Reference Projects
Date Palm Project with NADEC, Saudi-Arabia
At the Haradh Project of the National Agricultural Development Company (NADEC), Saudi-Arabia, Geohumus was incorporated into the root zone (60 cm deep) of 49 mature date palms. Using the Revita® air injector device (Spindler, Ulm Germany) ca. 1 kg of Geohumus was injected at 12 different locations in a circular pattern around individual trees.
Following regular soil moisture measurements with a TDR (time domain reflectance) probe (IMKO, Ettlingen, Germany), the water saving effect of Geohumus was calculated. On average, the date palm soil with Geohumus stored 23.5% more water than the untreated soil. This proportion of water was saved from seepage and/or evaporation losses. No adverse effect of Geohumus on plant physiology and fruit production could be detected. During the observation phase three different scenarios were monitored: 1. normal irrigation, 2. reduced irrigation only for Geohumus treated date palms and 3. continuous (excessive) irrigation for 24h. In all three scenarios the water saving effect resulting from the use of Geohumus was clearly detectable. The conclusion being that Geohumus is effective under various irrigation schemes.
Water storage in soil under date palms treated with and without Geohumus under three different irrigation regimes. Bars indicate average values; percent values indicate the proportion of saved irrigation water saving due to Geohumus.
Project partner
NADEC
Engineer Abdullah S. Al-Sudais, Haradh Project Manager
Engineer Raed N. Al-Nufily, Agriculture Engineer
Abdulilah Hamed Ali Mokhtar, Farm Manager Plant Production
Dr. Yousif Mohammed Salih, Chemical Analysis Specialist