The impact of textile wastewater irrigation on the growth and development of apple plant

ABSTRACT

In this work, the effect of irrigation with textile wastewaters on the growth and development of “Golden Delicious” apple sapling was examined over a one-year period. Municipal water prepared as a control sample (T₀), 1/3 diluted (T₁), and undiluted (T₂) raw textile wastewater was used as the three different irrigation water samples. Two replications of each test were performed on three random samples each time. When examining the effects of T₀, T₁, and T₂ irrigation water on plant growth, it was found that T₁ irrigation water significantly increased the weight, the shoot length, and the diameter of the sapling. Despite increasing Ni and Cr metals in the apple saplings’ leaves when irrigated with T₂ water, plant growth was restricted due to the lack of basic nutrients. When taking certain aspects into account, such as the proper treatment of wastewater, then 1/3 diluted textile wastewater can be used as agricultural irrigation water for the apple plants.

KEYWORDS:

• growth
• heavy metals
• industrial effluents
• Malus domestica
• water quality

Funding

This study was funded by the University of Abant Izzet Baysal Scientific Research Fund under Project No. 2014.18.10.772.