Plant growth in hot and dry regions such as the Middle East suffers from water stress, heat stress, and low-fertility soils. In particular, the soils in the western Saudi Arabia are characterized by high sand content, alkalinity, salinity, and low organic matter content. In response, we have developed the following soil-amendment technologies: (1) Superhydrophobic Sand (SHS) mulch – common sand grains coated with nanoscale paraffin wax layer, and (2) date palm biochar – derived from the pyrolysis of locally abundant organic waste. SHS prevents the evaporative water loss from the topsoil, while date palm biochar enhances soil’s ion-exchange capacity. We investigated the effects of these technologies on tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>) plants in a field trial; also, the effects of super water absorbent polymer (SAP), consisting of potassium polyacrylate and polyacrylamide. Specifically, we probed the effects of the following soil treatments on plant growth: (i) only NPK fertilizer (control); (ii) NPK fertilizer with 1 cm-thick layer of SHS on the top; (iii) NPK fertilizer with SAP; (iv) 300 g of nutrients-loaded biochar (37% lesser N and 103% higher P content than the NPK fertilizer, plus micronutrients, including copper, manganese, sulfur, and zinc); and (v) the combination of SHS, SAP and nutrients-loaded biochar. Remarkably, in comparison to the control (i), the soil treatments enhanced the tomato fruit yields as follows: (ii) 81%, (iii) 38%, (iv) 700%, and (v) 679%. To understand these results, we performed soil analysis that revealed higher bio-availability of some of the nutrients, such as ammonium, phosphorus, and manganese, with positive correlation with fruit yield enhancement. We will explain how the addition of biochar facilitated the nutrients exchange and accessibility in the highly alkaline soil (pH 9.2), such as the water-soluble form of phosphorus. These findings underscore the potential of date palm biochar and SHS in realizing food security in Middle East.

Date palm biochar and super hydrophobic sand mulching enhance tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>) plants’ yields in alkaline sandy soils

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Date palm biochar and super hydrophobic sand mulching enhance tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants’ yields in alkaline sandy soils