Tortilla chips and fresh salsa are delicious on their very own, but they could be much more appealing when you grow the ingredients sustainably. Researchers report that cayenne, bell pepper and jalapeño could be grown in recycled glass from discarded bottles akin to beer or soda. A pilot study found that partially replacing the soil within the planter with recycled glass shards accelerated plant growth and reduced unwanted fungal growth.
The researchers will present their findings at the autumn meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
When nanomaterials scientist Julie Venegas joined the college on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, she was paired with a school mentor, Teresa Patricia Feria Arroyo, an environmentalist who focuses on issues related to food security and sustainability. Work on solving. During her initial conversation, Venegas said she was evaluating recycled glass particles for coastal restoration projects, akin to planting willow trees. Feria wondered if glass may be used for growing produce. To answer Feria's query, they experimented with growing foods that folks are conversant in, mature quickly and could be grown in container and backyard gardens — the ingredients for pico de gallo.
“We're trying to reduce landfill waste while growing edible vegetables at the same time,” says Andrea Quezada, a chemistry graduate student within the Nanoworld Venegas lab who presented the team's research on the meeting. ” “If it's feasible, we will introduce glass-based soil into agricultural practices for people here within the Rio Grande Valley and across the country.”
For their experiments, the researchers get recycled glass particles from an organization that diverts bottles from landfills, crushes them into particles and grinds the pieces to round the perimeters. Quezada says the ultimate product is smooth enough that folks can handle pieces of glass without cutting. Likewise, plant roots can easily grow around pieces of glass without damage.
In preliminary tests, the researchers assessed the soil-like properties of three different sized glass pieces, akin to compaction and water retention. They found that coarse sand has properties just like the grain size, akin to allowing oxygen to achieve the roots and maintaining sufficient moisture levels, which could also be ideal for growing plants.
Now, Quezada is evaluating reusable glass materials as a viable alternative to clay. In a greenhouse on campus, she is growing cilantro, pepper and jalapeno plants in quite a lot of pots, from 100% industrial potting soil to 100% recycled glass. Pots with more clay contain more nutrients needed for plant growth, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, than pots with more glass. But there may be little variation in pH levels between pots, which is a promising result because plants thrive in a narrow soil pH range.
Preliminary results indicate that plants grown in recycled glass grow faster and retain more water than plants grown in 100% conventional soil. “More than 50 percent weight ratio of glass particles in soil appears to be the best for plant growth compared to other compounds we've tested,” Venegas says. Although, the researchers are waiting until harvest time to substantiate which soil mix produces the best yield — and the tastiest yield.
Another notable finding is that 100% potting soil produced a fungus that stunted plant growth. Feria hypothesizes that the fungus can affect nutrients through the roots. However, the containers that contained the quantity of recyclable glass didn’t develop fungal growth. Researchers are collecting data to find out why this may be.
The results are especially promising for Quezada since the study was conducted without fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides. From her experience working in agriculture, she notes that most of the chemicals applied to the land affect people like her members of the family who work or live around farming communities. “I think it's very important to try to minimize the use of any chemicals that can negatively impact our health,” says Quezada. “If we are able to reduce them, and help the community by collecting recyclables, we can give people a better quality of life.”