Vetiver, the plant that would help generate new crops

05/06/2015

An Indian plant, called Vetiver, could become an important solution for farmers in northern Chile. And it is that the roots of the plant grow vertically - can reach up to the 4 depth meters - and has a high capacity to absorb polluting material from the soil.

This species was used by professionals from the University of Tarapacá to introduce in 2012 a modern system that seeks to decontaminate the soils of the locality, which has been in operation since March of this year.

It is about the project "Validation of the Vetiver System in arid zones for the recovery, remediation and protection of agricultural soils in the Arica and Parinacota Region", Supported by the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation (FIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile and that is executed by professionals of the University of Tarapacá.

"The high salinity of water and the presence of pollutants such as heavy metals, boron and arsenic affect soils causing low yields and limiting agricultural activity to certain tolerant crops, which reduce the productivity of the area"Said Sandra Ugalde, agronomist at the University of Tarapacá and technical coordinator of the project, in a statement issued by FIA.

And is that at present, there are very few technological alternatives to address the issue of soil contamination.

"Decontamination options for boron soil do not exist and in the case of heavy metals, the methods are very expensive and are recorded in small areas, being unviable for agriculture", Highlighted Ugalde.

In this way, the Vetiver System (SV) is positioned as the most cost / efficient and easy to implement, which has been scientifically proven by its successful experiences in Australia, China, Thailand and Venezuela.

It should be noted that the SV was initially developed by the World Bank in the '80 years to recover soils and waters in India. The system works through phytoremediation, a novel technology capable of regenerating the soils in which it is applied, achieving a high extraction of harmful elements and being more economical than conventional methods, explains the document.

The above, considering that the costs for the classic tools border the 100 thousand to 1 million euros per hectare, "while phytoremediation does not exceed 10 thousand euros per hectare".

Vetiver gives this technology greater autonomy due to the extension of its roots, which adds to its high growth and its ability to adapt to all types of climate and soils.

"Its phytoremediation range covers all heavy metals, metalloids and boron. For example, in the case of arsenic, Vetiver accumulates levels up to 72 mg Kg^-1, whereas other plants studied by the professionals of the University of Tarapacá (which reached the 400) only varied between 1 to 10 mg Kg^-1", Says the statement.

In the case of Chile, the project has been underway for two months (it is expected to extend for a year and a half) and could benefit the productivity of large-scale farmers in the area.

"If we find that the plant has the capacity to absorb such contaminating materials from the soil, it will mean that the crops have better performance and that others can be introduced, currently sensitive to these boron amounts. That means opening a range of possibilities for small and medium farmers"Said Ugalde.

In addition, the project coordinator added that only maize, alfalfa, onion, garlic and broccoli have been grown to date, all adapted hundreds of years ago to these conditions.

"That's what we want to evaluate now, once we remediate the soil. Here, we will introduce new crops, sensitive to boron and at the same time profitable, such as green beans, strawberries, melons and lettuce."He said.

One of the main challenges is to convince the farmers of the efficiency of the plant, however, the expert rescued - as background - the good results obtained in the 2014 experience, by means of which irrigation waters were decontaminated.

"The plant was able to absorb up to 96% of the boron concentrate in the fluids, which we now seek to verify in the soils given the international success that the plant has had on the surfaces"He said.

For its part, Loreto Burgos, executive of Agrarian Innovation (EIA) of FIA in charge of the project said that "for us it is very important to work and support technologies that can be implemented by the productive sector, directed towards decontamination. This is a topic of sustainability that, after having allowed the use of waters that were not available for irrigation, today can be occupied on surfaces achieving productions that previously did not exist".

Source: Fruit Portal