Saltwater farming? It is possible and is being tested in Spain

A group of scientists is experimenting with growing crops in salty water, which is known to have a detrimental effect on agriculture, both on plant health and soil fertility. According to Business InsiderThis discovery could help “save the world from hunger.” At the origin of the discovery is start Israeli Sally KroppBut there are already tests taking place in Spain.

In a laboratory in Israel, tests were conducted on alfalfa, onions, rice and tomatoes. This latest production was also grown in Spain, a country affected by drought and therefore has saltier soil allowing the fruit in question to grow efficiently.

And in the neighboring country, according to what the executive leader of Sally KroppCarmit Oron Participating tomato growers saw a 10% to 17% increase in crop productivity. This increase translated into an additional income of €1,488 per hectare.

The startup says it saw an opportunity in a time of crisis. “How can we grow more on lands that have become degraded?” This was the main question and motivation for creating this initiative Sally KroppOron explained.

In addition to Spain, India could be one of the regions that will benefit from this scientific discovery, as 44% of its area is currently already salty. The latest projections indicate that by 2050 salinization will affect more than half the country.

Ṛcā Godbole, molecular biologist and co-founder of startExplains how seeds are changed so they can grow in salty soil. “Plants have certain environmental stress-inducing genes that act as internal alarms, and when there is too much salt or too much heat, these alarms go off and the plant goes into defense mode,” he begins to explain.

However, Godbole discovered that if seeds were exposed to this “stress early in their growth cycle,” i.e. watering crops with salty water in the laboratory, then when they were grown in salty soil they already had “defences.” In practice, the biologist explains, they will be less sensitive to the conditions to which they will be exposed.

Agricultural engineer Sharon Dever says the startup's work is “a good example of how we can offer the world a cheap and reliable solution, without negative environmental impacts, just to produce more food.” Sally Kropp Consists of Oron Beth Oron, Carmit Oron, Ska Godboly, Sharon Dever and Shimon Rachmelevitch.

Solution provided by start Israel is not unique. company from Saudi Arabia, Red Sea FarmsSelective breeding is also used to enhance saltwater farms. Also in Sweden, using artificial intelligence, the company OlsAro You are growing salt-tolerant wheat.