Soil and sweet cherry responses to irrigation with wastewater

Abstract

Lambert sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) established on Osoyoos loamy sand in 1983 was subjected to treatments involving all combinations of 2 types of irrigation (wellwater or municipal wastewater) and 3 rates of N fertilization, 1984-1987. The zero-N treatment was increased to 34 g N tree-1 in 1986-1987. Inadequate N and Zn nutrition appeared to limit long-term tree growth. After 5 yr, wastewater-irrigated soils had higher extractable P, K, and B and lower Ca and Mg than well-water-irrigated soils which had higher Ca and Mg to 0.9-m depth. Wastewater irrigation also increased extractable Na throughout the soil but insufficiently to adversely affect tree growth. Soil pH and electrical conductivity also increased during the experiment for both well- and wastewater-irrigated soils, but these increases did not cause alkalinity or salinity problems. -from Authors