Irrigation Source Water: Effect on Soil and Plant Nutrient Cycling.

There is national concern with respect to future demands for domestic water. The declining supply from aquifers and the chemical quality of surface waters compounds that concern. As a result, water conservation methods are of paramount importance particularly as domestic water supply is also used for home irrigation purposes.  We investigated the effect of four different irrigation water sources a) domestic tap water, b) harvested rainwater, c) baby bath water and c) washing machine water on soil and plant nutrients under rye and bermuda grass. Conductivity in our sources ranged from 30 – 710 uS, pH from 7.6-8.4, sodium from 3.0-249.3 mg/L, calcium 2.2-4.7 mg/L and potassium 0.5-4.0 mg/L.