Freshwater (FW) scarcity as a result of prolonged drought has reduced FW availability to agriculture in the arid west Texas region in order to meet demands from other sectors. Alternatively, there is enormous potential to utilize treated urban wastewater (TWW) for agricultural irrigation. However, the soil salinization potential of TWW is a concern as it can be detrimental to crops and soil quality. Alternative crops that are both less water-intensive and salt-tolerant are therefore needed to sustain this region's agriculture. Switchgrass is a perennial grass that is well adapted to grow on marginal lands and is a novel crop for lignocellulosic bioenergy feedstock. However, its performance when irrigated with TWW on arid soils of far west Texas is largely unknown. This field study evaluated the yield potential and composition of switchgrass biomass as affected by TWW along with soil quality changes, using a split-plot experimental design. Results indicate that biomass yields were not affected by TWW irrigation and there were no significant differences between TWW and FW across years. With respect to biomass composition, cellulose and lignin contents were lower, while ash content was significantly higher in TWW treatment. Theoretical ethanol production was not affected. Soil salinity and sodicity increased overtime but this increase was more prominent under TWW irrigation. However, application of gypsum and sulfur significantly reduced soil sodicity. These results indicate that switchgrass can tolerate soil salinity induced by TWW application and therefore can be successfully grown on these marginal arid soils as a bioenergy feedstock.

长期干旱导致淡水 (FW) 稀缺，这降低了德克萨斯州西部干旱地区农业可用淡水 (FW) 的供应量，以满足其他部门的需求。或者，利用经过处理的城市废水 (TWW) 进行农业灌溉具有巨大潜力。然而，TWW 的土壤盐渍化潜力令人担忧，因为它可能对作物和土壤质量有害。因此，需要用水强度较低且耐盐的替代作物来维持该地区的农业。柳枝稷是一种多年生草，非常适合在边缘土地上生长，是一种用于木质纤维素生物能源原料的新型作物。然而，它在德克萨斯州西部干旱土壤上用 TWW 灌溉时的性能在很大程度上是未知的。本田间研究使用裂区实验设计评估了受 TWW 影响的柳枝稷生物量的产量潜力和组成以及土壤质量变化。结果表明，生物量产量不受 TWW 灌溉的影响，并且 TWW 和 FW 之间没有显着差异。就生物质组成而言，TWW 处理中纤维素和木质素含量较低，而灰分含量显着较高。理论乙醇产量不受影响。土壤盐分和碱度随时间增加，但这种增加在 TWW 灌溉下更为突出。然而，石膏和硫磺的施用显着降低了土壤碱度。