Quality control of agricultural soils and irrigation water in Vojvodina province

Abstract

The first global estimate of the fertility status and levels of hazardous and harmful substances in the soils of Vojvodina was made in 1992-1993. A total of 1,600 samples were analyzed, each representing an area of 1,000 ha. The study showed Vojvodina to be a very suitable area for the production of safe foods. However, a series of unfavorable circumstances that befell our country in the last 10 years (absent or inadequate fertilizer and pesticide use, 1999 spillage of hazardous and harmful substances in Pančevo and Novi Sad and Novi Sad oil refinery fires) made it necessary to re-test all 1,600 of these samples throughout Vojvodina. The Executive Council of the Province of Vojvodina funded the analysis of 50 soil samples and 10 irrigation water samples from the province. This repeated study involved all the parameters included in the 1992-1993 one, but devastation caused by the 1999 NATO bombardment made it imperative to put special emphasis on testing for the presence in the soil of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as by-products of combustion of oil and oil derivatives. Based on the results of analyses carried out thus far to obtain an initial overall picture of the fertility status and possible soil degradation of the soils of Vojvodina resulting from inadequate fertilizer use and potential soil damage by organic pollutants (pesticides and by-products of burning oil and oil derivatives), we can conclude that the province of Vojvodina is a suitable area for the production of high-value, high-quality safe food by domestic and EU standards.

Prva globalna procena stanja plodnosti i sadržaja opasnih i štetnih materija u zemljištima Vojvodine izvršena je tokom 1992-1993. godine. Stanje plodnosti pokazalo je da Vojvodina predstavlja veoma pogodno područje za proizvodnju zdravstveno bezbedne hrane. Međutim, niz nepovoljnih okolnosti u poslednjih deset godina (izostavljanje ili neadekvatna primena đubriva i pesticida, izlivanje opasnih i štetnih materija tokom 1999. godine u Pančevu i Novom Sadu, gorenje rafinerije nafte u Novom Sadu), uslovile su potrebu da se ponovno ispitaju zemljišta Vojvodine. Izvršno Veće Vojvodine je finansiralo analizu 50 uzoraka zemljišta i 10 uzoraka vode za navodnjavanje sa teritorije Vojvodine. Na osnovu sprovedenih istraživanja, koja su imala za cilj dobijanje početne slike o stanju plodnosti i eventualnoj degradaciji zemljišta u Vojvodini, usled izostavljanja primene đubriva i eventualnog oštećenja zemljišta u pogledu sadržaja organskih zagađivača pesticida i produkata gorenja nafte i naftnih derivata, možemo zaključiti da Vojvodina predstavlja pogodno područje za proizvodnju visoko vredne, kvalitetne i zdravstveno bezbedne hrane.