Sultan Qaboos University celebrates 'International Year of Soil'

Muscat: Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), the College of Agricultural andMarine Sciences (CAMS), in Collaboration with the Directorate General of Agriculture and Livestock Research (DGALR) of the Ministry of Agriculture andFisheries (MAF) organised a workshop to celebrate the 2015 International Year of Soils in the presence of Dr. Ahmed Nasser AlBakri, undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for Agricultural Affairs.
The workshop was also attended by participants from the Diwan of Royal Court, Royal Court Affairs, Farmers Association of AlBatinah, Public Authority of Electricity and Water, and SQU employees and undergraduate and graduate students.
The workshop included a poster session and an exhibition on different soils by the students of Soil, Water and Agricultural Engineering Group of the CAMS. The student exhibition was organised by Dr. Said Salim AlEsmaily and assisted by Dr. Ahmed Salim AlBusaidi as part of the training programme for school students in community outreach and awareness onthe importance of soil.
Engr. El Zein El Muzamil, the FAO representative in Oman, said that the 68th United Nations General Assembly declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has been nominated to implement the IYS 2015, within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership in collaboration with governments and the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
IYS 2015 aims to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions.
Dr. Salim AlRawahy, in his keynote speech, mentioned that soil is a major resource contributing to food security and environmental sustainability.
In addition, Dr Hamdan Al Wahaibi, from the MAF, in his presentation, gave an overview of soil resource and agricultural production and the challenges facing soil and land in the Sultanate. He said that the low utilisation of land that has a potential for agriculture is attributed to water scarcity and salinity.Other challenges facing agricultural lands in Oman are low productivity, soil erosion and degradation, apart from desertification, urbanisation, and land fragmentation.
Saud Saif AlHabsi of the MAF mentioned that the general soil map of Oman indicates that 7.07 per centof the total area of the Sultanate has soil that is suitable for agriculture.
Further,Dr. Salem AlRasbi of theMAF mentioned that at least 50 per centof groundwater onthe agricultural coastal Al Batinah region was saline.
Dr Malik AlWardy, from the SQU stated that the south of Oman is inhabitedby80 per centof the biodiversity of the country and studies have shown that this area is already affected by a different kindof land degradation due to the extensive overgrazing, tourist activities and the urban sprawl.
Dr Slim Zekri, from the SQU,said that based on model studies, to control the salinity problem in Batinah,he recommended reducing the irrigated area by 45 per cent, keeping the vegetable crops and also reducingthe area allocated to trees and forage crops.
Dr Abdullah AlSaadi, from the SQU, through his studies, found that microbial diversity was negatively correlated with the use of fungicides in these farms, which may imply that the use of chemical fungicides have resultedin deterioration of fungal diversity and increased disease levels.
Dr Hayder Abdelrahman, from the SQU, opined that superabsorbent polymers and hydrogels are potential materials used in agricultural and horticultural applications for improving soil water holding capacities and hence indicate saving of water.
Dr Baby Shaharoona, in her talk, said that in the coastal area of Barka, some micro-organisms which are isolated can tolerate salinity up to 20 per cent,and these could be used effectively for increasing plant growth under saline soils.
Eng. Nasser AlWahaibi, from the MAF, found that through field experiments for growing tomatoes in Oman, an equal dose of 50 per centeach of chemical fertiliser and organic manure proved superior to either organic or chemical fertiliser separately.
Ahmed Al Mayahi, a final year student of College of Agricultural andMarine Sciences presented his research findings on urban soil.