Heatwave: There is an anti-drought “vaccine” for plants

A revolution in agriculture , and it's French: preparing plants to face the heat, like we vaccinate humans against a virus. This is the brilliant idea of ​​Elicit Plant, based in Charente. An anti-drought vaccine for plants. A treatment that is sprayed and that allows plants to better resist water stress, in other words drought. To understand a little how it works, you need to know that when plants lack water, they begin to generate a molecule (phytosterol) that will allow them to better defend themselves against the heat, to prepare their natural defenses.

Its roots will dig deeper to find water, its leaves will become more "economical," more efficient, and limit water evaporation. Everything to optimize water consumption. What this company has developed is a solution that will enable the preventive production of this molecule. As a result, when the heat arrives, the plants are much more resilient.

In the tests conducted, yield gains of 15% to 20% have been observed in corn and soybean crops. All without genetic modification; it's simply a spray of plant molecules, so it's completely natural. This is great for farmers facing more frequent periods of drought and irrigation restrictions. It could potentially help certain crops that were supposed to disappear or be more difficult to grow, for example, vines in certain areas of southern France, durum wheat, and corn.

Unfortunately, not yet, but maybe it will happen one day. There are less technological alternatives, but they can be found in garden centers, such as seaweed extracts or nettle manure. Or solid water crystals. They look like coarse salt, small granules, we call them water-retaining crystals that will retain rainwater or watering water and reuse it during hot weather.

We water and these small potassium crystals, which we will put at the base of the plants at the level normally 80% in the subsoil, will be absorbed and retained by these crystals, which will swell with water. And distributed drop by drop to the plants according to their needs, for several days, even several weeks. Two advantages: we need much less water, since it is no longer lost in the subsoil. And we water much less often. Concretely this means that if I go on vacation for a week (or even for 30 days), and I have green plants or a garden: I water normally before leaving and I am calm, the water will be distributed little by little over the days.

Where it's really interesting is in arid areas, where water resources are very limited: with a very small quantity, we'll be able to irrigate normally... They sell a lot of it in Middle Eastern countries, in the Sahel as well. But given the waves of drought we've experienced in recent years, it's clearly going to become very interesting here too. Note that there's no impact on soil quality, it's completely biodegradable. Knowing that we can use them for 5 years... And what's more, it's made in France: it's a Savoyard company that invented it... they were inspired by diapers.

Another option is to create a sort of microclimate above your plants. Another pretty ingenious innovation, which works just as well to combat frost as it does drought, is a French startup called Ombrea, based in Aix-en-Provence. It has developed smart shade structures. Large, removable panels, like shutters, that are placed above a farm, such as tomatoes or a vineyard, and coupled with sensors that collect weather data.

Depending on the sunlight, humidity, cold, and the type of crop, these panels will open and close, in order to modulate the shade on the ground with extreme precision. In short, the device will protect against hail or extreme cold, but also when the sun is too strong: it will create a sort of micro-climate to optimize growth according to each plant. The result: we obtain more fruits and vegetables by consuming less water, we avoid crops burned by the sun or decimated by frost or hail.