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Field trials · United Arab Emirates

Date palms in the Emirates: 82% less irrigation water

The Emirates get about 50 mm of rain a year and almost all farming depends on irrigation. ICBA tested EVERGREEN in the open field, in sandy, saline soil, on date palms around 8 years old.

Read the full report (PDF)

Results

What the trial measured

−82 %of irrigation water over the whole season
−85 %of water over the last 7 months, with no stress to the trees
+20 %more dates at 300 g per tree
1 fois / 7 jourswatering frequency for the treated trees

In pictures

Before and after: the measured difference

Irrigation water over the season (index, control = 100)
Without EVERGREEN100
With EVERGREEN18
Date yield (index, control = 100)
Without EVERGREEN100
300 g per tree120

How it works

The water stays where the plant needs it

Seeds germinate: the roots reach down for the water in the soil. Video : Wjh31, sped up — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Mixed into the soil near the roots, the water retainer fills up at every watering or rainfall instead of letting the water evaporate or drain away. It then hands the water back to the plant, day after day. You water less often, and the plant never goes thirsty between two waterings.

Trial sheet

Where, when, by whom

  • Crop : Date palm
  • Place : ICBA research station, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • Period : 2020-2021 season
  • Run by : ICBA — International Center for Biosaline Agriculture
  • Products : EVERGREEN (water retainer)

Method

How the trial was run

  • 27 date palms planted 8 × 8 m apart, on the ICBA research station.
  • EVERGREEN worked into the top 50 cm of soil at the start of the season, at several doses per tree (including 300 g, 500 g and 1,000 g).
  • Watering steered by probes measuring soil moisture in real time.
  • Compared with control trees without EVERGREEN.

Observations

What to remember

  • The treated trees showed no sign of drought or damage during the season.
  • Available nutrients in the soil are markedly higher with EVERGREEN: water and minerals stay in the root zone instead of draining deeper.
  • Soil biological activity (respiration and microbial biomass) increases.
  • ICBA confirms all the results obtained under field conditions.
Date palm — date palm
Photo : Alex Sergeev — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Date palm — date palm
Photo : Z3lvs — CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Other trials

The same products, on other crops