THE EFFECT OF APPLYING ON AGRICULTURAL LAND OF THE COMPOST FROM SEWAGE SLUDGE ON THE SOIL AND THE MAIZE CROP

The compost obtained from sludge from wastewater treatment being an important source of macro and micronutrients, can be used in agriculture, because it reduces the production costs and improves the soil quality by providing nutrients and organic matter necessary for modern, ecological agriculture, in the conditions to improve the capacity to retain moisture in the soil, reducing the pressure on the environment generated by the storage of this waste. The compost used in the experiments is suitable for the use in agriculture without risks of environmental and soil pollution, in compliance with the rules in force. The obtained results show that by applying the compost produced at SEAU Mioveni, even in the variants where the highest doses (60 t/ ha) were applied, there are no significant changes in the chemical properties of the soil, especially the content of heavy metals. The values determined in the soil after applying the compost to all the experienced variants are far below the maximum allowed values for the concentrations of heavy metals in the soils. Also, analyzing the results regarding the risk of translocation of different chemical elements in the maize grains, it can be seen that, in general, all indicators register values well below the limits from which zootoxicity phenomena can occur. No increases in heavy metal contents in the maize grains are observed as the doses of compost used increase.