Qatar University (QU) showcased its key research supporting food and water security projects at the 9th Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition (AgriteQ) and 3rd Qatar International Environmental Exhibition (EnviroteQ), which concluded on Monday.
In a statement Tuesday, QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham said that the participation in the exhibitions stems from its position as a national educational and research institution that aims to use its research and studies to benefit various sectors in the country, including the agricultural sector, which is a major pillar of food security.
A highlight of the QU's Agricultural Research pavilion was the innovation of a new gel that supports cultivation in dry and harsh climates.
The environment-friendly material was created by a team of researchers led by QU civil engineering professor Dr Alaa Hamdan al-Hauri.
The aim of the new technology is to promote organic farming through optimum utilisation of limited fresh water resources by preventing evaporation loss.
"So, we increased the water stability in the soil by developing a gel material to serve as a nursery soil for plants inside greenhouses," Dr al-Hauri explained.
The gel is placed in a homogeneous layer close to the roots of the plants.
The gel reduces the rate of water evaporation from the soil and supplies the plants with nutrients using limited quantities of chemical fertilisers.
"The laboratory results showed that the natural soil contains nutritional supplements such as phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen, but cannot retain water and nutritional supplements added for a long time, which negatively affects crop health and production quantity,” Dr al-Hauri said.
“The developed gel consists of super absorbent polymers prepared from inexpensive and environmentally friendly materials,” he continued. “It is also possible to reuse the same materials after harvesting crops for several times, which increases their economic efficiency.”
"We have already started applying this technology on a commercial scale at the Agrico farm in Al Khor so that we can test the effectiveness of the developed material under realistic conditions away from the laboratory,” Dr al-Hauri said. “We have obtained promising results, as we were able to reduce the amount of irrigation water by 40% and increase production.”
"As for future plans, we intend to test the effectiveness of this technology on more agricultural crops grown in Qatar and make economic feasibility for the project in the hope of introducing this material as a national product in the local market,” he added. “The work of this project extends over three years with the support of the Qatar National Research Fund and in co-operation with the University of Technology in Sydney.”
Another innovation in focus was that of artificial coral reefs.
Dr Bruno Welter Giraldes, research assistant professor of Marine Biology at the Environmental Science Centre at the QU, came up with the idea.
Also in focus at the QU pavilion was the algae technologies programme by Dr Hareb Mohamed al-Jabri (assistant director of Technology Marketing and the Department of Research and Development Planning) and his team to reduce air pollution, as its cultivation requires a large amount of carbon dioxide.
"We are building the first plant for growing microalgae in co-operation with the ministry concerned, in addition to our endeavour to establish a startup to manufacture targeted materials and products with economic value for local and international markets,” said Dr al-Jabri.
The QU’s Agricultural Research Station of the Research and Graduate Studies Sector is meanwhile working to find and develop innovative agricultural techniques to provide the best ways to use available natural resources and meet the challenges of dry land cultivation, including advanced irrigation systems, the application of integrated management of agricultural pests, and the control of plant diseases.
The station also aims to develop and innovate sustainable organic farming, which includes crop rotation, and the application of sustainable organic fertiliser production in farms to increase and maintain agricultural soil fertility.
In a statement Tuesday, QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham said that the participation in the exhibitions stems from its position as a national educational and research institution that aims to use its research and studies to benefit various sectors in the country, including the agricultural sector, which is a major pillar of food security.
The gel is placed inside the soil in the form of a homogeneous layer with a thickness of some millimeters close to the roots of the plant
A highlight of the QU's Agricultural Research pavilion was the innovation of a new gel that supports cultivation in dry and harsh climates.
The environment-friendly material was created by a team of researchers led by QU civil engineering professor Dr Alaa Hamdan al-Hauri.
The aim of the new technology is to promote organic farming through optimum utilisation of limited fresh water resources by preventing evaporation loss.
"So, we increased the water stability in the soil by developing a gel material to serve as a nursery soil for plants inside greenhouses," Dr al-Hauri explained.
The gel is placed in a homogeneous layer close to the roots of the plants.
The gel reduces the rate of water evaporation from the soil and supplies the plants with nutrients using limited quantities of chemical fertilisers.
"The laboratory results showed that the natural soil contains nutritional supplements such as phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen, but cannot retain water and nutritional supplements added for a long time, which negatively affects crop health and production quantity,” Dr al-Hauri said.
“The developed gel consists of super absorbent polymers prepared from inexpensive and environmentally friendly materials,” he continued. “It is also possible to reuse the same materials after harvesting crops for several times, which increases their economic efficiency.”
"We have already started applying this technology on a commercial scale at the Agrico farm in Al Khor so that we can test the effectiveness of the developed material under realistic conditions away from the laboratory,” Dr al-Hauri said. “We have obtained promising results, as we were able to reduce the amount of irrigation water by 40% and increase production.”
"As for future plans, we intend to test the effectiveness of this technology on more agricultural crops grown in Qatar and make economic feasibility for the project in the hope of introducing this material as a national product in the local market,” he added. “The work of this project extends over three years with the support of the Qatar National Research Fund and in co-operation with the University of Technology in Sydney.”
Another innovation in focus was that of artificial coral reefs.
Dr Bruno Welter Giraldes, research assistant professor of Marine Biology at the Environmental Science Centre at the QU, came up with the idea.
Also in focus at the QU pavilion was the algae technologies programme by Dr Hareb Mohamed al-Jabri (assistant director of Technology Marketing and the Department of Research and Development Planning) and his team to reduce air pollution, as its cultivation requires a large amount of carbon dioxide.
"We are building the first plant for growing microalgae in co-operation with the ministry concerned, in addition to our endeavour to establish a startup to manufacture targeted materials and products with economic value for local and international markets,” said Dr al-Jabri.
The QU’s Agricultural Research Station of the Research and Graduate Studies Sector is meanwhile working to find and develop innovative agricultural techniques to provide the best ways to use available natural resources and meet the challenges of dry land cultivation, including advanced irrigation systems, the application of integrated management of agricultural pests, and the control of plant diseases.
The station also aims to develop and innovate sustainable organic farming, which includes crop rotation, and the application of sustainable organic fertiliser production in farms to increase and maintain agricultural soil fertility.
