A comparison of the application of different waste products to a lettuce crop: Effects on plant and soil properties

A romaine-type lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) was cultivated during three successive crop seasons in an agricultural land near the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) of Alcázar de San Juan. Four fertilization treatments were compared, including: two different organic fertilizer treatments consisting of (i) air-dried sewage sludge (SS), and (ii) municipal solid waste compost (MSWC), (iii) an inorganic treatment of commercial fertilizer (FER), and (iv) a control treatment in which no fertilizer was applied (CONT). The highest yield was observed in the SS treatment in all crop seasons. In the organic treatment plots there was an increase in macronutrients and organic matter in the soil. An accumulation of heavy metals in the soil was not observed but there was an increase in microbial population in the organic treatment plot, especially in the SS treatment plot. In plant tissue, the continued addition of fertilizers did not produce an accumulative effect of macro- and micronutrients. Low heavy metal content (Cr, Cd, Pb and Hg) was observed in all treatments and crop seasons. Microbiological content was more numerous in the first crop season in SS-treated plants, mainly in lettuce leaves but also in the soil.