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Volume 15
Issue 10
10.3390/agronomy15102396
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Optimizing Crop Water Use with Saline Aquaculture Effluent: For Succesful Production of Forage Sorghum Hybrids

by
Ildikó Kolozsvári
1,*,
Ágnes Kun
2,
Mihály Jancsó
2,
Noémi J. Valkovszki
2,
Csaba Bozán
2,
Norbert Túri
2,
Árpád Székely
2,
Andrea Palágyi
3,
Csaba Gyuricza
4 and
Gergő Péter Kovács
4
1
Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Anna-Liget Str. 35., H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
2
Research Center for Irrigation and Water Management, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Anna-Liget Str. 35., H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
3
Pannon Genetic, Füzespuszta 42, H-6400 Kiskunhalas, Hungary
4
Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Str. 1., H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agronomy 2025, 15(10), 2396; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15102396
Submission received: 29 August 2025 / Revised: 26 September 2025 / Accepted: 11 October 2025 / Published: 15 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Crop Water Use: Advances and Applications in Deficit Irrigation Strategies)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Hungary faces increasing water challenges, including frequent droughts and a growing dependence on irrigation, which necessitate alternative water sources for agriculture. This study evaluated the use of saline aquaculture effluent—characterized by elevated sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl−) concentrations—as an irrigation resource for forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) over four consecutive growing seasons. Three hybrids (‘GK Áron’, ‘GK Balázs’, and ‘GK Erik’) were tested under five irrigation regimes, including freshwater and aquaculture effluent applied via drip irrigation at weekly doses of 30 mm and 45 mm, alongside a non-irrigated control. Effluent irrigation at 30 mm weekly increased biomass yield by up to 61% and enhanced nitrogen uptake by 22% compared to the control. Soil electrical conductivity (EC) values remained below 475 µS/cm, with effluent treatments showing lower EC than non-irrigated plots. The effluent water also supported the recycling of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. Unlike conventional saline water, aquaculture effluent contains organic compounds and microbial activity that may improve nutrient mobilization and uptake. Our results highlight how we can reuse aquaculture wastewater in irrigated crop production. The results demonstrate that moderate effluent irrigation (30 mm/week) can optimize crop water use while maintaining soil health, offering a viable strategy for forage sorghum production in water-limited environments.
Keywords: forage sorghum; saline irrigation; aquaculture effluent; biomass yield; nutrient uptake; soil salinity; drought adaptation forage sorghum; saline irrigation; aquaculture effluent; biomass yield; nutrient uptake; soil salinity; drought adaptation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kolozsvári, I.; Kun, Á.; Jancsó, M.; Valkovszki, N.J.; Bozán, C.; Túri, N.; Székely, Á.; Palágyi, A.; Gyuricza, C.; Kovács, G.P. Optimizing Crop Water Use with Saline Aquaculture Effluent: For Succesful Production of Forage Sorghum Hybrids. Agronomy 2025, 15, 2396. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15102396

AMA Style

Kolozsvári I, Kun Á, Jancsó M, Valkovszki NJ, Bozán C, Túri N, Székely Á, Palágyi A, Gyuricza C, Kovács GP. Optimizing Crop Water Use with Saline Aquaculture Effluent: For Succesful Production of Forage Sorghum Hybrids. Agronomy. 2025; 15(10):2396. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15102396

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kolozsvári, Ildikó, Ágnes Kun, Mihály Jancsó, Noémi J. Valkovszki, Csaba Bozán, Norbert Túri, Árpád Székely, Andrea Palágyi, Csaba Gyuricza, and Gergő Péter Kovács. 2025. "Optimizing Crop Water Use with Saline Aquaculture Effluent: For Succesful Production of Forage Sorghum Hybrids" Agronomy 15, no. 10: 2396. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15102396

APA Style

Kolozsvári, I., Kun, Á., Jancsó, M., Valkovszki, N. J., Bozán, C., Túri, N., Székely, Á., Palágyi, A., Gyuricza, C., & Kovács, G. P. (2025). Optimizing Crop Water Use with Saline Aquaculture Effluent: For Succesful Production of Forage Sorghum Hybrids. Agronomy, 15(10), 2396. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15102396

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