Suelo y agua
Suelo y agua

Soil and Water: The Pillars of Food | World Soil Day 2023

Suelo y agua

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He world soil day It is celebrated annually on December 5 with the purpose of focusing attention on the importance of healthy soil and advocating for sustainable management of soil resources.

Soil and Water: A Vital Alliance

The survival of our planet depends on the precious connection between soil and water. More than 95 percent of our food comes from these two fundamental resources. Water in the soil, vital for plant uptake of nutrients, unites our ecosystems. This symbiotic relationship is the basis of our agricultural systems.

However, in the face of climate change and human activity, our soils are being degraded, putting excessive pressure on our water resources. Erosion disrupts the natural balance, reducing the infiltration and availability of water for all forms of life.

Sustainable soil management practices, such as minimal tillage, crop rotation, adding organic matter, and cover cropping, improve soil health, reduce erosion and pollution, and improve water infiltration and storage. . These practices also preserve the soil biodiversity, improve fertility and contribute to carbon sequestration, playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change.

World Soil Day 2023 (#WorldSoilDay2023) and its associated communication campaign aim to raise awareness about the importance and relationship between soil and water in achieving sustainable and resilient agri-food systems. The fact that numerous entities such as the UN and/or FAO support and develop this initiative makes World Soil Day a unique global speaker and platform that not only celebrates 'soil', but also empowers and involves citizens. from around the world to improve soil health.

Hand soil

Let's look at the main key messages of World Soil Day 2023:

📌 Soil and water provide the basis for food production, ecosystems and human well-being. Recognizing their invaluable roles, we can take proactive steps to protect these resources for future generations.

📌 Soil and water are the medium in which plants grow and obtain essential nutrients..

📌 Rainfed agriculture systems account for 80% of cropland and contribute to 60% of global food production. These systems rely heavily on effective soil moisture management practices.

📌 Irrigated agriculture systems consume 70% of global freshwater and represent 20% of cropland.

📌 Soil health and water quality and availability are interconnected.

📌 Healthy soils, enriched with organic matter, play a crucial role in regulating water retention and availability.

📌 Better soil and water management improves the land's ability to withstand extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and sand/dust storms.

📌 Healthy soils act as carbon sinks, capturing carbon from the atmosphere, contributing to both adaptation and mitigation of climate change

Salud del suelo

Success in soil health: suppressive soils.

Obtaining profitable, productive and sustainable crops depends on the health of the soil.

A balanced soil helps plants to be more resistant to soil diseases and crops to grow more vigorously, making better use of nutrients.. Around the world, farmers are beginning to appreciate the benefits of suppressive soils, that is, soils in which an abundant amount of beneficial microorganisms and an adequate balance of organic matter and minerals improve plant growth and inhibit the action of pathogens. 

But, how can we achieve it? And what is its contribution to sustainable agriculture?

Many farmers have seen their soils become poorer and lose fertility due to the exclusive and repeated use of mineral fertilizers and chemical disease control strategies. In such situations, The organic and microbiological dimension of soils has been overlooked, generating conductive soils in which soil and crop diseases can spread more easily.

What benefits do suppressive soils offer?

Those soils with a rich and dynamic microbiome favor beneficial interactions for plants with a balance between mineral, organic and microbiological components, and stand out for their ability to hinder or suppress the advance and activity of pathogens.. These soils, called suppressive soils, were initially defined by Cook and Baker in 1983 as "soils in which the pathogen is unable to establish or persist, the pathogen establishes but does not cause damage, or the pathogen causes some damage but the "The disease becomes progressively less severe, even though the pathogen persists in the soil." 

That is, the pathogen does not establish itself or, once established, does not cause damage due to the antagonistic action of other beneficial microorganisms.. This soil presents unfavorable conditions for the pathogen, which sees its growth and development capacity reduced, and its harmful activity is neutralized.

How can you get suppressive soils? 

Although the search for a balanced soil will involve different cultural practices, the starting point should always be to perform an analysis to evaluate the health of the soil, including data on soil stability, pathogen incidence and nutrient availability.

Ultimately, the goal is to establish a healthy microbiome that promotes the optimal space for the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly crops, where biological control of diseases such as Fusarium sp., Pythium sp., Rhizoctonia sp. is achieved. and Phytophthora sp. 

At IDEAGRO we have been clear about it for years, there is no time to waste! It is essential to focus on the health of the soil and revitalize the soil microbiome by inoculating the roots of the plants with beneficial microorganisms, thus restoring their biological activity. 

In this way, we support the development of the root system, improving the absorption of nutrients in such a way that crops will be able to better resist environmental challenges, strengthen their defenses and experience greater growth and productivity which will directly result in farmers who will be able to obtain greater profitability.

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