Sprinkler Irrigation of Potato Processing Waste for Treatment and Disposal on Land

Smith, J.H. (1975) Sprinkler Irrigation of Potato Processing Waste for Treatment and Disposal on Land. In: Waste-water Resource Manual. pp. 2C2/21-2C2/29. Sprinkler Irrigation Assn., Silver Spring, Md.

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Abstract

Potato processing and other food industries discharge large volumes
of waste water generally characterized by high chemical oxygen demand
(COD), large amounts of suspended solids, and various inorganic constituents
including nitrogen and phosphorus (1, 2, 3). Applying these
waste waters to agricultural land may (a) promote crop growth, (b) conserve
water and nutrients otherwise wasted, (c) provide economic treatment
of waste waters, and (d) decrease the pollution load on surface water
supplies. (4) Wilcox (5) recommended using a variety of industrial effluents
for agricultural irrigation and indicated that waste waters from
paper pulp, potato and other food processing effluents generally are
well suited for land disposal.

Sprinkler irrigation with cannery and food processing waste water has
been practiced in the United States for several years (6, 7, 8) and in
Europe potato wastes have been disposed on land for over 100 years (9).
Sprinkler irrigation was first used for waste disposal in the United
States in 1947 and has expanded widely since that time. While sprinkler
irrigation with waste water is expanding, there are limitations and
restrictions that should be imposed on its use. Drake and Bier (10)
indicated that (a) organic matter may accumulate on plants and provide
a suitable environment for fungi and other harmful growths, (b) prolonged
irrigation of a particular field may deteriorate the soil structure, (c)
roots of plants may rot if soaked too often, and (d) plant diseases may
spread from the processed products to the crops being irrigated. Nevertheless,
sprinkler irrigating with food processing waste water is usually
practical, simple in concept, straightforward in operation, and with
careful planning and control adaptable to various soil conditions and
terrain.

Item Type:	Book Section
NWISRL Publication Number:	0331
Subjects:	Irrigated crops > Potato Irrigation > Sprinkler irrigation Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:55
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2017 19:25
Item ID:	755
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/755