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Effluent reuse is not a new concept; controlled wastewater irrigation has beenpracticed on sewage farms in Europe, America and Australia since the turn of thiscentury and the value of wastewater for crop irrigation is becoming increasinglyimportant in arid and semi-arid countries. The health risks associated withwastewater application to crops has been studied, particularly the survival ofenteric bacteria and viruses in soil and on plant leaves. However, enteric virusuptake in plant roots has been little researched. Viruses pose a unique problemassociated with their stability and persistence in the environment. This studyinvestigated the potential use of drip irrigation to minimize the risksassociated with viruses. Two varieties of tomatoes were grown in ten-gallonbuckets filled with Pima Clay Loam and Brazito Sandy Loam soil types. Plants wereirrigated with secondary effluent using surface drip irrigation and subsurfacedrip irrigation. Irrigation water was periodically seeded with bacteriophagesMS-2 and PRD-1, Poliovirus type 1 (PV1), Enteric Adenovirus 40 (Ead 40). Nosystemic up take of viruses into the plant tissues of both varieties wasobserved. Surface irrigation always resulted in surface contamination of roots,leaves and fruits on plants of both varieties. However no above ground surfacecontamination was observed with subsurface irrigation in both varieties of tomatoplants. Includes 18 references, tables, figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 01/01/2000 Number of Pages: 14 File Size: 1 file , 220 KB