AGRONOMICAL AND FEED EVALUATION OF ALFALFA (MEDICAGO SATIVA L) AND PANICUM MAXIMUM (PANICUM L) IRRIGATED WITH TREATED WASTEWATER, AND ITS IMPACT ON MILK QUANTITY AND QUALITY

Abstract

In Palestine, the scarcity of water resources has become one of the most important challenges, especially in recent years. This has led to the use of treated waste water (TWW) as an alternative to fresh water (FW) for irrigation. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the agronomic performance and nutritive value of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and Panicum (Panicum maximum) using TWW as an alternative to FW, and to assess their influence on milk yield and quality in Awassi lactating ewes. The study was conducted in Jenin and Tubas Governorates and was designed to cultivate alfalfa and panicum in experimental plots under controlled conditions with the two systems (FW & TWW) and assess their biomass, nutritional value, dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and fiber content. Thereafter, to evaluate the influence of forage type and irrigation source on dairy Awassi performance and milk yield. Twenty seven lactating Awassi ewes were randomly selected and assigned to nine groups. The groups were fed different rations from a pure wheat straw (control) to various mixture of alfalfa and panicum irrigated with TWW or FW. The results revealed that using TWW reduced the production cost of alfalfa by 208.57 USD and panicum by 365 USD. Notably, panicum demonstrates higher productivity under TWW (3,325 kg/half dunum) compared with FW irrigation (2700 kg/half dunum). In contrast, alfalfa irrigated with FW produced higher yields (2,250 kg/half dunum), showing statistically significant difference compared with Alfalfa irrigated with TWW (1400 kg /half dunum). Ewes fed 100% Alfalfa irrigated with FW exhibited higher milk production (143.66 kg by day 50) than those fed 100% wheat straw (103.50 kg) and other dietary treatments. This group also achieved the highest net revenue (221.43 USD / ewe) compared with wheat straw control and other groups. On the other hand, panicum and alfalfa irrigated with TWW improved net revenue relative to 100% wheat straw group, although their returns remained lower than those obtained from 100% alfalfa irrigated with FW. In conclusion, replacing wheat straw with Alfalfa irrigated with FW resulting in higher milk yield and net revenue. Although the other groups irrigated with TWW also showed satisfactory performance and outperformed the wheat straw control, alfalfa irrigated with FW remained the most profitable option. Nevertheless, these findings support reducing reliance on freshwater and promoting the use of TWW as a sustainable irrigation alternative. The study recommends expanding future research to include additional crops irrigated with TWW, in order to further assess its effect on productivity, crop quality, milk yield and growth parameters . Strengthening scientific knowledge in this field is essential to support sustainable water resource management, reducing pressure on freshwater resources, lower feed costs and improve production efficiency under limited local water conditions.