In a Hot & Humid country as UAE where 56 percent of water is used in Agriculture and where groundwater sources are fast drying up a very effective measure has been unveiled on    14-Sep-15, where the usage of water will drop by 90 percent & crop productivity will increase Five times. A greenhouse using water evaporated from plants to cool the crops could lead to farmers using 90 per cent less of the precious resource.

I found this news item very exciting on the International Day of preservation of Ozone layer, therefore I?m sharing with my colleagues at Tunza Eco-Gen Platform.

Dubai International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture, has designed a Greenhouse structure which will eventually carry out this miracle. Designed by Local & International scientists, a prototype is being built on a farm in Al Ain. It is a fast paced project expected to be completed by Nov-2015.

Farmers are really excited over this technological advancement & are ready to use this once it is operational.

Its modus operandi is as follows:

A desiccant will be used to reduce the humidity during the day. This will allow the plants to transpire more water. A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains a state of dryness (desiccation) in its vicinity. Commonly encountered pre-packaged desiccants are solids that adsorb water. This desiccant, viz. Magnesium chloride, will be heated up at night to bring back that water back to the green house through evaporation. This water will eventually condensate on the plastic walls of the greenhouse & will go back to the roots of the plants.

The full news may be accessed below: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/20150914/greenhouse-that-could-save-uae-farmers-90-per-cent-on-water-unveiled

A very good chart will explain the modality is a simpler way & the same is attached.

It is very praiseworthy initiative & will introduce a new area of new technologies in greenhouse cultivation that could cut down water use. All such sustainable efforts will cut down on the degradation of Ozone Layer & will serve to preserve it in the long run.