Abstract
Sustainable usage of water resources becomes a necessity in the recent years because of the increased pressure on these resources resulted from climate change events e.g., intensive droughts. Irrigation of forage crops consumes vast amounts of ground water in arid and semi-arid areas. Therefore, vast research efforts are being invested to find alternative sources of freshwater suitable for irrigation. The aim of this study was to examine the potential of using treated wastewater in sustainable irrigation of alfalfa for forage production and the effect of this type of water on productivity and forage quality of alfalfa plants comparing to irrigation with normal water. Six different cultivars (Hassawi, Egyptian local, Cuf 101, Server, WG CAL 10 and Saltine) were grown in two different seasons (2013-2014 and 2014-2015). Regardless of cultivar and/or cultivation season, irrigation with treated wastewater did not adversely affect the productivity of alfalfa plants. Moreover, irrigation with treated wastewater did not show any adverse effects on forage quality of alfalfa plants with slight decrease in protein and fat contents in comparison with plants irrigated with normal water. In conclusion, alfalfa forage crop can be successfully grown with treated wastewater. (C) 2020 Friends Science Publishers