The Ministry of Environment and Water cooperates with strategic partners to conduct studies, research and experiments on water, agriculture and livestock surveys, documenting and disseminating the results of experiments in accordance with standard procedures.
The aim of conducting such research and studies is to achieve the strategic objectives of the Ministry in promoting environmental security and sustainable water security, higher rates of bio-security, enhancing food security, and ensuring a sustainable environment for life.
The second session of the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Environment and Water 2011-2013 stated that research in the area of agricultural land use shall be carried out, and research completion period will vary according to the nature of the research where most research and studies will be completed during 2011-2013. Ongoing studies at the Ministry include a study to improve the productivity of tissue cultured palm trees to get rid of the phenomenon of Shais, study of the impact of Microriza on growth and yield of citrus trees, palms and fruit quality, study of the effect of microwave temperature to limit polyvinyl enzyme which causes dates blackening during cool storage, along with a study on the impact of some factors affecting the rooting and small palm breeding in the nursery, and the introduction and experimenting of production requirements, and evaluation of mixing ratios of different agricultural environments in soilless agricultural system on tomato crops grown in green houses.
In addition, a study of the impact of some biological fertilizers on the productivity and quality of dahlia lemon fruit which aims to improve the quality and the size of the fruit of the lemon, and higher crop yields. As well as experimenting to improve the quality of the date palm trees by spraying some compounds after the injection, in order to increase the quality and volume of date fruits, along with study of the effect of indole biotric acid on rooting Palm stems to accelerate rooting of stems to speed up the process of growth. Another study was conducted where a program was set to combat the rapid deterioration disease of mango trees in the area of Diba, where the disease-causing fungi was isolated to protect mango trees, and another study of the impact of some biological fertilizers on the productivity of mango trees and fruit quality.
The Ministry of Environment and Water is currently working on developing the center for pollen extraction and it already sat a laboratory to examine pollen vitality in Al Hamraneia. The Ministry prepared a research on (The effect of drying methods on dynamic storage and germination of male date palm pollen (phoenix dactyl) grown in Al Hamraneia), and through this research a new technique for drying male palm tree ducts (that is automatic drying), for it saves effort, time and quality of pollen, and gets rid of the mold that infects male palm tree ducts when traditional drying is applied( drying rooms). This research results are the most important findings of the Ministry, where pollen vitality have increased by 35% from what it was previously recorded.
The Ministry has also conducted a research on the impact of pollination methods on fruiting and productive qualities of palm trees that are Burhi, Khelas and Lulu 2008-2011, where –for the first time- water suspension with pollen germination was used in the mixture sprayed on female flowers, and the best germination method is the mixed spraying method pollen from different male palm trees with the usage of male fibers. The percentage of successful fruit pollination increased by 28% than in other conventional methods.
Furthermore, the Ministry used a modern technique in dates drying and preservation. This technique reduced the scaling of fruits after drying by 45% from what it was previously recorded, and determined the best period for harvesting for the purpose of drying and marketing for palm tree varieties, in addition to assessing the efficiency of different methods of drying dates in terms of economic yield, production capacity and operational cost, where the use of solar energy to dry dates in polycarbonate houses has reduced the cost of drying by 60%, and the use of microwave heat to maintain the natural color of dates during cool storage.
A comparative study of dates drying method in hollowed plastic house plastic and the dates air-conditioned room for two kinds: Khelas and Burhi, was conducted. Moreover, it included the examining of the stability of second generation specifications for the tissue cultured palm trees and the effect of varied pollen on the physical and chemical characteristics and the quality of the fruits of the date palm varieties (Burhi, Khelas, and Lulu), in addition to the study of the impact of climatic and thermal accumulation on distribution and success of palm species in the UAE, and the determination of the most appropriate time to vaccinate the female flowers of the palm trees tissue of Burhi and Khelas, and the impact of decreasing fruits on the productivity and quality of the fruits of Palm trees such as Majhool, Burhi and Lulu.
Other studies and experiments also included assessing the efficiency of thermal drying of fruits of palm trees in terms of quality and economic yields, determining the best stage for harvesting for the purpose of drying and marketing of some kinds of palm, developing the drying and storing technology of male palm pollen by using automatic drying and vacuuming, measuring the effect of solar disinfection, cooling and thermal radiation of the microwave and vacuuming on the quality of dry dates stored, studying the characterization of the main six male palm trees, and the impact of agricultural and environmental factors on the wilting of Lulu dates branches.
With regard to studies and research on automated rooting, a study on the impact of climatic and thermal accumulation distribution and success of palm species in the UAE was conducted. It also included the study of the impact of reduced fruits on productivity and quality of fruits of different varieties, and the assessment of the efficiency of thermal drying on the fruits of Khelas palm trees in terms of quality and economic yields, in addition to the selecting of the best period for harvesting for the purpose of drying and marketing of some varieties of palm trees, and the impact of pollination on the fruiting and production quality of palm trees, and a study of the branches covering period by paper bags after germination compared to no covering period.
As for experiments prepared by the Ministry, an experiment testing microwave radiation to sterilize and stimulate pollen before germination and storage was conducted between 2008-2011, where pure and fungus free pollen was extracted which can stand long-term storage, and this experiment has increased pollen purity by 60% higher than previously recorded.
In cooling rooms, the Ministry is conducting experiments on preserving dates to identify the most suitable temperature degrees to preserve dates, by using some hardware to determine the most appropriate temperature degrees for drying dates.
Other tests included planting two plots as a pilot research specially for Mango seedlings of Timor and Qerat mangoes that are under horticultural attention in Diba, another section plot for growing experimental seedlings of Tangerine (Centra) Orlando that is under horticultural attention, and preparing a plot for growing palm saplings that are specially prepared for research.
New varieties of vegetable crops were introduced and researched in protected agriculture, new types of organic fertilizers were introduced and tested , especially bio-fertilizers, which serve to fertilize different vegetable crops in protected agriculture, the introduction of automated remote control of irrigation, fertilization and fertilizer injectors to increase the effectiveness of the composting process and irrigation, and the introduction of soilless agriculture system through the open system of washed sand, and the closed system which retrieves irrigation and fertilization solutions and reuses them.
The Ministry is working on tracing the salinization of wells in Diba by periodic sampling on continuous basis. In Al Hamraniya, the Ministry is researching the reasons behind the decreasing amount of groundwater flow in existing wells, where the water reserve ranges in the between 55.2-55.8 meters underground (observation well– Al Hamraniya) (HMR-2). The area is generally influenced by the rate of annual decline in groundwater levels about 5.83 meters. Estimated deficit in amounts of irrigation water in Al Hamraniya is about 70 cubic meters per day, while salinity in existing producing wells is between 4000-4500 ppm, and pH ranges between7.3-8.2.
Modern irrigation systems for palm trees are being compared (tissue planting- Khelas), as well as installation and maintenance of irrigation facilities, through cooperating with the International Centre for Saline Agriculture and other strategic partners, and experimenting distance monitoring technology of soil moisture by placing sensors in different depths of soil (fruitful palm trees/Khelas).
A study assessment on kinds of fodder (Rhodes, Pongamia, and Plubanic) and experiments testing various agricultural operations on feed crops, and conducting experiments to introduce local fodder crops, and other bilateral experiments with the International Centre for Saline Agriculture and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
There is also a Ministry-owned field for male palm trees in Al Dhaid, where 35 male palm trees are fine growing. New 35 tissue saplings from Ghunami male palm trees have been planted to conduct studies and experiments on pollen quality and automated germination method efficiency. The Ministry has allocated some fields in Al Dhaid for various tests on experimental palms, such as fertilizer formulations, water combustors, organic agriculture that includes (7 Jebri, 11 Seqie, and 8 textured Sheeshi) where all are finely growing for average age palms, while aged palms are (22 textured Sheeshi, 33 textured Saif, 33 textured Burhi, and 55 textured Khelas). Ongoing studies on domestic lemon are conducted in Al Dhaid due to removal of lemon in some areas for the crops were affected by the witches’ broom disease.
Among other activities carried out by the Ministry in the field of studies and research, there are training courses conducted for specialists. Also, the Ministry distributes rhizomes-lipid on farmers for an area of 21,000 square meters, it continues the propagation and development of wild fig to be used as feed supplement and alternative, and continues to grow local pastoral feed plants in Diba Botanical Garden.