Observing the vulnerable and sensitive areas by salinity according FAO world map, more than 840 million hectares are affected by this problem, summarized in a difficulty for the correct vegetative development of crops, since alters its ability to absorb nutrients and water.
Causes of increased soil salinity during the 2023 agricultural season
- Lack of rainfall: Given the lack of rainfall, it is crucial to implement effective water management practices.
- Evaporation control: High evaporation rates contribute to increased salinity at the soil surface.
- Irrigation water quality: It is crucial to avoid using salt-rich water for irrigation. Irrigation water should be tested periodically to ensure it does not contribute to increased soil salinity.
- Rising sea levels.
- Improper application of fertilizers.
- Excess nitrogen from chemicals accelerates and increases soil salinity.
In this regard, specialists have observed in recent months an increase in electrical conductivity in irrigation water in specific areas of southern Spain, which used to maintain optimal water quality. This deterioration can cause salt stress in most crops.
Aware of the enormous problem that salinity represents for the development of agriculture, not only in Spain but in other countries, Cultifort offers a solution whose proven results serve to study and address this problem in detail, based on the components of the formulation. Cultifort Desal.
We have observed that most products used to combat salinity can present drawbacks in terms of handling, application, effectiveness, and mixing. So we began to study the possibility of improving the action and characteristics of these traditional products. To do so, we conducted a bibliographic review of all scientific articles published in databases related to salinity and the components that could be most effective against this problem.
A review of a large number of scientific articles related to salinity and the application of various agrochemicals led us to propose a series of hypotheses by which a new saline corrector formulation could significantly improve the traditional products currently on the market.
From our point of view, traditional saline correctors present the following disadvantages:
- Regarding soil salts: The focus of these products is limited solely to removing sodium from the soil. It should be remembered that in most cases where such products are applied, the source of salinity is primarily determined by irrigation with saline water and/or intensive crop management that requires the continuous application of soluble fertilizers (Pizarro, 1996). Although these products can remove some sodium from the soil, they cannot solve the salinity problem at its source, and therefore, the remaining non-sodium salts that contribute to salinity remain in the soil.
- Regarding the action of calcium: In most products, calcium is only weakly bound to the complexing agents it is associated with. As a result, it is very easily assimilated by the plant in the short term, and therefore, a large portion of the applied calcium is absorbed by the crop, rendering it ineffective at the soil level.
Given this, we propose a formulation with the following components: COMPLEXED CALCIUM OXIDE (CaO) …….…10% w/w Lignosulfonic Acid ORGANIC COMPOUNDS OF FOOTBALL POLYPHENOLIC COMPOUNDS POLYCARBOXYLIC ACIDS. Cultifort Desal It is not only presented as a simple saline corrector, but also as a powerful biostimulant to mitigate the abiotic and oxidative stress generated by salinity, based on the constituents of the formulation.
Phenols are organic elements whose structure includes at least one phenol group, an aromatic ring bonded to at least one hydroxyl functional group. The importance of flavonoids as mitigators of oxidative stress lies in their chemical structure, which features a variable number of phenolic hydroxyl groups and notable transition metal and iron chelating properties.
What is the antioxidant effect of phenols? Phenolic groups are sensitive to oxidation and, therefore, have a marked antioxidant character, protecting against reactions derived from photosensitivity, free radicals, among others.
How does the antioxidant function of phenols relate to the improvement of abiotic stress? Certain groups perform physiological functions such as cellular signaling under stress conditions, while others act by stabilizing and structuring cells at the membrane level, thus balancing their fluidity. Regarding thylakoid membranes, these antioxidant species have the ability to reduce levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in chloroplasts. Various types of stress, such as drought or salinity, are known to generate reactive oxygen species, altering the oxidation-reduction balance of chloroplasts and progressively damaging elements such as lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins, which can lead to cell death. Thus, this set of antioxidants combines to mitigate ROS toxicity.
Another characteristic of the lignosulfonic acid (LS) used in this product is its high quality. LS is a natural polymer produced as a byproduct of papermaking using the bisulfite method from wood pulp in the paper industry. As a natural polymer, it has a variable and not entirely defined chemical structure. It is a complex mixture of small to moderately sized polymeric compounds with sulfonic groups attached to the molecule and with varying complexing capacities (AENOR, 2011). Differences in complexing capacities depend on the type of wood used as raw material (De la Macorra, 2004) and the extraction process, depending on the type of cooking.
