The effects of wastewater, super absorbent and soil texture on the growth of Nitraria schoberi

Drought stress is one of the most important factors controlling plant growth in arid and semi arid regions. Super absorbent polymers has introduced for absorbing seasonal rain to decrease moisture stress. As a result of over population and industrialization, water shortage is pronounced in dry or semi arid areas; hence use of waste water for some crops is being important. This study aimed to evaluate the multiple effects of municipal wastewater and super absorbent polymer on Nitraria schoberi growth under greenhouse conditions. In this study factorial complete randomized design with four replications was used. The treatments used included: two types of soils (clay and sandy), three level of super absorbent (0, 4, and 8), irrigation at two levels (wastewater and Tap water) and two irrigation regimes (5 and 15 days). The results indicated that the number of established seedlings, plant height and root length, plant dry weight were affected by different quantities of super absorbent and wastewater. According to results, application of polymers significantly increased water holding capacity especially in sandy soils. Therefore using polymer can increase the success chance of seedling establishment in rehabilitation projects.