Reuse of Treated Municipal Wastewater from Constructed Wetlands for Cut Flowers Irrigation in Aeroponic Cultivation

The aim of this work is to evaluate the reuse of municipal wastewaters treated through subsurface constructed wetlands (SS-CWs) as irrigation water in cut flower aeroponic cultivation under arid conditions. For this purpose, two experimental aeroponic cultivation systems were installed with the cut flower Lilium ‘Tresor’ planted and irrigated with SS-CWs treated water. The results showed that the quality of the SS-CWs wastewater has to be improved to be used in irrigation. Despite that, Lilium ‘Tresor’ grew under arid conditions with normal stem diameters and number of flowers but with heights under 0.65 m, which would restrict their commercialization to local markets. Water electrical conductivity (> 2300 µs/cm) and luminosity (> 120 klux) were factors that affected plant height. When compared to other cultivation systems, the aeroponic cultivation system used between 10 % and 20 % of the amount of water needed to produce Lilium ‘Tresor.’ Thus, this work showed the feasibility to produce cut flowers using an aeroponic cultivation system under arid conditions and irrigated with SS-CWs effluents. Likewise, it was detected that improvements to water quality and luminosity must be made for industrial scaling.

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Cultivation of rice for animal feed with circulated irrigation of treated municipal wastewater for enhanced nitrogen removal: comparison of cultivation systems feeding irrigation water upward and downward

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2015.251 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 72 (4) ◽

pp. 579-584 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

A. Muramatsu ◽

H. Ito ◽

A. Sasaki ◽

A. Kajihara ◽

T. Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Removal ◽

Irrigation Water ◽

Rice Plant ◽

Municipal Wastewater ◽

Animal Feed ◽

Paddy Fields ◽

Treated Wastewater ◽

Human Consumption ◽

Cultivation System ◽

Treated Municipal Wastewater

To achieve enhanced nitrogen removal, we modified a cultivation system with circulated irrigation of treated municipal wastewater by using rice for animal feed instead of human consumption. The performance of this modified system was evaluated through a bench-scale experiment by comparing the direction of circulated irrigation (i.e. passing through paddy soil upward and downward). The modified system achieved more than three times higher nitrogen removal (3.2 g) than the system in which rice for human consumption was cultivated. The removal efficiency was higher than 99.5%, regardless of the direction of circulated irrigation. Nitrogen in the treated municipal wastewater was adsorbed by the rice plant in this cultivation system as effectively as chemical fertilizer used in normal paddy fields. Circulated irrigation increased the nitrogen released to the atmosphere, probably due to enhanced denitrification. Neither the circulation of irrigation water nor its direction affected the growth of the rice plant and the yield and quality of harvested rice. The yield of rice harvested in this system did not reach the target value in normal paddy fields. To increase this yield, a larger amount of treated wastewater should be applied to the system, considering the significant amount of nitrogen released to the atmosphere.

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Influência da vernalização de semente na produção, crescimento e desenvolvimento de plantas de lisianthus

Semina Ciências Agrárias ◽

10.5433/1679-0359.2018v39n6p2325 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 39 (6) ◽

pp. 2325 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maria Yumbla-Orbes ◽

José Geraldo Barbosa ◽

Wagner Campos Otoni ◽

Marcel Santos Montezano ◽

José Antônio Saraiva Grossi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Scale Production ◽

Cut Flower ◽

Cut Flowers ◽

Flower Production ◽

Commercial Scale ◽

Large Scale Production ◽

And Control

Flowering induction and control is a limiting factor when commercially producing cut flowers of lisianthus and seed exposure to low temperatures, a physiological event called vernalization, induces the differentiation of vegetative buds to reproductive buds, contributing to a flowering that is uniform and has quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of seed vernalization in three cultivars of lisianthus (Excalibur, Echo and Mariachi) for 12, 24, 36 and 48 days at temperatures of 5, 10 and 15°C, in the production and quality of buds, making this technology feasible to large-scale production. During cultivation it was observed that the lower the temperature and higher the vernalization period, the lower the cycle and the greater the number of plants induced to flowering for all three cultivars, and those are important features in the context of flower production in a commercial scale. The seeds subjected to vernalization originated plants that produce flower stems within the standards required by the market, showing that vernalization was efficient to induce flowering without affecting the quality of the buds. To produce lisianthus as a cut flower of quality, it is recommended seed vernalization of Mariachi and Echo cultivars for 24 days at 5°C and Excalibur for 36 days at 5°C.

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Extending Tertiary Treated Municipal Wastewater as Boiler Feed-Water via a Dual Membrane CUF/RO Process

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.726-731.2476 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 726-731 ◽

pp. 2476-2482

Author(s):

Hai Xia Wang ◽

Peng Ji

Keyword(s):

Municipal Wastewater ◽

Exchange Process ◽

Feasibility Studies ◽

Cost Comparison ◽

Feed Water ◽

Water Recovery ◽

Ion Exchange Process ◽

Ro Membrane ◽

Treated Municipal Wastewater

The objective of this work is to conduct feasibility studies on water treatment for boiler feeding water use from treated municipal wastewater effluent using a pilot dual continuous ultrafiltration - reverse osmosis (CUF/RO) membrane process with the capacity of 15m3/h. A CUF membrane from HYDRAcap and LFC3-LD RO membrane were used in this study. The CUF unit and RO unit were operated at over 97% and 75-80% water recovery, respectively. The results indicate that CUF process is not only capable of reducing organic and nutrient pollutants but also achieves a silt density index (SDI) less than 2, turbidity of less than 0.47NTU which is suitable for RO treatment. Rejection of the RO unit in terms of average conductivity, COD, hardness, alkaline, NH4+-N, TN, TP were higher than 98.2%, 97.9%, 99.8%, 97.9%, 93.9%, 95.1% and 75%, respectively. Other parameters also can match the quality of high-grade water for use in the boiler industry except pH. Finally, a cost comparison between dual membrane and ion-exchange process showed annual savings of more than 33000000 CNY can be possible.

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Rice production with minimal irrigation and no nitrogen fertilizer by intensive use of treated municipal wastewater

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2014.250 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 70 (3) ◽

pp. 510-516 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Ayumi Muramatsu ◽

Toru Watanabe ◽

Atsushi Sasaki ◽

Hiroaki Ito ◽

Akihiko Kajihara

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Fertilizer ◽

Municipal Wastewater ◽

Irrigation System ◽

Nitrogen Supply ◽

Rice Production ◽

Paddy Fields ◽

Treated Wastewater ◽

Cultivation System ◽

Treated Municipal Wastewater ◽

New System

We designed a new cultivation system of rice with circulated irrigation to remove nitrogen from treated municipal wastewater effectively and assessed the possibility of nitrogen removal in the new system without any adverse effects on rice production through bench-scale experiments through two seasons. Overgrowth of the rice plant, which can lead to lodging and tasteless rice, was found in the first season probably because nitrogen supply based on standard practice in normal paddy fields was too much in the closed irrigation system. In the second season, therefore, the amount of treated wastewater initially applied to the system was reduced but this resulted in a considerably decreased yield. On the other hand, the taste of the rice was significantly improved. The two-season experiments revealed that the new system enabled rice production with minimal irrigation (approximately 50% on the yield base compared to normal paddy fields) and no nitrogen fertilizer. The system also achieved >95% removal of nitrogen from the treated wastewater used for circulated irrigation. The accumulation of harmful metals in the rice was not observed after one season of cultivation in the new system. The accumulation after cultivation using the same soil repeatedly for a longer time should be examined by further studies.

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Evaluation of Two Growing Systems for Cut Snapdragon Production: Tray vs. Ground Bed

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.35.1.25 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 25-27

Author(s):

K. Jacquemin Sullivan ◽

C.C. Pasian

Keyword(s):

Quality Indicator ◽

Shoot Length ◽

Subjective Quality ◽

Antirrhinum Majus ◽

Cut Flower ◽

Cut Flowers ◽

Flower Production ◽

Objective Quality ◽

Flower Quality

Cut-flower production of three snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus L.) cultivars (`Potomac Pink', `Winter White', and `Potomac Light Pink') in growing trays vs. ground beds was evaluated in five different plantings over a period of a year and a half. The experiments evaluated the quality of cut flowers from plants in ground beds or in small vs. large trays either raised or placed directly on the ground bed. The quality of flowering shoots was lower when plants were grown in raised trays rather than in on-ground trays or in ground beds, but other treatments did not affect quality consistently. Flowering shoot grade (a subjective quality indicator) correlated well (r = 0.8) with the ratio of shoot dryweight to shoot length (an objective quality indicator). Our results confirm that the flower quality of snapdragons grown on ground trays can equal that of those grown in ground beds.

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Storage Temperature Affects the Quality of Cut Flowers from the Asteraceae

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.37.1.148 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 148-150 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Fisun G. Çelikel ◽

Michael S. Reid

Keyword(s):

Storage Temperature ◽

Freezing Point ◽

Vase Life ◽

Gerbera Jamesonii ◽

Cut Flower ◽

Cut Flowers ◽

Dry Storage ◽

Linear Relationships ◽

Stem Bending

The respiration of cut flowers of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii H. Bolus ex Hook.f. `Vesuvio') and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) increased exponentially with increasing storage temperature. Poststorage vase life and negatively gravitropic bending of the neck of the flowers were both strongly affected by simulated transport at higher temperatures. Vase life and stem bending after dry storage showed highly significant linear relationships (negative and positive, respectively) with the rate of respiration during storage. The data indicate the importance of maintaining temperatures close to the freezing point during commercial handling and transport of these important commercial cut-flower crops for maximum vase life.

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Effect of PGRs on Antioxidant Activity and Phytochemical in Delay Senescence of Lily Cut Flowers

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy10111704 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 1704

Author(s):

Sabir Aziz ◽

Adnan Younis ◽

Muhammad Jafar Jaskani ◽

Rashid Ahmad

Keyword(s):

Vase Life ◽

Cut Flower ◽

Cut Flowers ◽

Fresh Weight ◽

Chlorophyll Contents ◽

Spad Value ◽

Maximum Change ◽

Preservative Solutions

The short vase life is the major problem in the cut flower industry. This study was conducted to evaluate the role of different vase solutions and oils in enhancing the quality and vase life of lily cut flowers. Salicylic acid (SA; 300 mg L−1), citric acid (CA; 300 mg L−1), gibberellic acid (GA; 100 mg L−1), and clove oil (200 mg L−1) were used as vase solutions. These treatments were applied after pulsing with preoptimized sucrose 5%. It was found that SA (300 mg L−1) + sucrose (5%) improved the performance of cut flowers, which further increased the longevity of all tested lily cultivars up to eight days and the longest vase life by 17.6 days. The maximum change in fresh weight (5.60 g), increase in chlorophyll contents (3.2 SPAD value), highest protein content (6.1 mg g−1 FW), and increase in the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (51.0 U g−1 protein), catalase (CAT) (36.3 U g−1 protein), and peroxidase (POD) (41.6 U g−1 protein), were recorded with the CA (300 mg L−1) + sucrose 5%. Among the cultivars, “Zambesi” performed best compared to “Sorbonne” and “Caesars”. The maximum anthocyanin contents (198%) were recorded in “Caesars”. In conclusion, among the different preservative solutions, SA performed best to prolong the vase life and quality of lily cut flowers.

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