Print Email Facebook Twitter QMRA of Ralstonia solanacearum in potato cultivation Title QMRA of Ralstonia solanacearum in potato cultivation: Risks associated with irrigation water recycled through managed aquifer recharge Author Eisfeld, R.C.M. (TU Delft Sanitary Engineering) van Breukelen, B.M. (TU Delft Sanitary Engineering) Medema, G.J. (TU Delft Sanitary Engineering; KWR Water Research Institute) van der Wolf, Jan M. (Wageningen University & Research) Velstra, Jouke (Acacia Water B.V.) Schijven, Jack F. (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM); Universiteit Utrecht) Date 2023 Abstract Agricultural aquifer storage recovery and transfer (ASTR) stores excess fresh water for later reuse in irrigation. Moreover, water quality improves because chemical pollutants and pathogens will be removed by degradation and attachment to the aquifer material. The source water may contain the bacterial plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum which causes plant infections and high yield losses. We used quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to investigate the removal of R. solanacearum during ASTR to predict infection risks of potato plants after irrigation with the recovered water. Laboratory experiments analyzed the ASTR treatment by investigating the bacterial die-off in the water phase and the removal by attachment to the aquifer sediment. Die-off in the water phase depends on the residence time and ranged between 1.3 and 2.7 log10 after 10 or 60 days water storage, respectively. A subpopulation of the bacteria persisted for a prolonged time at low concentrations which may pose a risk if the water is recovered too early. However, the natural aquifer sand filtration proofed to be highly effective in removing R. solanacearum by attachment which depends on the distance between injection and abstraction well. The high removal by attachment alone (18 log10 after 1 m) would reduce bacterial concentrations to negligible numbers. Upscaling to longer soil passages is discussed in the paper. Infection risks of potato plants were calculated using a dose-response model and ASTR treatment resulted in negligible infection risks of a single plant, but also when simulating the irrigation of a 5 ha potato field. This is the first QMRA that analyzed an agricultural ASTR and the fate of a plant pathogen focusing on plant health. QMRA is a useful (water) management tool to evaluate the treatment steps of water reclamation technologies with the aim to provide safe irrigation water and reduce risks disseminating plant diseases. Subject Aquifer treatmentIrrigation water qualityManaged aquifer rechargeQMRARalstonia solanacearum To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:2c465bf2-65cc-4730-9492-2607706a6e73 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166181 ISSN 0048-9697 Source Science of the Total Environment, 901 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2023 R.C.M. Eisfeld, B.M. van Breukelen, G.J. Medema, Jan M. van der Wolf, Jouke Velstra, Jack F. Schijven Files PDF 1_s2.0_S0048969723048064_main_3.pdf 3.14 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:2c465bf2-65cc-4730-9492-2607706a6e73/datastream/OBJ/view