Olive tree response to irrigation with wastewater from the table olive industry

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to examine the effect of drip irrigation using wastewater from a table olive industry on physiological, nutritional and yield parameters of olive trees (Olea europaea L.). Very limited information, if any, exists, on the potential of recycling this kind of wastewater in agriculture. Two types of wastewater were used in the experiment, the first with SAR and EC values of 12–56 and 3.5–4.2 dS m⁻¹, respectively, and the second 73–90 and 4.3–6.0 dS m⁻¹. In general, this kind of wastewater has a highly variable composition and SAR values that are too high for agricultural purposes. Olive trees rapidly responded to wastewater application. Compared to the control (fresh water), the more saline wastewater caused important decreases in leaf water potential, stomatal conductance to H₂O and the photosynthesis rate after only 15 days of irrigation, the reduction being more pronounced after 2 months of irrigation. This treatment also caused a rapid, significant reduction in leaf N concentration, as compared with the N level in the trees before irrigation. Both types of wastewater significantly reduced olive yield, compared to that obtained in the control. These results indicate that this kind of wastewater is unsuitable for application to olive orchards under irrigation.