Does fertilization practices increase residual nitrate nitrogen in soil irrigated with treated wastewater? An experimental trial on maize

Treated wastewater has significantly improved DM yield compared to ground water. The form of nitrogen provided by the water was determinant in drawing yields. Irrigation with ground water (where nitrogen is as nitrate) induces a faster migration of nitrogen at depth. In contrast, using treated wastewater (where nitrogen is as ammonium), resulting in a relative distribution of the remaining nitric smaller in the lower profile and therefore higher in the surface, especially after the second year (2010). In addition, the relative distribution of nitrates in the soil surface is even more important in the presence of organic manure. All happens as if a certain amount of ammonium provided by treated wastewater is retained in the organic compounds of manure. Yields were significantly lower in irrigation with treated wastewater in the second year and especially when fertilization was given in additional. If the soil can be used for storage of the nitrogen supplied by the treated wastewater during the first year of irrigation (24 kg N-NO3/ha before irrigation to 115 kg N-NO3/ha after irrigation), to the second year the capacity drops (to 64 N-NO3/ha) and a significant increase in nitrate leaching occurs. Therefore, unlike the contribution of manure that seems enrich the topsoil nitrate nitrogen, at least during the first campaign, mineral fertilization unreasoning causes faster migration of nitrogen at depth

Sustainability and optimisation of treatments and use of wastewater in agriculture.

Rapport Final Economical study INCO-D

Le cloisonnement des interbuttes en culture de pommes de terre : essai réalisé en collaboration avec Bayer CropScience (Huldenberg 2011)

Dans le sillage du projet « Contrôle du ruissellement et de ses impacts en culture de pomme de terre en Région wallonne 2009-2010 », un essai a été mis en place à Huldenberg sur demande de l’entreprise Bayer CropScience et financé par celle-ci. Pour rappel, le cloisonnement des interbuttes est la mise en place de diguettes entre les buttes de pomme de terre afin de favoriser l’infiltration de l’eau plutôt que son ruissellement. Les résultats de cette nouvelle année d’essai confirment l’efficacité de cette technique quant à la réduction du ruissellement et de l’érosion ainsi qu’une tendance à la hausse des rendements en tubercules

Evaluation and Proposals for Improving Irrigation Performance Around Small Reservoirs in Burkina Faso

Irrigation of crops using water from the Savili and Mogtédo reservoirs in Burkina Faso provides an opportunity to increase rural incomes. In order to ensure the sustainability and improvement of the irrigation infrastructure, it is necessary to monitor and evaluate its technical performance. To this end, the authors evaluated crop water use efficiency, water application, and conveyance efficiencies; modeled theoretical irrigation schedules for comparison with actual irrigation schedules; and assessed overall water management. The results show that water application efficiencies were less than 20% at Savili, and between 41% and 55% at Mogtédo. Water use efficiencies ranged from 1.12 to 3.4 kg m-3 for Allium cepa (onion) in three networks, 0.31 kg m-3 for Zea mays (corn) at Mogtédo, and 0.34 kg m-3 for Phaseolus vulgaris (green beans) at Savili. Poor irrigation management resulted in significant water loss, estimated to be 2,999,923 m3/year for the Mogtédo and Savili sites. The main reason for this underperformance seems to be related to technical and organizational failures by producers. Strengthening local farmers' technical and organizational capacities could help improve network performance and achieve significant water savings. © 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers

Use of micro-dams in potato furrows to reduce erosion and runoff and minimise surface water contamination through pesticides

The use of micro-dams in potato furrows is an interesting technology to reduce erosion and runoff in hilly areas. These phenomena are major sources of surface water contamination by nutrients and plant protection products (Gillijns et al., 2005). In 2011 Bayer CropScience set up a trial in collaboration with the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (CRA-W) and ULg-Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech in Huldenberg (Belgium) to demonstrate this technique in potatoes. Micro-dams create barriers between furrows in order to encourage rainwater to infiltrate in the soil rather than to run off. The results from the trial over this year confirm that the application of micro-dams is effective in reducing erosion and runoff significantly. The total loss of plant protection products (PPP) to surface water is dramatically reduced and also strongly depends on the physic-chemical characteristics of the active ingredients. In addition, the technique tends to produce a higher yield of potato tubers as an effect of an optimised utilisation of the available rainwater and nutrients

Les techniques d'épuration des eaux usées à faibles coûts.

1ère éditionDevelopment of Teaching and Training Modules for Higher Eduction on Loqw-Cost Wastewater, Contract VN/Asia-Link/012 (113128) 2005-200