Effect of Using Corn Industry Wastewater as Irrigation Water in Potato Crops (Solanum tuberosum)

Abstract

Water scarcity affects more than 40% of the population; in addition, 70% of all water extracted from aquifers is used for irrigation, reducing its availability for human consumption. Therefore, irrigation of crops with wastewater helps reduce water scarcity. In Mexico, high chemical oxygen demand (COD)-value wastewater is generated by the cooking process of corn (Zea mays). In this work, the use of this effluent for the irrigation of potato crops (Solanum tuberosum) is proposed. Four treatments were applied: (A) water, (B) water with fertiliser, (C) 100% wastewater and (D) 50% wastewater, both residual effluent of the cooking corn process. In the determination of biomass, in the number of leaves, there were no differences between the treatments; instead, for the height of the plants, A and B were higher for day 32. Treatment B obtained the highest production of tubers, followed by treatment A. Treatment C achieved 80% of the production of treatment A, suggesting that the components of the wastewater can be used as nutrients by potato plants. Being necessary for a study on the affectation on soil fertility, the use of treated wastewater to irrigate crops represents a viable alternative to reduce the effluents commonly discharged into natural spaces. Furthermore, if the composition of the treated wastewater is known, a water resource added with the compounds present that can improve the crop can be offered as a source of water to mitigate its increasingly high scarcity worldwide.