Seminar discusses soil science and water management

“Science and water: how they are progressing” was the theme of the seminar that brought together scientists from Brazil and abroad to discuss the relationship between soil science and water management, on Wednesday (15/8), at Embrapa Solos (RJ ). Participating in the event were researcher Van Genuchten, creator of the famous equation used internationally to calculate water retention in the soil; Marta Ottoni, professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and Maria Sônia Lopes, researcher at the Embrapa Soils Execution and Research Unit, in Recife (PE).

Van Genuchten spoke about the impacts of irrigation on soils globally. According to him, currently, around 20% of the world's arable area is irrigated. But, unfortunately, irrigation procedures are not always carried out in a sustainable way. Agriculture today consumes approximately 80% of all water used in the world.

According to the North American researcher, 65% of the water used in irrigation is not absorbed by plants for various reasons, including evaporation and drainage, among others.

Van Genuchten raised questions that should guide producers' attitude towards irrigation. According to him, it is very important to know when and how much to irrigate. Some forms of irrigation, when used for long periods of time, can result in soil salinity, among other damages to economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Brazilian soil database

Marta Ottoni presented the Brazilian soil database, called Hybras. According to her, the database, which is the result of her doctoral thesis, had as one of its main objectives to fill the gap in information about tropical soils at a global level.

Underground dam: solution that adds sustainability to the Brazilian semi-arid region

Embrapa researcher Maria Sônia Lopes spoke about the underground dams that store rainwater and have had an impact on improving the quality of life of small farmers in the Brazilian semi-arid region. This region covers nine states in the northeast and north of Minas Gerais, totaling 1.262 municipalities. With an area of ​​1.127.953 km², it encompasses a population of 27,87 million people.

Maria Sônia presented data that prove the good acceptance of producers in relation to the technology. As the main challenge, she highlighted the importance of increasing the participation of beneficiaries in the use of the tool, in addition to using the results to support public policies in favor of the population of this region, the majority of whom live in extreme poverty.