Drought, together with rising global temperatures, has become one of the main abiotic stresses limiting large-scale agricultural productivity. Recent environmental studies predict that in the coming years there will be an increase not only in the frequency of drought episodes but also in their intensity due to global climate change, in addition to a 1°C increase in the earth’s global temperature.
The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) report “Climate Smart Agriculture Sourcebook” estimates that by the year 2050 there will be a world population increase of 30%, an increase of two billion people, which will require a 60 % increase in agricultural production to ensure a growing demand for food and establish a certain degree of food security.
This increase in agricultural production will be significantly affected by the adverse effects of climate change that may limit the production situation, such as higher temperatures and reduced precipitation and available water resources.
Improving agricultural productivity requires environmentally friendly and environmentally concerned agriculture. Based on the above, it is assumed that the scientific-technological community should engage in the identification of the real risks and contribute to a proper interpretation of the situation. This favours decision-making that safeguards public and environmental health, in a reasonable balance between the productive and socio-economic factors at stake.
At TRICHODEX®, after analysing this problem, we have designed a solution capable of retaining water and avoiding losses through runoff, ensuring optimum water status for the plant.
TRICHODEX® Strategy: CHAUME®
CHAUME® is a blend of non-ionic surfactants that promote the filtration, retention and lateral movement of water in the soil. CHAUME® is an optimal solution that reduces the frequency of irrigation and achieves the best use and improves the availability of nutrients. It does not contain phosphates or perchloric acid. In addition, the incorporation of Ascophyllum nodosum algae extract in its formulation stimulates the crop, improving its physiological conditions to be able to cope with stressful moments.
Improved aeration capacity, through the application of CHAUME®, prevents anaerobic conditions (lack of oxygen) in the rhizosphere, favouring the plant’s natural microbiome.
The application of CHAUME® in strawberry trials carried out in the 2022-2023 season produces a 16.4% increase in soil moisture, achieving a better optimisation of irrigation water.
References
- IPCC, “Climate change and water technical paper of the intergovernmental panel on climate change,” Geneva, 2008.
- Beillouin, D., Schauberger, B., Bastos, A., Ciais, P., & Makowski, D. (2020). Impact of extreme weather conditions on European crop
production in 2018. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 375(1810), 20190510. - J. M. Faurès et al., Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook. Rome: FAO, 2013.
- Markova, G., Baas, S., Conforti, P., & Ahmed, S. (2018). 2017: the impact of disasters and crises on agriculture and food security. (Ed. 2).
- de Araújo, V. L. V. P., Junior, M. A. L., de Souza Júnior, V. S., de Araújo Filho, J. C., Fracetto, F. J. C., Andreote, F. D., … & Fracetto, G. G. M.
(2020). Bacteria from tropical semiarid temporary ponds promote maize growth under hydric stress. Microbiological Research, 240,
126564. - Chandra, P., Wunnava, A., Verma, P., Chandra, A., & Sharma, R. K. (2021). Strategies to mitigate the adverse effect of drought stress on crop
plants—influences of soil bacteria: A review. Pedosphere, 31(3), 496-509. - Van Oort, P. A. J., B. G. H. Timmermans, R. L. M. Schils, et N. van Eekeren. 2023. «Recent Weather Extremes and Their Impact on Crop
Yields of the Netherlands». European Journal of Agronomy 142: 126662. - Feyen, J. (2022). ¿Podemos acabar con el hambre y la desnutrición y reducir el impacto de la agricultura en el calentamiento global? Maskana, 13(1), 1-3.
- IPCC, “Climate change and water technical paper of the intergovernmental panel on climate change,” Geneva, 2008.
