Mon, 10 Nov 2008

Sekem constructs new water laboratory

CAIRO (NNA) – A new water laboratory is under construction at the Sekem initiative near Cairo in Egypt. It is part of a water management project which is also testing subsurface irrigation as a more responsible and efficient way to use Egypt’s scarce water resources.

According to the September issue of Sekem Insight newsletter, the laboratory is being constructed on new premises at Adleya farm about five kilometres from the original Sekem facilities. Many acres of herbs and fruits are cultivated on Adleya and vegetables grow under the protective shelter of vast greenhouses using biodynamic methods.

The water for the irrigation of Adleya farm is now brought to the farm using underground connections: “This was one of the most important innovations of 2007 that represented a great improvement for agriculture in the region,” Sekem Insight says.

“Before the new installation water had to be transported to the surface through 150m deep wells and was always heavily affected by salination with a substantial negative effect on plant health and growth. The new irrigation method therefore greatly increases cultivation output and improves the health of plants.”

The water laboratory will undertake analyses evaluating the quality of drinking, irrigation, and waste waters. Whereas until now most of the analyses at Sekem centred on verifications of the pH-value and the level of salination as well as regular checks for pests and germs in drinking water the new lab will allow complete chemical screening of all sorts of water.

It will also be able to check for heavy metals and other liquid residues that could be harmful for humans and animals. Sekem expects the lab to provide more reliable analysis of water quality particularly in the long run.

Additionally its results will be used for the benefit of other Sekem projects for instance the waste water treatment plant.

In a wider context, a subsurface irrigation project aims to develop an irrigation system which is suitable for Egyptian farmers, their climate and conditions and which reduces the use of water being used in Egyptian agriculture, Sekem reported in the June edition of Sekem Insight.

“Biodynamic agriculture as a farming method already reduces water consumption, when comparing irrigation methods on biodynamic and conventional farms. The richer soil and more humus of biodynamic farms holds the water for a longer time,” the report says. “However, there is still a huge potential to reduce water consumption by using more effective irrigation methods.”

“Subsurface irrigation is known to reduce the evaporation of water during the irrigation process. When flooding the fields, as is still common on most farms in Egypt, water evaporates quickly on its way to the plant and even sprinklers cannot exclude this effect.

“Hopes are high that the subsurface irrigation system will not only significantly reduce the water consumption but also lead to stronger plants, because they will be irrigated directly at the roots.”

END/nna/cva

Item: 081110-01EN Date: 10 November 2008

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