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Urban agriculture in Senegal: effect of wastewater on the agronomical performance and hygienic quality of tomato and lettuce


Y Niang
S Niang
S Niassy
Y Dieng
ML Gaye
K Diarra

Abstract

The use of wastewater in urban agriculture has gained a lot of interest in Senegal. The aim of this works was to assess the effect of wastewater on the agronomical performance of two vegetable crops and the hygienic threats as compared to tap water. We also compared the effect of irrigation mode and the addition of fertilizers. Results showed that there were no significant differences between the two irrigation modes. The
sturdiness at 2 months had a positive effect on the number of plant (tomato) at the harvest, the yield and fruit average weight. Considering the following parameters studied (overall yield, corrected yield, number of fruit per treatment and fruit average size, there were significant differences between plants (lettuce) treated with tap water and those treated with wastewater. In a chemical point of view, samples from aspersion and draining watering mode treatments were similar in term of their content in heavy metals. On the lettuce, results showed a low presence of worms on crop watered with wastewater. On the other hand, lettuce watered with the
aspersion technique contents much more germs of pathogens than those watered in draining mode. As for tomato, there was a total absence of worms and other pathogenic germs in both irrigation modes. This study
suggests that use of wastewater in horticulture with a moderate fertilization and taking into account soil chemistry could be gainful to urban farmers. The study addresses the issue of preliminary studies on the wastewater and soil quality before deciding on the adequate crop to grow.

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eISSN: 1997-342X
print ISSN: 1991-8631