Emirates presents successful soil-free agriculture experiment

An agriculture expert from the United Arab Emirates presented on Monday at a meeting of the International Center For Agricultural Research In Dry Areas (ICARDA) hosted by Kuwait, a successful soil-free agriculture experiment with several produce.

Kuwaiti news agency reports quoting Rashid Ahmad Al-Hantoubi, a specialist taking part in ICARDA meeting in Kuwait, that this type of agriculture in specially treated water is faster, more productive, and better in produce quality and is productive throughout the season, particularly with tomatoes.

The ICARDA meetings opened on Sunday and is scheduled to last through 23rd with experts from the region and beyond taking part.

Al-Hantoubi says the system relies on diluted solutions to provide the growing plant with the needed nutrients and spares the hassle of irrigation and timing.

The expert added using this system with fresh water reduces the use of chemical pesticides that compromise human health and damage the environment.

The most powerful advantage of this new technique, he adds, is that it could be used in areas where the soil is salty as well as in rocky and desert areas.

The set up is simple, he said, consisting of 8 by 36 meters plastic greenhouses with two fans in the front and an additional cooling system. Then there are five cement side-tanks, water tanks, and pumps.

Participants have been debating several experiments and research papers and developments in cooling, irrigation, and ventilation systems for greenhouse agriculture and means of benefiting from the results in the Arab peninsula.

The International Center For Agricultural Research In The Dry Areas (ICARDA), headquartered in Aleppo, north Syria, holds annual meetings in member-states. Last year's meeting was hosted by Oman.