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Biosalinity News Biochar from date palm and conocarpus waste for improvement of soil quality and biomass production Research Updates Partnerships Events and Training @ICBA ICBA Board of Directors Integrated aqua-agricutlrue Plant genetic resources vital Drought monitoring and inspects ICBA’s impact on systems revisited... page 6 for food security and early warning systems... agriculture in marginal lands page 16 sustainable agriculture... ... page 19 page 12 ICBA Newsletter | Vol 15 | Issue 03 | December 2014 www.biosaline.org healthy soils for a healthy life PROTECT OUR SOILS Our soils are in danger because of expanding cities, deforestation, unsustainable land use and management practices, pollution, overgrazing and climate change. The current rate of soil degradation threatens the capacity to meet the needs of future generations. The promotion of sustainable soil and land management is central to ensuring a productive food system, improved rural livelihoods and a healthy environment WE DEPEND ON SOILS Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Healthy soils are the Soils are the foundation for basis for healthy food vegetation which is cultivated production or managed for feed, fibre, fuel and medicinal products Soils support our planet’s Soils help to combat and adapt biodiversity and they host a to climate change by playing a quarter of the total key role in the carbon cycle Soils store and filter water Soil is a non-renewable improving our resilience to resource, its preservation is floods and droughts essential for food security and our sustainable future SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE YEAR Raise awareness among civil Educate the public society and decision makers Support eective policies Promote investment in and actions for the sustainable soil protection of soil resources management activities Strengthen initiatives in Advocate for rapid capacity connection with the Sustainable enhancement for soil Development Goals (SDG) process information collection and and Post-2015 agenda monitoring at all levels fao.org/soils-2015 ©FAO - December 2014 Word from ICBA Director General As this year draws to a close I would like to extend a warm thank you to all ICBA partners, stakeholders, collaborators, InResearch Updates this issue...15 Seminar on sustainable donors, employees, and 4 Amaranth – Perspective as an intensification by Shenggen Fan at friends for their alternative crop for saline areas ICBA continued support. 6 Integrated aqua-agriculture 15 ICBA trains local government Since 1999, ICBA systems revisited staff has witnessed15 8 Biochar for improvement of soil 16 Drought monitoring and early years of achieving quality: A comparative study warning systems: The possibilities great milestones and challenges in harnessing the 10 Low cost compost production that have had a data revolution significant impact technology: Beneficial uses of 17 Farmers’ field day: Salt-resistant on various water and agricultural policies across the region. compost and its product fulvic acid fodder in the «Western Region» During that period, we coordinated with national agricultural Partnerships 18 Emirates International Date Palm research centers and farmers’ extension services centers in 12 Plant genetic resources vital for Festival: ICBA highlights 12 years of over 54 countries. food security and sustainable date palm research Moving ahead, ICBA continues its mission with a wider agriculture Publications focus on ensuring a sustainable agricultural system that 13 Managing salt affected soils in supports the food and nutritional requirements of future Ethiopia 7 Science, policy and politics of generations. ICBA’s mission is to achieve food security in modern agricultural system–global 13 ICBA awarded two grants for marginal and saline environments where it is needed most context to local dynamics of young scientists and to support small holder farmers and their families. sustainable agriculture Events and Training With the help of all ICBA’s stakeholders we are moving on a @ICBA 14 Investigation of seawater steady path towards achieving sustainable agriculture for 11 New ICBA members tomorrow. During 2014, ICBA focused on strengthening its intrusion and interrelationships 19 ICBA board of directors inspects existing partnerships and engaging new partners with active between aquifers using integrated ICBA’s impact on agriculture in and forward thinking projects that will have an extended approach of isotopes and marginal lands impact on the future of agriculture in marginal environments. conventional techniques Our ICBA family is steadily growing and the center is actively pursuing expansion in various fields, especially at Editors Layout and design scientific and technical levels. Charbel El Khouri Charbel El Khouri Currently we are working at revamping our existing website Loukia Janavaras Illustrations and would appreciate your feedback. Please feel free to Setta Tutunjian Charbel El Khouri send your comments directly to [email protected] Shoaib Ismail Photo Credits 2015 will be the Year of the Soil! Staff writers Ghazi Al Jabri Charbel El Khouri Mohammed Shahid ICBA has a long history with soil and the Center has Cover page image: Biochar at ICBA research station; Photo credits: Charbel El Khouri Cover page image: Biochar at ICBA Dionyssia Lyra Charbel El Khouri dedicated a large portion of its work to soil related studies, Henda Mahmoudi Abdul Qader Abdul Rahman which include: soil mapping, best soil management practices, and soil fertility and enhancement. We look Layout and design Production coordinator forward to highlighting the various aspects of ICBA’s work Charbel El Khouri Suzan Nooraddin related to soil over the coming year. I wish you an enjoyable read through this issue of Biosalinty To subscribe to Biosalinity News News and all the best for the New Year 2015. please fill the form on the following URL: http://biosaline.org/biosalinitynews.aspx Sincerely yours, Recycle Ismahane Elouafi Biosalinity News is printed on 100% recycled paper. When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it. Vol 15 | Issue 03 | December 2014 3 Research Updates Amaranth – Perspective as an alternative crop for saline areas Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), which belongs to the family Amaranthaceae, is an ancient food of the Aztecs and Mayans of Central America, and is now grown in many temperate and tropical regions. The genus Amaranthus comprises about 70 species, of Amaranth grown at ICBA research station in Dubai which 40 are edible. All parts of the edible amaranth plant are suitable for eating. plantations though they are reportedly eaten most of the studies on salinity tolerance in Furthermore, amaranth is very nutritional. in other parts of the world (see Mlakar et al. Amaranth have been in pots under The leaves are a good source of vitamins 2010). In recent years, there has been controlled greenhouse conditions and there and minerals, i.e. leaves contain three times growing interest in Amaranth worldwide due is limited information on its performance more vitamin A, calcium and niacin (vitamin to it being a highly nutritious gluten-free under saline field conditions. Hence, the B3) than spinach, and 18 times more vitamin grain with many uses. Similar to other International Center for Biosaline Agriculture A, 13 times more vitamin C, 20 times more cereals, it can be used as a breakfast cereal (ICBA) recently evaluated the performance calcium and seven times more iron than and in making crackers, breads, cookies and of a few selected genotypes of two lettuce (Guillet, 2004). Amaranth leaves other flour-based products. Cooked leaves Amaranthus spp. (A. cruentus and A. show a significant energy value ranging from are used as a side dish, in soups and as an hypochondriacus) under saline field 27 to 53 kcal/100 g of fresh leaves and high ingredient in baby food, pasta, pie, and so conditions in Dubai. nutrition value - in particular 4-6 g of protein, forth. Five genotypes (four of A. cruentus and one 0.2-0.6 g of fat and 4-7 g of carbohydrates. Amaranth is a fast-growing crop that is of A. hypochondriacus) previously selected As for amaranth grain, it is high in fiber and adaptable to a wide range of soils and for high yield potential from a set of 50 low in saturated fats, whereby it contains climates. It is also one of the few C crop* germplasm accessions received from the 12% to 17% protein; moreover, Amaranth is 4 species other than the grasses; thus, it United States Department of Agriculture an excellent source of lysine, which sets it performs well under adverse conditions, (USDA) were studied in a field trial laid out apart from other grain crops (Kauffman and especially heat and drought. C plants in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with Weber, 1990). 4 convert a higher ratio of atmospheric carbon three replications. The irrigation treatments In India and the Americas, amaranth is most to plant sugars per unit of water lost than consisted of a control (ECw 0.2) and three often grown for its seeds, while in Southeast those possessing the classical C3 (Calvin salinity levels with ECw equivalent to 5, 10 Asia and Africa, amaranth is grown as a cycle) pathway. In view of its tolerance to and 15 dS m-1 obtained by mixing saline leafy vegetable. In the United Arab Emirates major abiotic stresses, amaranth has now ground water with fresh water. Sowing was (UAE), while A. hybridus and A. caudatus emerged as a major climate resilient done in Mid-November. Each plot had four are occasionally cultivated, three other vegetable crop that not only fights climate rows of 2.5 m and the distance between species namely: A. albus, A. viridis and A. change, but also fulfills the growing rows and between plants within each row graecizans grow as weeds in gardens and nutritional needs of human beings. were 50 and 25 cm, respectively. The plants Heat and salinity are known to be the two were irrigated using the drip-system. major abiotic stresses impacting agricultural Standard agronomic data were recorded production in the Arabian Peninsula and from five randomly selected plants from the elsewhere.