HELP PLANTS COPE WITH DROUGHT
Periods of drought put plants under stress, particularly during establishment. As soils dry, water becomes less available to roots, making successful establishment and continued growth more difficult.
TerraCottem helps plants establish, grow and better cope with dry conditions.
HOW DOES TERRACOTTEM HELP?
TerraCottem is a soil conditioner that combines water retention, nutrition and root growth stimulation.
๐ง More plant-available water
TerraCottem's water-absorbing polymers capture water from rainfall or irrigation and retain it in the root zone.
But retaining water is only useful if plants can access it. More than 95% of the water absorbed by TerraCottem's polymers remains available for plant uptake.
๐ฑ Stronger root development
TerraCottem's root growth components stimulate root development, helping plants explore a greater volume of soil for available water and nutrients.
๐ฟ Nutrition to support establishment
TerraCottem supplies nutrients and increases soil cation exchange capacity (CEC), helping retain nutrients in the root zone and improve nutrient use efficiency.
SEE HOW TERRACOTTEM WORKS
| See how TerraCottem's components work together in the root zone. |
PROVEN RESULTS
TerraCottem has been tested across different soils, climates and applications.
Here are four documented examples.
โ LONGER BEFORE WILTING
In a greenhouse drought trial at the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh, two-month-old Aegle marmelos seedlings were watered to saturation and then received no further irrigation.
Untreated seedlings began wilting after 6โ7 days. Depending on the TerraCottem application rate, treated seedlings did not begin wilting until 9โ15 days.
โ LOWER LOSSES DURING SEVERE DROUGHT
A forestry study in Czech Republic followed newly planted Scots pine on acidic sandy soil under exceptionally dry conditions. The seedlings were planted in early March, but only 32 mm of precipitation fell between planting and the end of May.
After two growing seasons, losses reached 33% in the untreated control, compared with just 6% with TerraCottem. TerraCottem-treated trees also showed significantly greater height growth in the second year.
โ MORE WATER RETAINED IN THE SOIL
Tests across different soil types showed that incorporating TerraCottem increased the soil's water retention capacity.
At the recommended tree and shrub application rate, water retention capacity increased by approximately 30% in the sandy, loamy-sand and sandy-loam soils tested.
โ LOWER WATERING REQUIREMENTS IN LANDSCAPING
At the Port of Townsville in tropical North Queensland, Australia, TerraCottem was incorporated into a landscaping project as part of the City Council's strategy to reduce irrigation requirements.
Over the monitoring period, the project achieved a 45% cumulative water saving demonstrating the potential for substantial irrigation savings in established landscaping.
| (*) 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. |
SEE THE DIFFERENCE WHEN WATER BECOMES SCARCE
Watch how plants with and without TerraCottem respond when watering stops.
WANT TO SEE THE EVIDENCE?
Access the trial reports behind these results to explore the methodology and findings in more detail.
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WATER RETENTION?
How much water can TerraCottem actually retain? And, more importantly, how much of that water can plants use?
Our in-depth article looks at water retention capacity, plant-available water and what this means for plants during drought, with practical examples from landscaping projects.
READ: How TerraCottem Stores Water and Protects Plants Against Drought
PREPARE YOUR NEXT PROJECT FOR DRY CONDITIONS
Whether you're planting trees, creating a new landscape or establishing turf, we can help you choose the right TerraCottem product and application rate for your project.