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Alfalfa Hay Grown with Municipal Waste Water and Pump Water¹

ABSTRACT

The influence of municipal waste water on the growth and yield of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was studied in field experiments near Buckeye, Ariz., in 1974 and 1975. The crop was planted in October of each year at a seeding rate of 22.4 kg/ha (20 lb/acre). Approximately 150 cm (60 in) of irrigation water were applied in flood irrigations each year. The response of alfalfa to two irrigation treatments: (i) pump water from local wells (control) and (ii) municipal waste water from Phoenix and pump water in a 50:50 mixture was compared by sampling the first harvest in selected fields. The hay was harvested when 10% of the alfalfa stems had one or more flowers.

Alfalfa irrigated with the waste-water and pump-water mixture produced taller plants and higher yields of hay than did alfalfa grown with pump water alone. Total protein in the hay and in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD) of the hay was the same for alfalfa grown with both sources of irrigation water. When municipal waste water was mixed with pump water high in total soluble salts, the salt content of the mixture was reduced and the quality of the irrigation water was improved. The higher hay yields obtained when alfalfa was irrigated with the waste-water and pump-water mixture than when grown with pump water alone probably resulted from lower concentrations of soluble salts in the water mixture than in the pump water.

Key Words: water pollution • sewage • irrigation • forage • livestock feed

¹ Contribution of the Arizona Agric. Exp. Stn., University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. Approved for publication as Arizona Agric. Exp. Stn. Research Contribution no. 3372. Research supported by funds provided by the U.S. Dep. of Interior, Off. of Water Res. and Technol., as authorized under the Water Resources Act of 1964 and by the State of Arizona.

² Agronomist, Dep. of Plant Sciences; Associate Research Scientist, Dep. of Animal Sciences; Soil Scientist, Dep. of Soils, Water, and Engineering; and Hydrologist, Water Resources, Research Center, respectively. University of Arizona, Tucson.

Received for publication March 9, 1981.