African Journal of
Agricultural Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Agric. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1991-637X
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJAR
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 6900

Full Length Research Paper

Agricultural potential of reject brine from water desalination

Francisco Ismael de Souza
  • Francisco Ismael de Souza
  • Department of Environmental and Technological Sciences – DCAT, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – UFERSA. Caixa Postal 137, CEP 59.625-900 Mossoró (RN), Brazil.
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Nildo da Silva Dias
  • Nildo da Silva Dias
  • Department of Environmental and Technological Sciences – DCAT, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – UFERSA. Caixa Postal 137, CEP 59.625-900 Mossoró (RN), Brazil.
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Osvaldo Nogueira de Sousa Neto
  • Osvaldo Nogueira de Sousa Neto
  • Program of Post-Graduate in Farming Systems Engineering, ESALQ/USP, Piracicaba (SP), Brazil.
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Jeane Cruz Portela*
  • Jeane Cruz Portela*
  • Department of Environmental and Technological Sciences – DCAT, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – UFERSA. Caixa Postal 137, CEP 59.625-900 Mossoró (RN), Brazil.
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Ana Cláudia Medeiros Souza
  • Ana Cláudia Medeiros Souza
  • Department of Environmental and Technological Sciences – DCAT, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – UFERSA. Caixa Postal 137, CEP 59.625-900 Mossoró (RN), Brazil.
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Vania Christina Nascimento Porto
  • Vania Christina Nascimento Porto
  • Department of Environmental and Technological Sciences – DCAT, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – UFERSA. Caixa Postal 137, CEP 59.625-900 Mossoró (RN), Brazil.
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Claudio Ricardo da Silva
  • Claudio Ricardo da Silva
  • Department of the Environmental sciences, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia - UFU, Uberlandia, (MG), Brazil.
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Francisco Souto de Sousa Júnior
  • Francisco Souto de Sousa Júnior
  • DCAT, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido – UFERSA. Caixa Postal 137, CEP 59.625-900 Mossoró (RN), Brazil.
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  •  Received: 30 August 2015
  •  Accepted: 20 October 2015
  •  Published: 17 December 2015

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the feasibility of growing organic vegetables using the reject brine from the water treatment station in the community of Bom Jesus, in Campo Grande, RN. The research began with the establishment of a community garden according to systematic principles of agricultural sustainability in ecological basis. The participatory planning, in which all activities in the project were planned and performed democratically with the community, was the methodology adopted. Vegetables like coriander, chive, tomato and rocket were grown in the site available for the research, sowing a mixture of legumes with grasses to produce plant material, breeding of elephant grass and planting forest and halophyte species (Atriplex nummularia). The appropriate disposal of the reject brine gave a conservative nature to the project and also the possibility of an alternative source of water for agriculture, emphasizing the efficiency of use of water in semiarid regions. It is concluded that there were yield losses in all species grown with water of saline waste, from 25.30 to 26.7%, in relation to the conventional irrigation systems (fresh water); but there was biomass. However, the vegetable growth was successful in the community because it could change the resident's mind about the disposal and reuse of the saline waste.
 
Key words: Action research, saline waste, water resources, green manure, Brazil.