HORT2THEFUTURE. Oxygen irrigation to improve soils

Soil needs more than just water and nutrients; it also requires oxygen. Sometimes, the soil does not provide enough oxygen for the proper development of plants, for example, after flooding episodes.

Researchers at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) are working to solve this problem and have started a series of agronomic trials with new oxygenation technologies for irrigation water, aiming to promote the growth of crops in conditions of low soil oxygen availability.

This initiative, which involves the companies Novagric and Juan Azcue, located in Murcia, is part of the European project Hort2theFuture, code 101157434.

Hort2theFuture is a project funded by the European Commission, which is part of the Horizon Europe program, aiming to address sustainability challenges in European horticulture.

The project focuses on developing and commercializing innovative solutions to reduce peat dependence, optimize the use of inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and improve soil health through more sustainable practices.

Main Objectives

For four years, participants from eleven countries are developing this project coordinated from Copenhagen

The project involves 28 European partners, led by the Copenhagen Business School. Among the partners are universities, research centers, and companies from several European countries, such as the Polytechnic University of Cartagena in Spain and NOVAGRIC.

The project includes the creation of Living Labs in Germany, the United Kingdom, and North Macedonia.

Where innovative solutions will be tested and perfected with end users. These living laboratories will allow feedback to be collected and policies adjusted to support the adoption of more sustainable practices.

The aim of the work is to evaluate the benefits of these technologies in the root development of crops such as broccoli or radish in compacted soils and the potential control of phytopathogens in soils with root suffocation problems in pepper greenhouses.

The coordinator of the trials, professor of the Department of Agronomic Engineering María del Carmen Martínez, indicates that companies are looking for solutions to the problem of occasional flooding during periods of intense rainfall, which increases the incidence of diseases such as fungal pests.

The research aims to determine if oxygenation through irrigation water improves control over fungal diseases.

These trials have already begun in plots at the Tomás Ferro Food Experiment Station in La Palma, the Agricultural Demonstration and Transfer Center in El Mirador, and in commercial greenhouses in Almería.

The project also seeks new cheap, reliable, and scalable substrates in horticulture to make their commercialization viable

Additionally, sustainable new substrates for hydroponic crops will be tested in another mainline of the project, aiming to create substrates based on European raw materials, with a lower environmental and carbon footprint than the peat predominantly used.

These substrates will be evaluated not only from an agronomic point of view but also considering environmental and socio-economic aspects, as explained by the project coordinator at UPCT, professor of the Department of Agronomic Engineering Belén Gallego.

Funding

The initiative is funded by the Horizon Europe program with 6.5 million, of which 9% impacts UPCT

The project started in June 2024 and will extend until the summer of 2028.

It is funded by the European Commission and aligns with the goals of the European Green Deal and the EU Soil Mission.