SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE OF WHEAT USING LOW-QUALITY WATER: ASSESSING NUTRIENT UPTAKE, HEAVY METALS ACCUMULATION, AND YIELD PRODUCTIVITY

A field experiment was conducted to assess the potential use of low-quality water for irrigation and its effect on nutrients uptake, heavy metals accumulation, yield productivity and grains yield efficiency of wheat plant. Irrigation water sources were Nile water, mixture of Nile water + Agricultural drainage water, Agricultural drainage water, and sewage water. Obtained results proved that irrigation with low-quality water would accumulate appreciable amounts of heavy metals in soil which are toxic to plant, but this accumulation was more pronounced in the straw compared with grains. The macronutrients uptake of straw under irrigation with Nile water, Nile water + Agricultural drainage water, Agricultural drainage water, and sewage water were 16.05, 20.28, 21.20 and 26.79 g kg-1, respectively for N; 2.17, 2.73, 4.22 and 4.86, respectively for P; 9.01, 12.53, 17.31 and 19.05 g kg-1, respectively for K. The macronutrients uptake of grains was 32.08, 38.75, 39.82 and 40.51 g kg-1, respectively for N; 3.72, 4.15, 5.43 and 6.25, respectively for P; 14.77, 16.53, 25.11 and 27.17 g kg-1, respectively for K. The micronutrients uptake of straw under irrigation with Nile water, Nile water + Agricultural drainage water, Agricultural drainage water, and sewage water were 130.5, 194.2, 227.3 and 253.7 g kg-1, respectively for Fe; 78.3, 119.7, 148.2 and 155.8, respectively for Mn; 25.5, 38.4, 43.8 and 54.3 g kg-1, respectively for Zn. The micronutrients uptake of grains was 74.5, 101.3, 117.2 and 124.5 g kg-1, respectively for Fe; 49.2, 68.3, 79.1 and 112.7, respectively for Mn; 16.1, 21.3, 23.7 and 31.5 g kg-1, respectively for Zn. The heavy metals content of straw under irrigation with Nile water, Agricultural drainage water, Nile water + Agricultural drainage water and sewage water were 10.13, 15.72, 17.55 and 24.31 g kg-1, respectively for Pb; 7.30, 13.81, 15.47 and 18.22, respectively for Ni; 5.02, 8.53, 9.71 and 12.37 g kg-1, respectively for Cd. The heavy metals content of grains under irrigation with Nile water, Agricultural drainage water, Nile water + Agricultural drainage water and sewage water were 7.51, 10.32, 12.28 and 17.45 g kg-1, respectively for Pb; 5.43, 8.31, 9.75 and 12.52, respectively for Ni; 2.17, 3.53, 4.15 and 5.21 g kg-1, respectively for Cd. The straw yield under irrigation with Nile water, Agricultural drainage water, Nile water + Agricultural drainage water, and sewage water were 3.185, 2.775, 1.852 and 2.253 g kg-1, respectively, while the grains yield was 2.751, 1.957, 1.135 and 1.541 g kg-1, respectively.