JEDDAH, 3 May 2007 -- An original Saudi experiment at the Water Section at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran has yielded what researchers are calling a spectacular set of interim results pointing the way toward reducing agricultural water usage in Saudi Arabia. The data also suggest a further major breakthrough is in the offing for Saudi science: Namely, the know-how to grow food crops in regions of the Kingdom previously considered to be unsuitable because of the high saline content in the ground water.

KFUPM results from alfalfa and wheat planted in soil treated with a chemical product have shown an increase in yield of between four and 40 times. The researchers did not want to divulge the substance being used in the study out of fear it would be copied.

"The conservation of water has succeeded beyond our wildest expectations," said Walid A. Abderrahman, professor and head of the Water Section at the KFUPM research department and leader of the team conducting the tests.

"What is also particularly encouraging," said research team member Nassim Al-Abed, "is that the salinity of the water used to irrigate the crops did not affect them negatively."

Yield was up on all the crops and, the researchers said, in most cases the higher the salinity of the irrigation water, the greater the crop yield.

"When the product is used the amount of water needed to grow one unit of dry weight of the crop is very much less than that used when the product is not incorporated into the soil," said Abderrahman.

The experiment, carried out under strictly controlled conditions, is taking place in a specially built unit on the KFUPM campus.

"The full data," said Owen Goldring, a UK member of the research team, "will have to be extensively analyzed and then the whole experiment peer-group reviewed. However, the interim results are extremely encouraging and we see no reason why they should not stand up."

The team is planning to make six to seven cuts from the alfalfa plants over the summer period, in order to simulate real agricultural conditions.

"We will then subject the plants to water stress -- both in terms of water reduction and increasing the salinity two or three times the current concentration of 3,000 parts per million (ppm) of salts," said Abderrahman.

The professor said that this would establish whether plants could survive and produce crops in salinity far beyond that which is currently accepted as a maximum.

"If they survive, then the possibility of growing crops in brackish water with high saline levels becomes a very real possibility and this will open up vast tracts of land in Saudi Arabia and worldwide that are now unfit for agriculture," said Abderrahman.

Crops in Saudi Arabia are often irrigated with saline water, however the maximum concentration used effectively tends to be between 1,200 to 1,400 ppm of salts.

"Although the really high-saline irrigation water data will only be in later during the year, our initial experimental data are very exciting," said team member Abdalla Siddiq Elamin. "The fact the substance under test is working well in solutions of 3,000 ppm salts is very good."

He said that his real interest was to find out whether the plants would grow and yield good crops when stressed with water of up to 9,000 ppm concentration of salts.

"If the product will allow that to happen, that would be simply fantastic," he said. "I suspect that the control plants (the pants that are being grown without the soil additive to be used as a comparison with plants using the additive) will die very quickly and that the others will survive for much longer. However, that has yet to be seen."

A second surprise for the team -- apart from greater yields with higher salinity water -- was that the wheat plants growing in the treated soil exhibited secondary growth. Mature plants, ripe and ready for harvest, had vigorous new green shoots pushing up at their bases. So far, the team can only speculate as to why this has occurred, but reason that it has to do with the extra water being made available to the maturing wheat plants when the product is used.

"To say the very least, it is highly unusual. In 18 years of experimenting with alfalfa, barley and wheat, I have not seen this," said Elamin. "Normally, the process is one germination, one growth and maturity once. To say the least, any additional growth of this type could be very beneficial for farmers in poorer regions of the world, who currently hand-harvest their wheat."

The next phase, while the final data are being gathered and the results are being checked and independently verified, is to find a local producer for the soil additive and take it to market. Mick Brown of Greenpower Solutions, Jeddah, who will produce and market the product said that there may be some refinements and design changes for production. "The good news is that it is entirely possible to manufacture the product in the Kingdom -- the equipment and techniques are here. It is full of potential for the country," he said.

By Roger Harrison

© Arab News 2007