Sustainable domestic effluent reuse via subsurface drip irrigation (SDI): alfalfa as a perennial model crop

摘要

Scarcity of fresh high-quality water has heightened the importance of wastewater reuse primarilynin dry regions together with improving its efficient use by implementing the Subsurface DripnIrrigation (SDI) method. Sustainable effluent reuse combines soil and plant aspects, along with thenmaintainability of the application system. In this study, field experiments were conducted for twonyears on the commercial farm of Revivim and Mashabay-Sade farm (RMF) southeast of the City ofnBeer-Sheva, Israel. The purpose was to examine the response of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) as anperennial model crop to secondary domestic effluent application by means of a SDI system asncompared with conventional overhead sprinkler irrigation. Emitters were installed at differentndepths and spacing. Similar amounts of effluent were applied to all plots during the experimentalnperiod. The results indicated that in all SDI treatments, the alfalfa yields were 11% to 25% highernthan the ones obtained under sprinkler irrigated plots, besides the one in which the drip lateralsnwere 200cm apart. The average Water Use Efficiency (WUE) was better in all SDI treatments inncomparison with the sprinkler irrigated plots. An economic assessment reveals the dependencenof the net profit on the emitters’ installation geometry, combined with the return for alfalfanin the market.