Arjen C. de Vos

Introduction

I started my work as a Ph.D student on May 1st, 2006. The project I’m working on deals with saline agriculture in The Netherlands. The goal of the entire project is to develop more knowledge and know-how about saline agriculture, to spread this knowledge, and to promote the local economy. My part in this project will contribute to our knowledge about the different crops. How do the plants react to saline conditions? Which plants are suitable? What is their salt tolerance? Which are the optimal conditions for growth? These and many more questions have to be answered. This should result in a guidebook on how to grow saline crops and which crops are suitable for this.

Since a lot is already know about the salt tolerance of different plants and the habitat the plants grow in, a significant part of the project will be a literature research. There is a lot to be learned about the ecology of the plants; where and how they grow in the field can tell a lot about how they will react when grown as a crop under saline conditions. Based on these findings experiments will be conducted to answer the unanswered questions. Field experiments and observations of salt tolerant plants will also be part of the project. A former agricultural site has already been chosen to grow the different crops under field conditions. At this site there is significant seapage of sea water into the drainage canals surrounding the research field. This saline water will be used for irrigation and part of the site will be inundated. This way there will be a gradient from low to high salinity, where plants like barley, seakale, sea aster, and glasswort will be grown and tested to answer the questions mentioned above.
 
also see Zilte Landbouw Texel (in dutch)

last update: 01.09.2006