Evaluating a Porous Alpha soil enhancer to save water and increase yield

The soils of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are sandy and coarse-textured, and have very low water- and nutrient-holding capacity, leading to high leaching, loss of nutrients and groundwater pollution. Mitigation of these losses is urgently required through innovative new technologies aimed at saving water, increasing water use efficiency and controlling leaching losses of water and nutrients. Water saving is a critical issue for agriculture in arid zones in the Middle East and Africa where water is becoming ever scarcer. Any technology that enhances water and nutrient use efficiency and increases biomass production should be taken as a research priority in irrigated agriculture. In the past, a number of soil amendments have been used (e.g. Zeolite, Bentonite, Sodium lignosulfonate products, Palagonite, and Perlite) to improve soils, water saving and to boost biomass production. It is important to note that the time taken to drain sandy soil from flood to field capacity is three to four times quicker when compared to clay-based soil. To be cost-effective in irrigation for urban landscapes and agriculture, careful consideration is needed to improve soil quality for healthy landscapes and good yields with less water and nutrient inputs.