Evaluation Of Selected Plant Species Under Drained Saline And Waterlogged Conditions In Pots When Irrigated With Treated Wastewater

A pot experiment was carried out to study the effect of the use of treated wastewater (TWW) on selected plant species. In total three treatments were compared including high soil salinity under drained and waterlogging conditions in comparison to a drained non-saline treatment. The effect of TWW on growth performance of the plant species was investigated to find out which of the plant species is most promising to be grown under the saline or waterlogged conditions when irrigated with TWW. The TWW application reduced the soil salinity even under the waterlogged conditions but more efficiently in drained soils. From the six plant species Atriplex nummularia, Acacia cyanophyllia and Eucalyptus gomphocephala performed better, with lower mortality and higher biomass production than Casuarina glauca, Cupressus sempervirens and Pinus halepensis. Salinity under the drained conditions in combination with TWW application even caused higher yields in case of Atriplex nummularia and Acacia cyanophyllia compared to a non-saline soil.