landscape irrigation.

Long-term irrigation using wastewater from paper industry may cause seriously problems to the receiving soil. This work surveyed and monitored the soil quality of a wastewater irrigation wetland system in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province in China in 2014 and 2015. Τhe wetland soil showed different soil properties and TX, AOX, heavy metal contents after long-term wastewater irrigation. Long-term irrigation also accumulated the heavy metals such as Cu, Cd, Zn, and Pb in the wetland soil. Compared to the control, TX in the irrigated soil increased by 47.7–69.8% (2014) and 61.5–83.1% (2015). AOX varied in concentration from 1.7 to 55.0 mg kg−1 (2014) and 11.0 to 53.0 mg kg−1 (2015). The long-term irrigation of wastewater to wetland systems caused the accumulations of heavy metals, TX, and AOX in the soil and the levels of accumulations were related to several factors including soil properties, wastewater quality, and irrigation time.

Studies on the influence of paper mill wastewater, which affects photosynthesis, on reed chlorophyll and biomass can provide a theoretical basis for the ecological restoration of wetland plants. The influence of different concentrations of wastewater (chemical oxygen demands (COD) of 300, 175 and 50 mg•L−1) and different irrigation times (germination, blade-expansion, rapid-growth, heading and maturity stages) on the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and chlorophyll a/b in reeds were tested in experimental pools that simulated the wetland ecosystem of the Liaoning Shuangtai estuary. The contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and chlorophyll a/b all increased significantly with increasing concentrations of wastewater, and their contents all differed significantly from each other. The contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll were maximal when irrigated at the beginning of all growth stages with COD of 300 mg•L−1(C1O) at 2.253, 0.458 and 2.711 mg•g−1 fresh weight (FW), respectively, with irrigation at the rapid-growth stage and were minimal in the control plants at 0.142, 0.068 and 0.210 mg•g−1 FW, respectively, with irrigation at maturity. Chlorophyll a/b was maximal at C1O at 5.753 with irrigation at germination stage and was minimal in the control plants at 2.113 with irrigation at maturity. Reed biomass was maximal at C1O at 3.26 kg, which was 2.76 times higher than the control. Reed biomass was positively correlated with the content of chlorophyll and with COD in the wastewater. Paper mill wastewater generally increased the content of chlorophyll and the net photosynthesis rate and enhanced the growth of reeds.

Heavy metals are among the major contaminants of vegetables. A study was conducted at Wonji Gefersa farms where paper wastewater is used for cultivation of vegetable crops. Four vegetable samples, namely Swiss chard, carrot, tomato, green pepper, as well as paper wastewater were examined for heavy metal [Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr) and Cobalt (Co)] contamination using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The levels of Pb, Cd and Cr in paper wastewater were all above the safe limit for FAO standards for wastewater quality for irrigation. The concentration of Pb in Swiss chard and Green peeper was exceeded the permissible limits. The study reveals that Pb metal contamination in the study area which poses health risk with time unless an urgent step is taken by relevant agencies to address this issue.

International audience; The authors explored the risks and benefits of repeated irrigation of Populus alba saplings with aqueous paper sludge (APS). Saplings were cultivated in pots of forest soil (3 L) in a greenhouse for 7 weeks and watered twice a week with differing concentrations of APS (0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 75,and 100 % v/v with deionized water). Plant growth and ecophysiological variables along with zinc and aluminum transfer were monitored. A stimulation of plant growth was observed with sludge treatments of 30 or 50 %, significantly correlated to APS input (r = 0.81). This may be explained by the easily available nitrogen as is shown with the positive correlation of CO2 assimilation and leaf nitrogen (r = 0.70). However, a significant reduction in plant growth was observed when treatments of 75 and 100 % of APS were administered, despite a high nutritional level (nitrogen and phosphorus). The study suggests that APS concentrations from 30 to 50 % may positively affect the growth of poplar saplings; however, the higher concentrations indicated a risk for plant growth and the environment.

Today, the farmers are suffering from the lack of rains and scarcity of water. The traditional farmland irrigation the main objective of this paper is to provide an automatic irrigation system thereby saving time, money & power of the farmer, as water supply is becoming scarce in today’s world there is an urgency of adopting smart ways of irrigation. It also helps in conserving water by automatically providing water to the plants/field depending on the water requirements[1]. The objective of this system is to detect the moisture content of the soil and depending on the basis it generates the water with the automated technology of irrigation. Soil is recognized as one of the most valuable natural resource where soil pH property used to describe the degree of acidity or basicity which affects nutrient availability and ultimately plant growth. pH value of the soil is determined and accordingly crops or plants are suggested that can be grown in that field. Due to detection of soil pH value the chances of crops destruction becomes less, with this we can say that automatic irrigation system provides less effort and generates the good result.

The effect of different paper mulches and two different biodegradable plastic mulches on the yield of field-grown cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) was examined. The studies were conducted during two climatically different growing seasons 2011 and 2012 in Southern Finland. All the mulches increased the yield as compared to bare ground. In 2011, cucumbers on all the mulches with a dark upper surface produced higher yields than those on kraft paper alone. In 2012, when the average temperatures were lower than in 2011, there were no differences in yield between different types of mulches. Soil temperatures of the experimental plots were monitored throughout the growing seasons. The mulches with a dark-colored upper surface increased the soil temperature more than the ones with a light-colored upper surface. The soil warming effect of the mulches was greater during early season and diminished when the plants grew larger and their leaves covered most of the mulch surface. There was no need for weed control except in uncovered plots. In conclusion, during both years dark-colored paper mulch was comparable to biodegradable film in yield production and could replace it as a mulch material in cucumber production.

The current study was carried out to delineate the seasonal hydrochemical characteristics and to quantify the suitability of groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes in an alluvial plain adjacent to a paper wastewater irrigation zone, northwest China. Groundwater samples were collected from 14 groundwater monitoring wells in pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, respectively. Statistical analysis and Chadha diagram were used to delineate the groundwater hydrochemical characteristics. The matter element extension analysis (MEEA) model was proposed to quantify the overall groundwater quality. Irrigation water quality indicators were applied to assess the suitability of groundwater for irrigation purpose. The research results show that the hydrochemical facies for the majority of the groundwater samples is SO4·Cl–Na type with some minor hydrochemical facies of HCO3–Ca·Mg, HCO3–Na, and Cl·SO4–Ca·Mg types. The sequences of ions are Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ for cations, and HCO3 − > Cl− > SO4 2− > CO3 2− for anions. The major ions and contaminants in the groundwater are controlled by multiple factors including hydrogeological conditions, rock weathering, water–rock interactions and human activities. The values of pH, TDS and TH show reduction in the monsoon season, indicating slight improvement of water quality during the monsoon season. Water quality assessment results based on MEEA show that the overall groundwater quality in the wastewater irrigation zone is generally fair to poor quality. Some groundwater samples are even classified as very poor quality, which is unsuitable for human consumption. They are also unsuitable for irrigation because of potential sodium hazard and salinity hazard. Groundwater from the Yellow River irrigation zone and the alluvial plain is generally suitable for domestic and irrigation uses. Some local water sampling locations may experience water quality improvement during the monsoon season, which, however, will generally not affect the final water quality classification for domestic and irrigation purposes. Interestingly, the study also finds that the variation trend of the correlation degree computed from MEEA can be useful in determining water quality improvement. This study may provide insights for people to make educated decisions in efficient groundwater quality protection and sustainable groundwater quality management.

Vermicomposts have higher level of available nutrients like carbon nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, calcium and magnesium derived from the wastes. The paper has attempted to evaluate for development of efficacy vermicompost by using three varieties of earthworms. The use of earthworms in the degradation of different types of wastes is continuing from the past so many years. These wastes include industrial, agricultural of plant debris and domestic waste papers and cattle dung. In this study three varieties of earthworms used such as Eisenia fetida, Eudrilus eugeniae and Perionyx excavates in the vermicomposting of plant debris, cattle dung and waste paper. As waste paper, cattle dung and plant debris are rich in carbon while deficient in nitrogen cow dung was mixed with it to make it suitable for three earthworms. A mixture of waste paper, plant debris and c dung in the ratio of 1:1:1 was found to be the best ratio than 3(paper waste): 2(cattle dung) and 5(plant debris). In 60 days time excellent quality and quantity of compost was produced by three earthworms. Physical and biochemical parameters were analyzed during this period of 60 days. Pre decomposition of 10 days and subsequent vermicomposting of 60 days indicates the role of this species in vermibiotechnology. Increase was found in all the parameters like, Total nitrogen (%), Available phosphorus (%) and Exchangeable potassium (%) while a decrease was found in pH and C:N ratio as the timing of vermicomposting increased from 0 days to 60 days.

The largest Phragmites reed field in the world, with a historical area of approximately 1000 km 2 , is located in the Liaohe Delta in northeastern China. The Phragmites wetlands are extensively managed to maximize the production of reed biomass for the paper industry. Based on satellite remote sensing we estimated that the total area of the Phragmites wetlands has decreased from 857 km 2 in 2003 to 786 km 2 in 2009 to accommodate oil field infrastructure and societal developments. However, at the same time the production of Phragmites biomass used for the production of reed pulp has increased to 400,000 metric tons per year. This paper describes the great efforts that have been made to increase the Phragmites yields for the paper industry, including (1) diversion of freshwater from rivers to the Phragmites fields, (2) management of the water table, (3) harvesting and burning for pest control, and (4) seawater irrigation to rehabilitate Phragmites fields infested with weeds. The paper industry has facilitated the conservation of the Phragmites wetlands and their associated ecosystem services. Besides being a source for fiber, the wetlands provide important habitat for wildlife, sequester carbon, and create job opportunities and economic income for the local people.

Citation: Lamm, F. R., Stone, K. C., Dukes, M. D., Howell, T. A., Sr., Robbins, J. W. D., Jr., & Mecham, B. Q. (2016). Emerging technologies for sustainable irrigation: Selected papers from the 2015 ASABE and IA irrigation symposium. Transactions of the Asabe, 59(1), 155-161. doi:10.13031/trans.59.11706

Brassica campestris cv T-59 was grown in soil irrigated with different diluted doses of paper mill effluent, two months crop exhibited a decline in vegetative growth and yield in terms of length of root, shoot, number of leaves, leaf area, number of flower and pod and grain, while, total carbohydrate, nitrogen content in plant parts was increased and total protein level was variably influenced i.e., decline at 100 per cent an increase at 10 per cent. Level of chlorophyll in leaf was also increased at 10 per cent dose.

Six energycanes viz., SBIEC 14001, SBIEC 14002, SBIEC 14003, SBIEC 14004, SBIEC 14005 and SBIEC 14006 developed at ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute were evaluated along with a registered genetic stock SBIEC 11002 for biomass production under suboptimal management condition with limited irrigation and fertigation during 2013-14 and 2014-15 and under normal irrigation during 2015-16 (Plant crop) and 2016-17 (Ratoon crop). Among the six clones evaluated, SBIEC 14006, a selection from open pollinated fluff of Erianthus arundinaceus clone IK 76-75 was identified as promising clone based on high harvestable biomass and fibre content in cane. This clone recorded the highest mean harvestable biomass of 265.28 t/ha compared to the SBIEC 11002 (219.22) across four environments and showed 21.01 % improvement. The mean harvestable biomass yield under limited irrigation condition was 241.47 t/ha while under normal irrigation condition the yield was 289.08 t/ha. For fibre % cane also SBIEC 14006 recorded the highest value of 27.54 % compared to SBIEC 11002 (20.90 %). The clone recorded an average of 8.94 % juice brix and 4.72 % juice sucrose. It also recorded 2.18 cm cane diameter and 1.24 kg of single cane weight. Tall and non-lodging nature of canes makes the clone amenable for mechanical harvesting. This clone can be ratooned for at least 7-8 years hence no need for replanting every year. This promising clone is identified as an ideal energycane due to more biomass yield per unit area and requires low input, low production cost and low nutrient requirement which are the characteristics of energycanes.

When crop of Brassica campestris cv MYSL-203 was irrigated with different diluted dose of paper mill effluent, the parameters were studied after two month of sowing. It was observed that vegetative growth in terms of root, shoot length and biomass was slightly increased. The level of total chlorophyll and protein was not affected, while total nitrogen was enhanced in root, shoot at 100% concentration and at 10% concentration, the decline in total carbohydrate and nitrogen in root was noted.

Groundwater is crucial for multiple uses over the world, especially in arid and semiarid regions. However, human activities significantly decreased groundwater quality. In this study, the spatiotemporal variation of groundwater quality was evaluated in an arid area where long-term paper wastewater irrigation has been implemented. For this study, seven wells were regularly monitored for physicochemical parameters over a period of 1 year. Statistical and graphical approaches were applied to interpret the spatiotemporal variation of groundwater quality parameters in the wastewater irrigation zone. Correlation analysis was also carried out to reveal the sources of some major ions. The results indicate that the groundwater type in the study area is dominated by the Cl–Na, followed by the HCO3–Na, the HCO3–Ca·Mg, and the SO4·Cl–Ca·Mg types. Groundwater in the area is significantly contaminated locally with fluoride, nitrite and ammonia, and the chemical oxygen demand levels were increased in some groundwater monitoring wells. Most contaminants showed an increasing trend from the Yellow River water irrigation zone toward the wastewater irrigation zone. Rock weathering, mineral dissolution, and cation exchange are important processes controlling groundwater quality, but human activities, such as wastewater irrigation, play an undeniable role in affecting groundwater quality in this area. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the formation and circulation of groundwater under human activities and provide a scientific basis for regional water quality evaluation, water quality improvement, and protection.