Comparable levels of microbial contamination in soil and on tomato crops after drip irrigation with treated wastewater or potable water

Ezra Orlofsky; Nirit Bernstein; Mollie Sacks; Ahuva Vonshak; Maya Benami; Arti Kundu; Michael Maki; Woutrina A Smith; Stefan Wuertz; Karen Shapiro; Osnat Gillor

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2015.08.008

Comparable levels of microbial contamination in soil and on tomato crops after drip irrigation with treated wastewater or potable water

Ezra Orlofsky, Nirit Bernstein, Mollie Sacks, Ahuva Vonshak, Maya Benami, Arti Kundu, Michael Maki, Woutrina A Smith, Stefan Wuertz, Karen Shapiro, Osnat Gillor

School of Veterinary Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

To evaluate the impact of treated wastewater (TWW) irrigation for produce safety, field experiments were conducted to compare secondary and tertiary TWW with potable water using tomatoes as a model crop. Human pathogens including a suite of obligate and opportunistic bacterial pathogens (Campylobacter, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus), protozoa (Cryptosporidium and Giardia), and viruses (Adenovirus and Enterovirus) were monitored in two field trials using a combination of microscopic, cultivation-based, and molecular (qPCR) techniques. Results indicate that microbial contamination on the surface of tomatoes was not associated with the source of irrigation waters; fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) contamination was not statistically different on tomatoes irrigated with TWW or potable water. In fact, indicator bacteria testing did not predict the presence of pathogens in any of the matrices tested. Indicator bacteria and the opportunistic pathogens were detected in water, soil and on tomato surfaces from all irrigation treatment schemes, and were positively correlated with duration of time in the field (p

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	140-150
Number of pages	11
Journal	Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
Volume	215
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2015.08.008
State	Published - Jan 1 2016

Keywords

Drip irrigation
Indicators
Pathogens
Potable water
Tomato
Treated wastewater

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Agronomy and Crop Science
Animal Science and Zoology
Ecology

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10.1016/j.agee.2015.08.008

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Orlofsky, E., Bernstein, N., Sacks, M., Vonshak, A., Benami, M., Kundu, A., Maki, M., Smith, W. A., Wuertz, S., Shapiro, K., & Gillor, O. (2016). Comparable levels of microbial contamination in soil and on tomato crops after drip irrigation with treated wastewater or potable water. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 215, 140-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2015.08.008

Comparable levels of microbial contamination in soil and on tomato crops after drip irrigation with treated wastewater or potable water. / Orlofsky, Ezra; Bernstein, Nirit; Sacks, Mollie; Vonshak, Ahuva; Benami, Maya; Kundu, Arti; Maki, Michael; Smith, Woutrina A; Wuertz, Stefan; Shapiro, Karen; Gillor, Osnat.

In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, Vol. 215, 01.01.2016, p. 140-150.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Orlofsky, E, Bernstein, N, Sacks, M, Vonshak, A, Benami, M, Kundu, A, Maki, M, Smith, WA, Wuertz, S, Shapiro, K & Gillor, O 2016, 'Comparable levels of microbial contamination in soil and on tomato crops after drip irrigation with treated wastewater or potable water', Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, vol. 215, pp. 140-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2015.08.008

Orlofsky, Ezra ; Bernstein, Nirit ; Sacks, Mollie ; Vonshak, Ahuva ; Benami, Maya ; Kundu, Arti ; Maki, Michael ; Smith, Woutrina A ; Wuertz, Stefan ; Shapiro, Karen ; Gillor, Osnat. / Comparable levels of microbial contamination in soil and on tomato crops after drip irrigation with treated wastewater or potable water. In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 2016 ; Vol. 215. pp. 140-150.

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Comparable levels of microbial contamination in soil and on tomato crops after drip irrigation with treated wastewater or potable water

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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