Soil Water Retention Technology (SWRT) Membranes Function in Both Arid and Humid Regions.

Water deficits are key factors restraining crop yield and quality, exacerbated by the changing climate in many regions of the world. Frequent water limitations to plants in humid regions comprise one of the greatest abiotic deterrents to achieving maximum genetic potential of crop yield. Drought conditions can no-longer be viewed solely as a biophysical phenomenon addressed only by breeding drought-resistance cultivars or management practices requiring often very tardy supplemental irrigation. Additionally, since the majority of highly productive soils are currently farmed, innovative hydropedological approaches are needed to convert large tracts of highly permeable sandy soils into long-term sustainable agriculture production. Current projections of localized droughts combined with reductions in stored surface water and receding groundwater levels demand new water storage technologies for improving water use efficiency. A Soil Water Retention Technology (SWRT) was developed at Michigan State University which includes installing engineered subsurface water retention membranes into sandy soils to double soil water holding capacities in plant root zones. Greater quantities of plant available water in the root zones provide drought resilience to plants. During the past four years SWRT membranes have been tested to improve soil water retention in the root zones of field in arid Arizona and humid Michigan sands. These projects have been established to address the growing demands for food production while using less water. This presentation will report how SWRT membranes doubled soil water holding capacity increasing vegetable production by 12% to 14% in Arizona and by 34% to 44% in Michigan, and maize production by 120 to 277% in Michigan. Therefore, SWRT has the potential to alleviate plant droughts and improve the resilience of cropping systems to climate change, specifically in sandy soils of both arid and humid regions.