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Wastewater in Agriculture: Possibilities and Limitations

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Adaptive Soil Management : From Theory to Practices

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Abstract

Wastewater use in crop irrigation is common in urban and sub-urban areas around the world. The source may be rural house-holds, industry or municipal sewage sludge. This application of wastewater in agriculture can be a good alternative under increasing scarcity of clean water. Besides, use of wastewater may facilitate the expansion of area under irrigation and it can serve as supplementary source of nutrients. However, contamination of soil by wastewater carried pathogen and heavy metals is a concern. It can degrade soil quality, harm plants, disturb the environmental equilibrium and is hazardous to human health in a long run. Therefore, holistic monitoring and management is necessary for sustainable use of wastewater. Care should be taken regarding the proper treatment/reclamation of industrial and municipal wastes before their dumping in soil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari, Cooch Behar, 736 165, West Bengal, India

    Shovik Deb

  2. Department of Seed Science and Technology, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari, Cooch Behar, 736 165, West Bengal, India

    Puspendu Dutta

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  1. Shovik Deb
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  2. Puspendu Dutta
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Correspondence to Shovik Deb .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Science, BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Amitava Rakshit

  2. Institute of Environmental and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Purushothaman Chirakuzhyil Abhilash

  3. Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Harikesh Bahadur Singh

  4. Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (Research), National Parks Board, Singapore, Singapore

    Subhadip Ghosh

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Deb, S., Dutta, P. (2017). Wastewater in Agriculture: Possibilities and Limitations. In: Rakshit, A., Abhilash, P., Singh, H., Ghosh, S. (eds) Adaptive Soil Management : From Theory to Practices. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3638-5_10

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