article · Food and Energy Security
A greenhouse experiment evaluated the use of sewage sludge as a fertiliser for broad bean cultivation. Adding sewage sludge to agricultural soils increased organic matter, soil salinity, and concentrations of several heavy metals while lowering soil pH. Heavy metal concentrations in the amended soil remained below European regulatory thresholds for agricultural use. Sewage sludge applications up to 120 tonnes per hectare boosted broad bean growth measurements and total biomass. In contrast, an application rate of 150 tonnes per hectare led to declines in biomass, shoot height, branch count, root length, and leaf area. Although heavy metal accumulation in broad bean tissues was higher than in untreated plants, most concentrations stayed within permissible and non-phytotoxic limits. Broad beans showed bioaccumulation factors below 1.0 for most metals, indicating that sewage sludge can serve as an effective fertiliser.
Finding safe and productive ways to recycle sewage sludge is a persistent environmental challenge. This research shows that sewage sludge can enrich soil organic matter and boost broad bean production without causing dangerous heavy metal accumulation, provided application rates stay below 150 tonnes per hectare. This presents a viable path for agricultural nutrient recycling and municipal waste reduction.
This research relates to organic soil conditioning and waste valorisation. Agricultural producers and wastewater treatment facilities could potentially use sewage sludge as a low-cost fertiliser for broad bean crops. Because this research was conducted as a greenhouse experiment, it represents an applied and tested stage of development that would require field-scale validation and safety monitoring before commercial deployment.
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Abstract Although several studies have examined the effect of sewage sludge (SS) application on various legume crops, there is insufficient information confirming the agronomic and environmental sustainability of SS usage in a broad bean cultivation systems. Therefore, a greenhouse experiment was completed to assess the soil heavy metal (HM) pools, growth, yield, and HM uptake of Faba sativa Bernh. (broad bean) grown in the agricultural soils supplemented with SS in comparison to control soils (nonamended). The experimental design was completely randomized with six replicates. The amendment with SS significantly elevated the organic matter (OM) content, soil salinity and Al, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentrations, although the soil pH decreased. As allowed by the Council of European Communities, the concentrations of the determined HMs were less than the accepted limit for SS used in agriculture. Generally, SS applications of up to 120 t/ha produced a considerable increase in the growth measurements and biomass of broad bean. However, the broad bean biomass, shoot height, number of branches, root length, absolute growth rate, number of leaves, and leaf area declined in reaction to a rate of 150 t/ha. The HM concentrations in various tissues of broad bean plants exposed to SS were significantly higher than those in the untreated plants. However, most HM concentrations were inside the permissible limits and did not overcome the maximum levels of phytotoxic. The broad bean was recognized by a bioaccumulation factor less than 1.0 for the majority of the HMs. The translocation factors for the determined HMs (excluding for Al, Co, and Pb in stems and leaves) were less than 1.0. Therefore, the SS utilized in this study could be used as a fertilizer for broad bean crops and could as well act as a replacement manner for SS elimination.
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DOI: 10.1002/fes3.142
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