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Self-Watering Soil Could Reduce Water Use In Agriculture
January 5, 2021
By University of Texas at Austin (edited)
A new type of soil created by engineers at The University of Texas at Austin can pull water from the air and distribute it to plants, potentially reducing water use in agriculture.
As published in ACS Materials Letters, the team’s atmospheric water irrigation system uses super-moisture-absorbent gels to capture water from the air. When the soil is heated to a certain temperature, the gels release the water, making it available to plants. When the soil distributes water, some of it goes back into the air, increasing humidity and making it easier to continue the harvesting cycle.
“Enabling free-standing agriculture in areas where it’s hard to build up irrigation and power systems is crucial to liberating crop farming from the complex water supply chain as resources become increasingly scarce,” said Guihua Yu, associate professor of materials science in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Each gram of soil can extract approximately 3-4 grams of water. The gels in the soil pull water out of the air during cooler, more humid periods at night. Solar heat during the day activates the water-containing gels to release their contents into the soil.
The team ran experiments on the roof of the Cockrell School’s Engineering Teaching Center building at UT Austin to test the soil. They found that the hydrogel soil was able to retain water better than sandy soils found in dry areas, and it needed far less water to grow plants.
During a four-week experiment, the team found that its soil retained approximately 40% of the water quantity it started with. In contrast, the sandy soil had only 20% of its water left after just one week.
In another experiment, the team planted radishes in both types of soil. The radishes in the hydrogel soil all survived a 14-day period without any irrigation beyond an initial round to make sure the plants took hold. Radishes in the sandy soil were irrigated several times during the first four days of the experiment. None of the radishes in the sandy soil survived more than two days after the initial irrigation period.
“Most soil is good enough to support the growth of plants,” said Fei Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher in Yu’s research group who led the study with Xingyi Zhou and Panpan Zhang. “It’s the water that is the main limitation, so that is why we wanted to develop a soil that can harvest water from the ambient air.”
The team has also tried the indoor growth of several microgreens such as broccoli, radish, and peas. “They could be certainly used for indoor farming with controlled temperature, humidity, and simulated sunlight. Our SMAG-soil can work for various crops and should be able to perform well in indoor settings,” says Yu.
The water-harvesting soil is the first big application of technology that Yu’s group has been working on for more than two years. Last year, the team developed the capability to use gel-polymer hybrid materials that work like “super sponges,” extracting large amounts of water from the ambient air, cleaning it, and quickly releasing it using solar energy.
The researchers envision several other applications of the technology. It could potentially be used for cooling solar panels and data centers. It could expand access to drinking water, either through individual systems for households or larger systems for big groups such as workers or soldiers.
Topics Growing Media
Source and Photo Courtesy of Greenhouse Canada
Organic Hydroponics vs. Soil And The USDA Lawsuit
The organic hydroponic vs. soil lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations violate the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act that mandates the need for organic crop production in order to build healthy soils
April 15, 2020
Tags: organic certification, organic hydroponics, organic hydroponics vs soil, soil, soilless systems
Co-authored by Tinia Pina and Riyana Razalee
BackgroundThe contentious issue of organic hydroponics vs soil certification remains at the forefront of the agriculture industry. In 2017, the National Organic Standards Board voted in favor of hydroponics being certified organic. However, just a few months ago, a lawsuit was filed by a group of organic farmers and advocates against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) over this decision. Although a number of the organic farmers had positive thoughts on the hydroponic industry, as a whole there was consensus that hydroponics should not fall under the organic category.
Pro-Lawsuit Perspective
The organic hydroponic vs. soil lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations violate the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act that mandates the need for organic crop production in order to build healthy soils. Since hydroponic farming is soilless, the argument is that these standards cannot ever be met. Therefore, organic certification should not be allowed. Organic farmers also highlight increased competition in an unfair manner. Larger hydroponic farms usually incur lower costs to grow the same food, thereby capturing even higher margins through their produce sales, while offering more value to the consumers for the same products. From a consumer and market perspective, claims have also been made that this certification weakens the integrity of the term “organic”, creates a lot of confusion, and opens up loopholes for inconsistent organic certifications.
"[The lawsuit] claims that hydroponic operations violate the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act that mandates the need for organic crop production in order to build healthy soils."
Anti-Lawsuit Perspective
For proponents of hydroponic organic certification, they stress that irrespective of whether food is grown in soil or not, it does not necessarily fully indicate whether the food is organic or not. The National Organic Program (NOP) also disagrees with the plaintiffs, stating that the 1990 statutory and regulatory provisions which require soil cultivation applies specifically to systems that use soil. In other words, the regulation was not created to exclude soilless (“hydroponic”) systems. Instead, its purpose was to ensure best practices within soil-based farming, first and foremost. If food is grown in other sustainable, certified organic growing media, they should still be eligible for organic certification. Anti-lawsuit proponents also pressed on the issue of limitation of fair competition by organic farmers, claiming that this exclusion is being done in order to monopolize the premium organic market, thus driving prices up further.
"[I]rrespective of whether food is grown in soil or not, it does necessarily fully indicate whether the food is organic or not."
Organic Hydroponics vs. Soil: Finding Common Ground
Ecologically speaking, it cannot be denied that fertile soil promotes healthy interaction between beneficial microorganisms. These microorganisms are incredibly important for crop production as well as the environment, and ultimately, this enhances the land's ability to sequester carbon and retain nutrients and water. However, do we limit ourselves by saying that this is the only input that necessitates an environment for organic production? Interestingly enough, a 2017 poll by the health food store chain, Natural Grocers, found that over 90 percent of respondents cited pesticide avoidance as their key reason for purchasing organic products. Yet, we fail to acknowledge that the organic hydroponics vs. soil debate should be more multi-faceted than just focusing on one key factor such as “pesticide-free” or soil-only growth.
To do this, we need to look even bigger – How is every step of the food production process using inputs which come from an organic source and /or growing method? There are plans by the NOP to integrate new provisions from the 2018 Farm Bill related to oversight, enforcement, data reporting, and technology into the USDA organic regulations. In addition, the NOP will prioritize farm-to-market traceability for the global organic supply chain, ensuring an even more holistic view of what the organic term should constitute, which undoubtedly should include soil, but in reality also includes various inputs along the supply chain. In soil, compost and other organic fertilizers are typically added directly to this media during cultivation. The organic fertilizer is subsequently degraded by soil microorganisms, which make organic compounds readily available for absorption by the plant.
"[W]e need to look even bigger – How is every step of the food production process using inputs which come from an organic source and /or growing method? "
Re-Nuble’s mindset has always been about how we can bring back closed-loop food again, realizing that nobody has been able to efficiently take organic nutrients and turn it into a viable nutrient solution at a scale that makes it competitive with commercial grade synthetic fertilizers for soilless farms. However, if the microbial community that degrades organic fertilizer can be cultured in a soilless system, it should be possible to meet the organic growing standards that those representing the pro-lawsuit perspective are seeking.
This is something we have not only spent the last 5 years researching but have also been very intentional about. Using our approach of organic cycling, and having developed a nutrient delivery system, we can achieve what we recognize as missing in this lawsuit within the soilless community, by employing a myriad of methods, including composting technology, which is essentially decomposed organic matter. Every stage of our production is viewed as circular, ensuring that we are not only carbon neutral, but also relieving our land (and soil) of further environmental stress.
So really, could the solution be as simple as asking ourselves, “Is the organic hydroponic vs soil conversation really just about soil, or should we hold ourselves to higher standards and, instead, focus on optimizing for efficient food production systems, especially as providers of nutrition to entire communities?”
Photo source
GP Solutions Partners With Soilless Science to Create Premier Brand of “Living Soils”
Product line will heighten company’s brand in $262 billion organic food market
Corona, CA – March 19, 2019 – GP Solutions (OTC:GWPD), a leading developer of modular automated micro-farms, has partnered with Soilless Science to create a proprietary lineup of premium “living soils.”
These unique soil-less mediums contain no dirt and will be certified pathogen free. The mixtures will contain beneficial micro-organisms that form the foundation of highly active “living soils” that will produce abundant, healthy crops of all types.
Soil mixtures will be developed for a variety of crops - each with its own unique, beneficial composition.
The mixtures are vegan based, and use no animal products. Compare this to other products that use fish and animal waste products, which inherently contain harmful pathogens and bacteria, and can contaminate crops and potentially cause widespread illness.
As the public becomes more aware of the dangers of traditional farming and the potential harm from “dirty” soil, consumers will start demanding that their food is grown in controlled environments using healthy soil mediums.
GP Solutions will be providing this proprietary soil-less mixture to its customers of GrowPod automated farms, as well as to the general public within the near future.
GrowPod, by GP Solutions, is a unique, stackable, modular indoor micro-farm that grows clean produce in a controlled environment. By utilizing specialized air and water filtration, and its proprietary pathogen-free living soils, the GrowPod system can deliver some of the highest quality produce in the world.
“The traditional approach was to add chemicals, fertilizers, weed killers and other dangerous additives to soil and crops,” said George Natzic, President of GP Solutions. “Today, we know this can be very harmful to the public. That’s why I’m proud to be developing new living soils that are pathogen free and full of beneficial nutrients to produce high velocity, healthy crops of all kinds.”
For more information, visit: www.growpodsolutions.com, or call (855) 247-8054.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release includes statements considered “forward-looking” within securities laws. These statements represent Company’s current judgments, but are subject to uncertainties that could cause results to differ. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on these statements, which reflect management’s opinions only as of today’s date. Company is not obligated to revise statements in light of new information.
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As Temperatures Rise, Earth's Soil Is 'Breathing' More Heavily
Study suggests carbon stored in soil is entering atmosphere faster, thanks to microbes
News Release
August 01, 2018
- Tom Rickey, PNNL, (509) 375-3732
Dead leaves are a common source of carbon that makes its way into the soil and then into the atmosphere. A PNNL study shows that carbon in soil is entering our atmosphere at an increasing rate.
Credit: Vision Webagency / Unsplash
RICHLAND, Wash. — The vast reservoir of carbon stored beneath our feet is entering Earth's atmosphere at an increasing rate, most likely as a result of warming temperatures, suggest observations collected from a variety of the Earth's many ecosystems.
Blame microbes and how they react to warmer temperatures. Their food of choice — nature's detritus like dead leaves and fallen trees — contains carbon. When bacteria chew on decaying leaves and fungi chow down on dead plants, they convert that storehouse of carbon into carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere.
In a study published Aug. 2 in Nature, scientists show that this process is speeding up as Earth warms and is happening faster than plants are taking in carbon through photosynthesis. The team found that the rate at which microbes are transferring carbon from soil to the atmosphere has increased 1.2 percent over a 25-year time period, from 1990 through 2014.
While that may not seem like a big change, such an increase on a global scale, in a relatively short period of time in Earth history, is massive. The finding, based on thousands of observations made by scientists at hundreds of sites around the globe, is consistent with the predictions that scientists have made about how Earth might respond to warmer temperatures.
"It's important to note that this is a finding based on observations in the real world. This is not a tightly controlled lab experiment," said first author Ben Bond-Lamberty of the Joint Global Change Research Institute,a partnership between the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Maryland.
"Soils around the globe are responding to a warming climate, which in turn can convert more carbon into carbon dioxide which enters the atmosphere. Depending on how other components of the carbon cycle might respond due to climate warming, these soil changes can potentially contribute to even higher temperatures due to a feedback loop," he added.
Globally, the soil holds about twice as much carbon as Earth's atmosphere. In a forest where stored carbon is manifest in the trees above, even more, carbon resides unseen underfoot. The fate of that carbon will have a big impact on our planet. Will it remain sequestered in the soil or will it enter the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, further warming the planet?
To address the question, the team relied heavily on two global science networks as well as a variety of satellite observations. The Global Soil Respiration Database includes data on soil respiration from more than 1,500 studies around the globe. And FLUXNET draws data from more than 500 towers around the world that record information about temperature, rainfall, and other factors.
"Most studies that address this question look at one individual site which we understand very well," said author Vanessa Bailey, a soil scientist. "This study asks the question on a global scale. We're talking about a huge quantity of carbon. Microbes exert an outsize influence on the world that is very hard to measure on such a large scale."
The study focused on a phenomenon known as "soil respiration," which describes how microbes and plants in the soil take in substances like carbon to survive, then give off carbon dioxide. Soils don't exactly breathe, but as plants and microbes in soil take in carbon as food, they convert some of it to other gases which they give off — much like we do when we breathe.
Scientists have known that as temperatures rise, soil respiration increases. Bond-Lamberty's team sought to compare the roles of the two main contributors, increased plant growth, and microbial action.
The team discovered a growing role for microbes, whose action is outstripping the ability of plants to absorb carbon. In the 25-year span of the study, the proportion of soil respiration that is due to microbes increased from 54 to 63 percent. Warmer temperatures can prompt more microbial action, potentially resulting in more carbon being released from carbon pools on land into the air.
"We know with high precision that global temperatures have risen," said Bond-Lamberty. "We'd expect that to stimulate microbes to be more active. And that is precisely what we've detected. Land is thought to be a robust sink of carbon overall, but with rising soil respiration rates, you won't have an intact land carbon sink forever."
In addition to Bond-Lamberty and Bailey, authors include Min Chen of JGCRI, Christopher Gough of Virginia Commonwealth University and Rodrigo Vargas of the University of Delaware.
The work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.
Tags: Environment, Fundamental Science, Climate Science, Subsurface Science, Atmospheric Science, Microbiology
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is the nation's premier laboratory for scientific discovery in chemistry, earth sciences, and data analytics and for solutions to the nation's toughest challenges in energy resiliency and national security. Founded in 1965, PNNL is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit PNNL's News Center.
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