Effect of wastewater and grey water reuse on the germination and early growth of barley and onions

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effect of wastewater reuse on the germination and growth at early stages of barley and onions. Treated wastewater, partially treated industrial wastewater, grey water, and car wash water, in addition to tap water as control were used to test their effect on germination percentage and germination speed of barley and onions and on the early growth stages of barley. Results have shown that germination percentage and germination speed of onions and barley were significantly reduced when treated wastewater and car wash water were used. All water qualities produced higher shoot lengths and lower root lengths of barley compared to tap water, with car wash water producing the highest shoot to root length ratio followed by treated wastewater. The shoot dry weight to root dry weight of barley of all irrigation water types used was not significantly different. The recommendation that resulted from this research is that these types of wastewaters should be avoided during the early growth phases of barley and onions.