In recent years, the urban wastewater of marginal quality is increasingly being used to irrigate lands for growing crops. However, water reuse in agriculture needs specific studies to evaluate its safe use depending upon the choice of the crop and soil type. A pot experiment was therefore, conducted to investigate the effect of different fertilizer combinations, that is, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) on chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) irrigated with sewage wastewater (WW), and ground water (GW). The objective of this experiment was to evaluate optimal fertilizer requirement based on growth, physiological determinants, and the yield of chickpea under wastewater irrigation. Results revealed the positive influence of wastewater and optimal growth and yield of the crop were obtained with a relatively lower fertilizer combination of N30P60K40 when irrigated with wastewater. Physiological parameters of plants being irrigated with wastewater were also enhanced when compared to ground water irrigated plants and it was expressed by significant improvement in the yield parameters of the crop. The nutrients present in wastewater therefore proved beneficial for the crop yield and also reduced the nutritional requirement of the crop to be supplied in the form of fertilizers. It can therefore serve not only as an alternative disposal of wastewater but even supplement the nutritional requirement of the crop. However, its long-term usage needs to be closely monitored for any heavy metal buildup in soil as their presence in wastewater could be a cause of concern.
Key words: Municipal wastewater, NPK fertilizers, Photosynthetic rate, Nodulation, Protein content, Yield, Chickpea
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