ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a summary of crop selection criteria, with emphasis on selection and management of perennial forage species. The degree to which the use of wastewater influences crop selection depends on the goals of the user and the treatment plant designers and on the wastewater properties. The factors affecting selection of plant species are governmental regulations, crop tolerance of salts and specific ions, management requirements, crop uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus, crop use of water, economic value of the crop, climate, and soil physical characteristics. Regulations in California require that some degree of pre-treatment be used wherever wastewater is reclaimed. Crop selection is influenced by the availability of management skills and the kind of operation that the managing agency or leasee is willing and able to provide. The crops most often irrigated with reclaimed wastewater in California are forages, turf grass, cotton, corn and sorghum, winter cereals, and woody perennial landscaping.
