Monitoring bacterial populations in an agricultural greenhouse production system irrigated with reclaimed wastewater

Bernstein, Nirit; Guetsky, Ruth; Friedman, Haya; Bar‐Tal, Asher; Rot, I.

doi:10.1080/14620316.2008.11512467

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…For practical implications, four issues should be considered. First, the presence of plants in the soil and the soil type may affect bacterial persistence ( Islam et al, 2004 ; Bernstein et al, 2008 ). Second, the concentration of the pathogen applied to the potting medium in the present study was higher than is expected for sporadically contaminated irrigation water.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salinity Stress Does Not Affect Root Uptake, Dissemination and Persistence of Salmonella in Sweet-basil (Ocimum basilicum)

et al. 2017

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Crop produce can be contaminated in the field during cultivation by bacterial human pathogens originating from contaminated soil or irrigation water. The bacterial pathogens interact with the plant, can penetrate the plant via the root system and translocate and survive in above-ground tissues. The present study is first to investigate effects of an abiotic stress, salinity, on the interaction of plants with a bacterial human pathogen. The main sources of human bacterial contamination of plants are manures and marginal irrigation waters such as treated or un-treated wastewater. These are often saline and induce morphological, chemical and physiological changes in plants that might affect the interaction between the pathogens and the plant and thereby the potential for plant contamination. This research studied effects of salinity on the internalization of the bacterial human pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Newport via the root system of sweet-basil plants, dissemination of the bacteria in the plant, and kinetics of survival in planta. Irrigation with 30 mM NaCl-salinity induced typical salt-stress effects on the plant: growth was reduced, Na and Cl concentrations increased, K and Ca concentrations reduced, osmotic potential and anti-oxidative activity were increased by 30%, stomatal conductance was reduced, and concentrations of essential-oils in the plants increased by 26%. Despite these physical, chemical and morphological changes in the plants, root internalization of the bacteria and its translocation to the shoot were not affected, and neither was the die-off rate of Salmonella in planta. The results demonstrate that the salinity-induced changes in the sweet-basil plants did not affect the interaction between Salmonella and the plant and thereby the potential for crop contamination.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salinity Stress Does Not Affect Root Uptake, Dissemination and Persistence of Salmonella in Sweet-basil (Ocimum basilicum)

et al. 2017

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“…At the same time, these authors stressed the importance of the external environment, typically wildlife, as a source of fecal contamination. In addition, Bernstein et al (2008) reported no bacterial populations in an agricultural greenhouse hydroponic production system irrigated with reclaimed WW. In contrast to the above findings, Al-Lahham et al (2003) reported considerable coliform contamination of tomato fruit skin, as a result of WW irrigation, suggesting that tomatoes produced from WW irrigated crops should be eaten after cooking, rather than raw.…”

Section: Tomato Fruits' Microbial Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact assessment of the reuse of two discrete treated wastewaters for the irrigation of tomato crop on the soil geochemical properties, fruit safety and crop productivity

Christou

Maratheftis

Eliadou

et al. 2014

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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Advanced tertiary treatment and disinfection technologies have enabled the production of wastewater (WW) with quality complying with the established criteria for reuse in agriculture. This study assessed the impacts of tomato crop irrigation with two qualitatively distinct treated WW effluents, as compared to control tubewell water (TW) irrigation, on the soil geochemical properties, tomato fruit safety and crop productivity. The treated effluents reused for irrigation were produced in two Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants (MWTPs) utilizing two discrete tertiary treatment and disinfection technologies, i.e. Slow Sand Filtration and chlorination (MWTP I), and Membrane Bioreactor and UV radiation (MWTP II), respectively. The impacts on soil pH, electrical conductivity, total organic C, Cl − , NO 3 − and heavy metal (Zn, Mn, Ni, Cu, Co) content were evaluated. In addition, the heavy metal content in tomato fruits and leaves, as well as the microbial load in fruit flesh and peel was determined. Crop productivity was measured by the mean fruit weight and maximum diameter, and by the number of fruits per harvest. Irrigation with either WW did not significantly affect the soil pH, organic C and heavy metal content, as well as crop productivity, in comparison to control TW irrigation. Furthermore, the heavy metal content of tomato fruits and leaves in all irrigation treatments was found to be below the maximum permissible levels set for fruit safety and the critical tissue concentration for phytotoxicity, respectively. Moreover, no microbiological contamination (total coliform, fecal coliform, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria spp.) of tomato fruits was found from any irrigation treatment. Overall, results obtained with regard to the parameters examined strongly suggest that advanced tertiary treated effluent of good quality might be safely reused, in terms of both environmental sustainability and public health safety, for vegetable irrigation, concurrently promoting water use efficiency in dry areas.

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“…The level of microbial contamination observed in recycled wastewater, soils, and crops depends on technical regulations based on national standards. In this context, posttreatment disinfection processes such as chlorination, ozonation, and UV radiation, shown to be successful treatments against microbial agents and pharmaceutical ingredients, can significantly reduce the risks associated with TWW irrigation (Hey et al 2012; Martinez et al 2011; Nikaido et al 2010; Bernstein et al 2008; An et al 2007). …”

Section: Wastewater Reuse In Agriculture: Benefits Vs Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of treated wastewater irrigation on antibiotic resistance in the soil microbiome

Gatica

Cytryn

2013

Environ Sci Pollut Res

144

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The reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) for irrigation is a practical solution for overcoming water scarcity, especially in arid and semiarid regions of the world. However, there are several potential environmental and health-related risks associated with this practice. One such risk stems from the fact that TWW irrigation may increase antibiotic resistance (AR) levels in soil bacteria, potentially contributing to the global propagation of clinical AR. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents have been recognized as significant environmental AR reservoirs due to selective pressure generated by antibiotics and other compounds that are frequently detected in effluents. This review summarizes a myriad of recent studies that have assessed the impact of anthropogenic practices on AR in environmental bacterial communities, with specific emphasis on elucidating the potential effects of TWW irrigation on AR in the soil microbiome. Based on the current state of the art, we conclude that contradictory to freshwater environments where WWTP effluent influx tends to expand antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistant genes levels, TWW irrigation does not seem to impact AR levels in the soil microbiome. Although this conclusion is a cause for cautious optimism regarding the future implementation of TWW irrigation, we conclude that further studies aimed at assessing the scope of horizontal gene transfer between effluent-associated ARB and soil bacteria need to be further conducted before ruling out the possible contribution of TWW irrigation to antibiotic-resistant reservoirs in irrigated soils.

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Monitoring bacterial populations in an agricultural greenhouse production system irrigated with reclaimed wastewater

Cited by 12 publications

References 3 publications

Salinity Stress Does Not Affect Root Uptake, Dissemination and Persistence of Salmonella in Sweet-basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Salinity Stress Does Not Affect Root Uptake, Dissemination and Persistence of Salmonella in Sweet-basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Impact assessment of the reuse of two discrete treated wastewaters for the irrigation of tomato crop on the soil geochemical properties, fruit safety and crop productivity

Impact of treated wastewater irrigation on antibiotic resistance in the soil microbiome

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