Abstract

ACOSTA-ZAMORANO, Dinora; MACIAS-CARRANZA, Víctor; MENDOZA-ESPINOSA, Leopoldo  and  CABELLO-PASINI, Alejandro. Effect of treated wastewater on growth, photosynthesis and yield of Tempranillo Grapevines (Vitis vinifera) in Baja California, Mexico. Agrociencia [online]. 2013, vol.47, n.8, pp.753-766. ISSN 2521-9766.

Baja California is a semi-arid region, where agriculture, including viticulture, is limited by water scarcity. The city of Ensenada, adjacent to the grape-growing area, treats 100 % of the wastewater, which is not reused but dumped into the sea. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of treated wastewater (TWW) irrigation on growth, photosynthesis and yield of grape (Vitis vinifera var. Tempranillo) in the Guadalupe Valley, Mexico, during two years. An established vineyard was irrigated with 10 to 20 L week ^-1 of TWW from the El Sauzal wastewater treatment plant, as the experimental factor, and water from the Guadalupe Valley aquifer, as the control. The TWW and aquifer water were analyzed chemically and microbiologically during the study. TWW from the wastewater treatment plant satisfied all the parameters of the norms NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996 and NOM-003-SEMARNAT-1997 for restricted and non-restricted irrigation, as well as for direct and indirect contact during the study. There were no differences in relative growth rates or chloroplast electron transport rate of the grapevines relative to the type of water applied. Higher wood yield was observed in plants irrigated with 20 L week^-1 TWW. This study shows that TWW from the El Sauzal wastewater treatment plant had no short-term effect on growth and photosynthesis of grapevines, and that treated wastewater could be used to reduce water stress of grape crops in Baja California.

Keywords : treated sewage water; viticulture; growth.