Opportunities of use treatment sludge applications in pepper growing and the effects on plant nutrition and heavy metal content

As in many parts of the world, the amount of organic matter in agricultural lands in our country is low. The use of sewage sludge, which is difficult to dispose of as a waste in treatment plants, is among the researches that have attracted attention in agriculture in recent years, since it contains macro and micro plant nutrients such as high organic matter, N, P, K, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn. Of course, the treatment sludge to be used in agriculture should be stabilized and not cause health problems. In this thesis, the possibilities of using the treatment sludge, which is stabilized in anaerobic conditions and brought to 15% and 75% dryness, from the Malatya Metropolitan Municipality Waste Water Treatment Plant, in the form of granules, in pepper cultivation were investigated. Since the sewage sludge has high mineral content as well as heavy metals, the nutrient and heavy metal content of both plants and fruits were analyzed. In addition, the effect in terms of yield was determined in open field pepper cultivation by comparing the producer conditions (chemical fertilization) and the plots where no fertilizer was applied. In the experiment where Istek F1 bell pepper was used as plant material 1) sewage sludge at 75% dryness rate of 3 tons/da, 2) sewage sludge at 15% dryness rate of 3 tons/ha, 3) sewage sludge at 75% dryness rate at 5 tons/da, 4) A total of 6 applications were made: 5 tons/ha of treatment sludge with a dryness of 15%, 5) Chemical fertilizer application, and 6) Control plot where no fertilizer was applied. In this study, which was repeated two years in a row; measurements were made regarding the growth and development of plants, yield values were taken, nutrient content in leaves and heavy metal contents in fruits were analyzed. By comparing the applications, the possibilities of using the treatment sludge in pepper cultivation were investigated. KEYWORDS: Heavy metal, sewage sludge, nutrient content, Capsicum annum L., yield.