ABSTRACT A long-term experiment (2013 to 2017) of treated sewage effluent (TSE) levels via fertigation in a humid tropical region was installed in Jaboticabal, state of São Paulo, Southeast of Brazil, to evaluate the impact of TSE on soil fertility and the potential for salinization and heavy metal contamination of an Oxisol. The area was cultivated with Urochloa brizantha under the application of four TSE levels at the irrigation depth (0, 11, 60, and 100% TSE) during the four years of the experiment. The TSE chemical composition was monitored throughout the experimental period. The heavy metal levels and soil fertility were evaluated in the 0-0.10 and 0.10-0.20 m layers at the end of the four years of the experiment. Fertigation using TSE did not increase the concentration of potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) in the soil due to their low concentration in the effluent. A higher Na concentration was also observed at high TSE levels (60 and 100%). However, the sodium adsorption rate in the TSE was low, generating no potential for soil salinization and sodification. Fertigation with TSE levels increased soil fertility, increasing by more than 10% the P content and base saturation in the soil compared to control. According to the chemical attributes evaluated in the soil and effluent, this long-term study showed that TSE application via fertigation in humid tropical regions on clayey soils cultivated with forage grasses is recommended.

ABSTRACT One of the benefits of irrigation with wastewater in agriculture is the reduction in the use of mineral fertilizers and the increase in crop yield. For wastewater application, the use of remote sensing can help to define specific management areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the yield and the growth of irrigated white oats (Avena sativa L.) with varying treated sewage effluent (TSE) levels. These attributes were then correlated with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values obtained at four phenological stages of the crop and used to define critical limits of NDVI. The experiment consisted of five TSE treatments differing in irrigation depths (11, 31, 60, 87, and 100%). Mean NDVI values in the crop were determined with an active terrestrial sensor (GreenSeeker), which were then correlated with height, maximum leaf area index (LAI), panicles per square meter, number of grains per panicle, grain mass, grain yield (GY), and biomass yield (BY). In order to define the NDVI critical limits, NDVI values were generated as a function of relative BY in four phenological stages; NDVI values at 90% and 110% of relative BY were considered critical. Maximum GY (5.775 kg.ha-1) and BY (20,731 kg.ha-1)of white oats were achieved with TSE-induced nitrogen rates of45 kg.ha-1 and 88 kg.ha-1, respectively. NDVI readings were highly correlated (greater than 0.85) with growth and yield of white oats. In this study, we defined the critical NDVI limits of white oats and obtained maximum precision at the phenological stage 10.5.4.