ABU DHABI, 2nd November, 2026 (WAM) — The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative is supporting trials of agricultural solutions aimed at increasing food production using less water through technologies that enhance plants’ biological processes and resilience to challenging environmental conditions.
Building on results previously achieved outside the UAE, the technologies are now being evaluated under local conditions.
Egypt’s Agri-Vit and Brazil’s Krilltech are among the finalists in the Al Miyah Challenge for Agriculture, part of the Initiative’s Al Miyah Challenge programme, which seeks scalable solutions capable of reducing agricultural water consumption while maintaining or improving crop yields in water-stressed regions.
The Agri-Vit team said years of research into how living organisms respond to light and environmental conditions led to the development of Agri-Vit Green, a patented Egyptian innovation based on natural plant-derived compounds.
Applied as a foliar treatment, the technology supports plant growth and adaptation to drought, heat and salinity by enhancing photosynthesis, internal water balance and efficient resource use.
It can be applied using farmers’ existing equipment without replacing irrigation systems, alongside an appropriate irrigation-management plan.
Most previous research was conducted in Egypt on mint, spinach, wheat and other crops.
In spinach trials, irrigation was reduced by 25 percent while plants maintained almost the same yield as fully irrigated plants. A two-season study on a type of wild mint in South Sinai recorded around 41 percent lower water consumption and approximately 71 percent higher productivity, alongside a significant increase in essential oil production.
In another mint trial, applying the technology and extending irrigation intervals from two to four days increased production by around 52 percent and 59 percent over two seasons compared with untreated plants irrigated every two days. Essential oil production rose by around 129 percent and 125 percent, respectively.
The team stressed that achievable water savings depend on the crop, growth stage and environmental conditions, requiring tailored irrigation protocols.
Through the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, the technology was tested on sweet corn at Silal Innovation Oasis in Al Ain to assess whether irrigation water could be reduced while maintaining commercially acceptable yield and quality.
Final results will be determined through Silal’s independent evaluation.
Krilltech said its Arbolina product uses surface-modified carbon nanoparticles known as “carbon dots” and supports processes associated with H⁺-ATPase, photosynthesis, carbon fixation and energy metabolism to improve the conversion of light, water and nutrients into plant growth and agricultural yield.
The company said the technology also supports stomatal regulation, carbohydrate metabolism and responses to oxidative stress.
H⁺-ATPase contributes to membrane transport and nutrient uptake, while sugars transported through the phloem support roots, fruits, grains and cellular water balance. Together, these processes can improve carbon assimilation relative to water lost through transpiration, particularly under heat, intense radiation and water scarcity.
Krilltech is also studying how metabolic changes affect root exudation and beneficial soil organisms, stressing that this remains an area of research and has not been verified across all crops.
According to the company, typical foliar doses range from 75 to 150 millilitres per hectare per application using conventional sprayers. The product can be incorporated into crop-management programmes without new irrigation infrastructure or specialised equipment.
Krilltech said its commercial experience in Brazil has focused on increasing production under conventional irrigation and improving crop output per unit of water.
In a University of Brasília study on common beans, treated plants maintained productivity with irrigation reductions of up to 20 percent, while average productivity across different irrigation regimes was approximately 25 percent higher than in untreated plants.
The company also cited results from Embrapa showing a 7 percent increase in productivity following a ten-day interruption in irrigation, stressing that the duration of the interruption does not represent a 10 percent reduction in water volume.
Initial observations from the UAE trials showed no clear leaf rolling, yellowing or other visible symptoms of water-stress injury. However, Krilltech has not yet received the full quantitative results, meaning it remains unconfirmed whether final yield was maintained.
The trials combine efforts to increase production using the same amount of water in Brazil with an assessment of direct irrigation savings in the UAE.
For an illustrative model of high-technology tomato production in the UAE, Krilltech estimated implementation costs at US$100–200 per hectare per crop cycle, equivalent to around 0.021 to 0.041 percent of assumed gross revenue of $486,000 per hectare.
Under a hypothetical economic model, a 10 percent increase in yield and a 10 percent reduction in water costs could generate an additional economic benefit of $40,568 per hectare before product costs. At a product cost of $100, the benefit-to-cost ratio would be approximately 406 to one.
The company stressed that these figures are projections rather than returns verified in the UAE pilot, with actual outcomes depending on crop and water prices, additional harvesting costs and application schedules.
Regarding safety, Krilltech said the product has been used commercially on several crops in Brazil since 2021, while initial UAE observations showed no visible phytotoxicity.
It added that standardised assessments of ecotoxicology, effects on soil organisms and biodegradability have not yet been reviewed, and no further safety claims are being made at this stage.
The company said Arbolina is registered as a fertiliser in Brazil and Europe, while its commercial introduction in the UAE remains subject to local registration and authorisation.
Krilltech is also developing additional nanomaterials targeting specific plant functions, including water-stress tolerance, and is seeking a UAE partnership to support local validation and adaptation to extreme heat, intense radiation and limited water availability.
Source: Emirates News Agency