Persistence of Fecal Contamination Indicators and Pathogens in Class B Biosolids Applied to Sugarcane Fields

Agricultural recycling of human Class B biosolids in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) crop is a promising alternative to reduce the costs of biosolids disposal. However, the presence of fecal contamination indicators such as thermotolerant coliforms and pathogenic organisms such as enterovirus and Ascaris...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of environmental quality Vol. 48; no. 2; pp. 526 - 530
Main Authors:	Oliveira, Fernando C., Faria, Marianne F., Bertoncini, Edna I., Sato, Maria Inês Z., Hachich, Elayse M., Guerrini, Iraê A., Passos, José Raimundo S., James, Jason N., Harrison, Robert B., Feitoza, Thomas G., Chiaradia, Jonas J., Abreu‐Junior, Cassio H., Firme de Moraes, Lucia P.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States The American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc 01-03-2019
Subjects:	Agriculture - methods Environmental Monitoring Feces Fertilizers Saccharum Soil Soil Pollutants - analysis Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods
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Summary:	Agricultural recycling of human Class B biosolids in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) crop is a promising alternative to reduce the costs of biosolids disposal. However, the presence of fecal contamination indicators such as thermotolerant coliforms and pathogenic organisms such as enterovirus and Ascaris spp. in biosolids impose barriers to effective and widespread use of biosolids as fertilizer. In addition, there is a scarcity of studies that investigate the persistence of these organisms in tropical soils. This study aimed to evaluate the persistence of pathogenic and fecal indicators for 258 d in a tropical clayey soil amended with human Class B biosolids and cultivated with sugarcane. Treatments were immediate incorporation of biosolids into soil after application (T1) or superficial application of biosolids followed by incorporation after 35 d (T2), emulating the typical procedure in sugarcane fields. Thermotolerant coliforms were estimated to persist for 437 d in T1 and 398 d in T2. For enterovirus, mean estimated persistence time in soil was 26 d for T1, but the sampling frequency was insufficient in T2 for persistence analysis. After 35 d, no enterovirus was detected in any sample. Mean estimated persistence time for viable Ascaris spp. eggs in soil was 22 d in T1 and 41 d in T2. Core Ideas Thermotolerant coliforms can persist longer in soils than Ascaris spp. eggs. Enteroviruses are short lived in biosolids‐amended soil due to high sensitivity. Viable Ascaris spp. eggs exhibit less viability in tropical climate soils than in temperate soils.
Bibliography:	Assigned to Associate Editor Lisa Durso. All rights reserved. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0047-2425 1537-2537
DOI:	10.2134/jeq2018.07.0270