Resource conservation through reuse of treated sewage effluent in green gram production: an experiment

Sewage effluent can be promoted as an alternative source for irrigation as it may become a more important source of irrigation, organic matter and nutrient supply for crop production in the near future. Surface application of sewage effluent may result in the prevention of stream ocean pollution. The safe utilization of treated wastewater does not only conserve surface and ground water resources but also helps in increasing agricultural production. In this direction, an experiment focusing on the "reuse of sewage effluent in irrigation of Green Gram crop" was conducted at the Campus of Nirma University of Science and Technology, Ahmedabad, India. The experiment aimed at promoting the safe utilization of treated sewage effluent in agriculture with a view to conserving the scarce surface and subsurface water resources and solving the problems related to disposal of sewage effluent. The experiment involved various treatments according to the application of sewage water, ground water and surface water in different blending ratios and various treatments according to the application of nitrogenous fertilizer. The environmental impact of the above various treatments are summarized in the paper.