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Effects of Treated Municipal Wastewater and Commercial Fertilizer on Growth, Fiber, Acid-Soluble Nucleotides, Protein, and Amino Acid Content in Wheat Hay¹

ABSTRACT

Experiments were conducted at Tucson, Arizona to study effects of treated municipal wastewater on growth, total fiber, acid-soluble nucleotides, total protein, and amino acids in hay from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Plant heights and number of culms per plant for wheat grown with wastewater were similar to plant heights and number of culms per plant when wheat was produced with well water and suggested amounts of N, P, and K and when it was grown with well water plus N, P, and K in amounts equal to those in wastewater. Wheat plants grown with wastewater had culms with a larger diameter and a higher total fiber content than did plants produced with the other treatments. Highest hay yields were obtained when wheat was grown with wastewater, followed by hay produced with well water plus N, P, and K in amounts present in wastewater, and hay grown with well water plus suggested amounts of N,P, and K, in decreasing order. Wheat plants from the three irrigation and fertilizer treatments contained similar amounts of acid-soluble nucleotides.

Wheat grown with well water plus N, P, and K in amounts equal to those in wastewater and hay produced with wastewater alone contained similar amounts of total protein, and more protein than did hay grown With well water plus suggested amounts of N, P, and K. Wheat utilized the N in wastewater more efficiently than it used the N in well water plus N, P, and K equal to wastewater. The amino acids alanine, glycine, phenylalanine, and tyrosine were present in higher concentrations in wheat hay grown with wastewater then in hay produced with the other two treatments. Hay grown with the three irrigation and fertilizer treatments contained similar amounts of leucine, proline, and threonine. When wheat hay was grown with wastewater, none of the observed amino acids were decreased below the levels at which they were present in hay produced with suggested cultural practices. Treated municipal wastewater was an effective source of irrigation water and plant nutrients for the production of high quality hay from wheat in the Southwest.

Key Words: pollution • sewage • small grains • waste

¹ Contribution from the Arizona Agr. Exp. Sta., Univ. of Arizona, Tucson 85721. Published as Arizona Agr. Exp. Sta. Journal Article No. 2059. A portion of this paper was taken from a thesis by Abdul Rahman submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an M.S. Degree in Agronomy. Appreciation is expressed to Mr. E. J. Trueblood, Chemist, Sewage Division, Tucson, Arizona for assistance with treated municipal wastewater and well water.

² Agronomist; former Graduate Student in Agronomy and Plant Genetics; Professor, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics; and Plant Physiologist, ARS, USDA and Associate Professor, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson; respectively.

Received for publication February 23, 1973.