Summary
Irrigation of sugarcane crops with combined pulp and paper mill effluent increased soil pH, organic C, N, P, and K. Over a period of 15 years effluent application increased exchangeable Na by 4.5-fold compared with control soil (well-water irrigated), which ultimately elevated the Na adsorption ratio of the soils. The combined effluent irrigation increased the soil populations of bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, rhizobia, and yeasts. The populations of soil microorganisms were higher after 15 years of effluent treatment, followed by 3, 2, and 1 year of effluent treatment; these populations were directly proportional to soil organic C and to the available nutrient status of the soils. Regular monitoring of microflora showed a considerable change in the populations from one sampling month to another. Soil samples, including the control, collected in May (summer) showed maximum counts of bacteria, fungi, rhizobia, and yeasts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen ON (1953) Experiments in soil bacteriology. Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapolis
American Public Health Association (AWWA, WPCF) (1985) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 16th edn. American Public Health Association, Washington DC
Bouwer H, Choney RL (1974) Land treatment of wastewater. Adv Agron 26:133–176
Bremner JM, Mulvaney CS (1982) Total nitrogen. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis, Part 2, 2nd edn. Am Soc Agron and Soil Sci Soc Am, Madison, Wisconsin, pp 595–624
Chopra SL, Kanwar JS (1982) Analytical agricultural chemistry. Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi
Gove GW (1982) Pulp and paper effluent management, J Water Pollut Control Fed 54:704–716
Granatstein DM, Bezdicek DF, Cochran VL, Elliott LF, Hammel F (1987) Long-term tillage and rotation effects of soil microbial biomass, carbon and nitrogen. Biol Fertil Soils 5:265–270
Jensen V (1968) The plate count method. In: Gray TRG, Parkinson D (eds) The ecology of soil bacteria: An international symposium. Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, pp 158–170
Juwarkar AS, Subrahmanyam PVR (1987) Impact of pulp and paper mill wastewater on crop and soil. Water Sci Technol 19:693–700
Kannan K, Oblisami G (1990a) Effect of pulp and paper mill effluent irrigation on carbon dioxide evolution in soils. J Agron Crop Sci 164:116–119
Kannan K, Oblisami G (1989) Impact of paper and pulp mill effluent on sugarcane soil. Paper presented at the fifth national convention of Environmental Engineers, Sept 23–24, Madras, India
Kannan K, Oblisami G (1990b) Influence of paper mill effluent irrigation on soil enzyme activities. Soil Biol Biochem 22:923–926
Knudsen D, Peterson GA, Pratt PF (1982) Lithium, sodium, potassium. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis, Part 2, 2nd edn. Am Soc Agron and Soil Sci Soc Am, Madison, Wisconsin, pp 225–246
Koontz FP, Faber JE (1961) Somatic antigens of Rhizobium japonicum. Soil Sci 91:228–232
Martin JP (1950) Use of acid, rose bengal and streptomycin in the plate method for estimating soil fungi. Soil Sci 69:215–233
Nutter WL, Red JT (1985) Treatment of wastewater by application to forest land. Tech Assoc Pulp Pap Ind J 68:114–117
Olsen SR, Cole CV, Watanabe FS, Dean LA (1954) Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. USDA Circ 939, Washington DC
Panse VG, Sukhatme PV (1985) Statistical methods for agricultural workers. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi
Parker LW, Elkins NZ, Aldon EF, Whitford WG (1987) Decomposition and soil biota after reclamation of coal mine spoils in an arid region. Biol Fertil Soils 4:129–135
Rajannan G, Oblisami G (1979) Effect of paper factory effluents on the soil and crop plants. Indian J Environ Health 21:120–130
Reddy MR, Jivendra S, Jain SC (1981) Paper mill effluent for sugarcane irrigation. Int Assoc Water Pollut Res Control Technol Annu 8:129–146
Ross DJ, Tate KR, Cairns A, Pansier EA (1980) Microbial biomass estimations in soils from tussock grasslands by three biochemical procedures. Soil Biol Biochem 12:375–383
Ross DJ, Tate KR, Cairns A, Meyrick KF (1981) Fluctuations in microbial biomass indices at different sampling times in soils from tussock grasslands. Soil Biol Biochem 13:109–114
Somashekar RK, Gowda MTG, Shettingar SLN, Srikanth KP (1984) Effect of industrial effluents on crop plants. Indian J Environ Health 25:136–146
Van der Walt JP, Yarrow D (1984) Methods for the isolation, maintenance, classification and identification of yeasts. In: Kreger-Van Rij NJW (ed) The yeasts, a taxonomic study. Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, pp 45–103
Verma SR, Delela RC, Tyagi MP, Gupta SP (1974) Studies on the characteristics and disposal of industrial effluents with reference to ISI standards (Part I). Indian J Environ Health 16:289–299
Young JC, McDermott GN, Jenkins D (1981) Alterations in the BOD procedures for the 15th edition of Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. J Water Pollut Control Fed 53:1253–1259
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kannan, K., Oblisami, G. Influence of irrigation with pulp and paper mill effluent on soil chemical and microbiological properties. Biol Fertil Soils 10, 197–201 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336136
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336136