Efficacy of organic amendments to mitigate the wastewater illness for improvement in soil properties and maize growth

Wastewater irrigation is becoming an emerging challenge for sustainable crop production in the rapidly growing world. Remarkably, the presence of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is considered a great threat to food security. Thus, this issue must be addressed using various old methods, advanced techniques, and amendments incorporation to restore the soil environment for sustainable crop production. Therefore, this study was established to examine the potential of press mud (PM), compost (CP), and farm yard manure (FYM) to ameliorate soil properties and improve maize growth under wastewater irrigation. This study comprised two levels (0 and 2%) of organic amendments with a completely randomized design (CRD), and maize was used as a test crop. Current study findings demonstrate that all organic amendments used in this study proved efficient in enhancing soil properties and maize growth relative to control. Specifically, the addition of organic amendments at 2% (w/w) resulted in the significant reduction of cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) in soil by FYM (32% and 53%), CP (27% and 36%), and PM (15% and 51%) relative to control. Similarly, their Cd and Ni accumulations in maize tissues reduced by FYM (37% and 36%), CP (31% and 30%), and PM (23% and 10%) at 2% (w/w), relative to control in wastewater-irrigated soil. Thus, the current study suggested that adding farm yard manure (FYM) at 2% (w/w) might be an efficient amendment to improve soil properties and maize growth under wastewater irrigation.