Schaumann, G.E., Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Germany
Shemotyuk, L., Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Germany
Hasan, J., Department of Applied Earth and Environmental Sciences, Al Quds University, Palestine
Sawalha, A.M., Department of Applied Earth and Environmental Sciences, Al Quds University, Palestine
Borisover, M., Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Israel
Nasser, A., Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Israel
Bukhanovsky, N., Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Israel

Due to the often practised uncontrolled disposal into the environment, olive oil production waste-water (OPWW) is presently a serious environmental problem in Palestine and Israel. Due to its high nutrient contents, OPWW may be a valuable soilimproving amendment. The objectives of this study are to understand the influence of the olive oil production wastewater on soil. We incubated soils from Israel and Palestine with waste water from olive oil production and investigated the effect of this incubation on soil wettability and sorption towards atrazine. The results show that wettability of soil samples treated by OPWW decreased and their sorptivity towards atrazine increased. This may have a significant impact on the potential of OPWW to be re-used in agriculture. These preliminary studies point out the importance of detailed examination of soil-OPWW interactions that have to be understood in order to develop an optimal OPWW application procedure with minimal negative effects on soil-water-plant environment.