Cómo TerraCottem almacena agua y ayuda a las plantas a resistir la sequía
01/01/2020 - 00:00
TerraCottem es un «acondicionador físico del suelo». Todo un trabalenguas. En términos sencillos, se trata de una enmienda del suelo. Cuando se piensa en TerraCottem, normalmente se asocia con su extraordinaria capacidad de retención de agua. Por eso se utiliza ampliamente para ayudar a las plantas a soportar el estrés hídrico. Esta característica es tan destacada que, en ocasiones, TerraCottem se percibe simplemente como un polímero hidroabsorbente. Sin embargo, la realidad es mucho más interesante. En este artículo, comparamos la capacidad de retención de agua de TerraCottem con la de otros acondicionadores de suelo. ¿Cuánta agua puede absorber realmente TerraCottem? Y lo que es más importante, ¿cuánta de esa agua permanece realmente disponible para la planta? Demostramos que casi toda el agua absorbida permanece disponible para las plantas, algo que no es tan evidente como parece. Por último, veremos qué significa esto en la práctica a través de varios ejemplos reales.
Lo primero es lo primero... TerraCottem es un acondicionador de suelo, no un polímero
Los acondicionadores de suelo TerraCottem son mucho más que un simple polímero.
Lo que hace que TerraCottem sea único es la interacción sinérgica de todos sus componentes. Los polímeros que absorben agua, los nutrientes minerales, los fertilizantes y los estimuladores del crecimiento trabajan juntos para maximizar el enraizamiento y el desarrollo de las plantas.
Aunque el ahorro de agua es sin duda una de las grandes ventajas de TerraCottem, los profesionales también lo valoran por favorecer un sistema radicular más fuerte, un crecimiento más vigoroso, plantas más sanas y una reducción significativa de las pérdidas tras la plantación.
En este artículo descubrirás qué diferencia a TerraCottem de los hidroretenedores convencionales:
→ O echa un vistazo a este video corto:
Pero volvamos al tema principal de este artículo...
TerraCottem puede absorber mucha agua... Muchísima
¿Cuánta agua puede absorber exactamente? Pongamos a prueba tus conocimientos con un pequeño test. 😉
En la foto de abajo, de izquierda a derecha, puedes ver 100 g de arena, 100 g de roca volcánica, 100 g de arcilla, 100 g de tierra para macetas y 100 g de TerraCottem universal.
¿Cuánta agua crees que puede retener cada uno de estos materiales?
En otras palabras, cada muestra SECA se satura completamente con agua y luego se vuelve a pesar. La diferencia entre el peso HÚMEDO y el SECO indica cuánta agua se retiene; en otras palabras, su capacidad de retención de agua.
¿Preparado para los resultados?
- Arena: ± 110 g de agua por cada 100 g de material
- Partículas grandes con una superficie relativamente pequeña.
- Roca volcánica: ± 115 g de agua por cada 100 g de material
- Estructura porosa: almacenamiento adicional de agua en los poros y una superficie ligeramente mayor.
- Arcilla: ± 145 g de agua por cada 100 g de material
- Partículas muy pequeñas con una gran superficie.
- Estructura en capas (en forma de placas) que proporciona superficie y espacio de almacenamiento adicionales.
- Las superficies con carga negativa forman enlaces de hidrógeno con las moléculas de agua.
- Sustrato para macetas: ± 190 g de agua por cada 100 g de material
- Rico en materia orgánica, lo que crea una estructura esponjosa que absorbe y retiene el agua.
- TerraCottem universal: ± 9 000 g de agua por cada 100 g de material
- Contiene aproximadamente un 40 % de polímeros que absorben agua.
- Cadenas moleculares extremadamente largas con numerosos grupos hidrófilos que atraen y se unen a las moléculas de agua mediante enlaces de hidrógeno.
- Estructura polimérica tridimensional que se hincha y almacena grandes cantidades de agua.
¿Quieres profundizar un poco más? Debajo del gráfico encontrarás una explicación detallada:
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→ Hemos preparado este breve vídeo para resumirlo todo:
More than 95% plant-available water
The total amount of water that can be absorbed is not always the most relevant parameter. A higher Water Retention Capacity (WRC) does not necessarily mean that more Plant-Available Water (PAW) is present. After all, not all absorbed water is available to plants:
- Some of the water is held too loosely and will drain away under the influence of gravity.
- Another portion may be held so tightly that plant roots cannot generate enough suction force to absorb it into their cells.
Did you know that superabsorbent polymers are also used in diapers? These polymers are specifically designed to bind virtually all water very strongly. That makes perfect sense: otherwise diapers would leak and fail to perform their function.
Unfortunately, similar types of polymers can also be found in horticultural and landscaping products. As a result, only a limited proportion of the absorbed water may actually be available to plants.
The water-absorbing polymers used in TerraCottem are different. In fact, we use several carefully selected, high-quality polymer types in our formulations. These polymers have been engineered to maximize plant-available water, ensuring that more than 95% of the absorbed water remains available for uptake by plant roots.
Interested in learning more about soil physics and how plant-available water is measured? Read our blog article:
Watch this short, animated video to learn how plant-available water works and why it matters:
High water retention combined with maximum plant-available water:
what does this mean in practice?
Up to 50% lower irrigation requirements 💧
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TerraCottem soil conditioners can retain large amounts of water, while keeping almost all of that water available for plant uptake whenever it is needed. The logical result: significantly less irrigation is required. |
How much additional water can be retained varies considerably depending on the application and growing conditions.
Long-term TerraCottem users report water savings of up to 50%.
A practical example:
The City Council of Townsville, Queensland, Australia, wanted to develop its waterfront in a sustainable manner. As water conservation is an important component of sustainable environmental management, the council decided to incorporate TerraCottem into the project to help achieve this objective.
An irrigation budget was established for the first ten years of the project. The budget allocation was phased over time: 30% for year one, 20% for year two, 10% for years three and four, and the remaining 30% spread over the final six years.
Because TerraCottem provides long-lasting benefits, the target was to achieve a 50% reduction in irrigation water use over the entire ten-year period.
Actual irrigation costs were monitored and recorded every six months:
The result? A cumulative water saving of more than 45% was recorded over the entire project period.
(*) After four years, the success of TerraCottem was clearly demonstrated. The project was expanded, with additional planting areas. As these new areas were connected to the same irrigation network, the original trial plots could no longer be monitored separately.
→ We can prepare a detailed cost-benefit analysis tailored to your project. Simply fill in our webform and our team will be happy to assist you.
Stronger roots, better resistance to drought 🌱
In addition to the hydroabsorbant polymers that increase water retention, the root growth stimulators also play an important role in helping plants cope with drought stress.
These growth stimulators, or bio stimulants, act at the cellular level. Put simply, they promote the development of more extensive and deeper root systems. This gives plants access to a larger soil volume in which to search for available water.
The result? Plants can withstand water stress and wilting for much longer.
We decided to put this to the test using two Peace Lilies (Spathiphyllum) and a time-lapse camera.
- TerraCottem was incorporated into the potting soil of the plant on the right at a rate of 5g/L of potting mix.
- The same potting soil was used for the plant on the left, which served as the untreated control.
- Both plants received exactly the same amount of water.
- They were watered only once, after which the soil was allowed to dry out naturally.
Take a look at what happened:
This effect is not limited to container-grown plants. The same principle applies to plants growing in open soil conditions.
A nice real-life example
Landscape contractor Peter Saeys from Gardenstate was asked to install a new lawn for one of his clients. Coincidentally, the neighbour had exactly the same idea...
- Both lawns were seeded at the same time.
- The neighbour did not use TerraCottem; Peter did.
- Both lawns germinated successfully and developed into healthy, dense turf.
The following summer, however, brought an extended period of extreme drought.
Guess which of the two lawns in the photo was treated with TerraCottem?
→ We also published an interesting blog article about Peter Saeys’ gardens. Be sure to check it out!
Higher survival rates after planting 🌿
Replacing trees, shrubs, perennials and hedging plants that fail after planting—commonly referred to as plant replacement—is something every landscape manager wants to avoid as much as possible. Not only does it generate additional costs and labour, but it can also negatively impact the appearance and reputation of a project.
While it is virtually impossible to eliminate plant losses entirely, the percentage of failures can be significantly reduced by incorporating TerraCottem at planting.
Cost Savings
To keep the tree replacement rate below 10%, the City of Oudenaarde in Belgium invests primarily in water-related measures when planting trees. When replanting the 125 trees that had failed over the previous three years due to extremely dry weather conditions, the city invested in watering rings for above-ground water storage and TerraCottem arbor soil conditioner for growth support and water buffering around the tree roots.
When you consider that the average annual cost per tree for the City of Oudenaarde is €332.00, while the above investment amounts to only €35.00 per tree (€26.00 for the watering ring and €9.00 for the soil conditioner), it is clear that this investment will have a positive impact on the overall cost of tree replacement in the long term.
A quick calculation: in 2021, the cost of replacing trees amounted to 125 trees × €332.00 per tree = €41,500.00! Thanks to the above-mentioned investments, savings of more than €37,000.00 were achieved
Healthier and fuller plants 🌳
TerraCottem works in the root zone, where it supports plant growth, health and drought tolerance.
Portsmouth City Council in the United Kingdom evaluated this effect at two locations with flower beds, each consisting of a TerraCottem-treated area and an untreated control area receiving the same irrigation regime.
The result? See for yourself:
- In the TerraCottem-treated beds, the Geranium Eclipse Red produced noticeably more flowers and showed significantly less wilting. A clear difference was also observed with the Rudbeckia Marmalade.
- Marigold Solar Orange, Marigold Solar Sulphur, Salvia Victoria and Cordyline also performed substantially better with TerraCottem: the flowers were considerably larger than those in the untreated control beds.
- In addition, Begonia Olympia Rose plants grown with TerraCottem reached a greater height and provided noticeably better ground cover.
In a world where water is becoming increasingly precious...
Sustainable growth starts below the ground.
By managing soil and water wisely, you not only give plants a better start, but also a stronger future.
TerraCottem helps you make a difference today for a greener and more resilient tomorrow.