Effect of the disposal of sludge from olive processing on some soil characteristics: Laboratory experiments

A laboratory experiment was performed during a 40-day incubation period in order to evaluate changes in organic and inorganic compounds of soil amended with two doses of sludge obtained from olive-oil processing waste waters. Differences between the amounts of organic components of the amended soil and those of the control, although related to doses and sampling time, disappeared at the end of the experimental period. On the contrary, the inorganic anion contents were still different for the various treatments, which suggest, especially for NO₃ ^? and SO₄ ^2?, a transient inhibition in the soil-sludge system. A germination test, carried out on the soil amended with different doses of sludge, indicates that after about twenty days even the soil containing the highest dose of sludge did not show toxicity any longer.