Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2023-2024

Ph.D. Student, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences

Research Summary: Conventional produced water (PW) is a byproduct of conventional oil and gas production which doesn’t involve hydraulic fracturing or horizontal drilling throughout the drilling process. Owing to its comparatively lower concentration of salts and other toxic compounds, this water can be a feasible option for crop irrigation. Still the concerns related to alkalinity, salts and boron toxicity need to be seriously considered. Therefore, with the help of a greenhouse irrigation study we conducted an in-depth characterization of the accumulative effects of conventional PW irrigation on soil health, microbial diversity, crop production and metabolism.

Advisor: Thomas Borch