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Subtle Agroecologies
INTRODUCTION
The problem of soil fooding is global and affects crop yields on all the continents of our planet
(Peratae et al., 2011), and it is estimated that 6% of terrestrial land is waterlogged or prone to temporary fooding, due to heavy rainfall and poor soil drainage (De la Cruz et al., 2012; Maltby, 1991).
In Latin America, waterlogging affects 11.3% of the cultivated land, while in Cuba, poor drainage
affects up to 40.3% of the cultivated agricultural area (CIGEA, 2001).
The term fooding encompasses both excess water accumulation in the soil and submersion. The
accumulation of water can involve soil fooding, where only the roots are exposed to these conditions, and immersion, when the plant is partially or fully submerged (Sasidharan and Voesenek,
2015). Flood events have become more frequent, severe and unpredictable and are strongly associated with climate change.
The gas exchanges in the organs of fooded plants lead to the restriction of two vital plant processes, photosynthesis and respiration, which can be attributed to water being an extremely poor
medium for the diffusion of gases, mainly oxygen. Most terrestrial plants, including major crops,
are extremely sensitive to wet conditions. The adaptation of a plant to fooding includes molecular,
physiological, morphological and anatomical changes. Initiating these changes requires an accurate
and timely perception by the plant of excess water in order to invoke adaptive responses in the early
stages of vegetative growth (Sasidharan and Voesenek, 2015).
In industrial farming, different chemical additives are used to raise the productivity of plants
and livestock. Their application can cause the contamination of raw materials for food production
with toxins that are dangerous for consumers’ health as well the environment. On-farm safety for
fresh produce requires the development and implementation of new methods for quality assurance.
Through the substitution of chemical ameliorations by physical methods, one can reduce the toxins in the raw materials and thus raise the food safety levels and mitigate environmental concerns
(Aladjadjiyan, 2007; Aladjadjiyan and Kakanakova, 2008; Jacubiak and Gdowska, 2013).
Thus, the treatment of seeds from agricultural crops by non-polluting substances and techniques
could bring both qualitative and quantitative increases in agricultural production: a possibility that
has led to increased interest in applying biophysical techniques in agriculture (Hernández et al.,
2010; Mosneaga et al., 2018; Vasilevski, 2003).
Among the biophysical methods used for seed priming are treatments involving magnetic felds
(De Souza and Garci, 1999; De Souza et al., 2006), temperature or thermo-priming (Paparella et al.,
2015); light amplifcation by stimulated emissions of radiation or laser (Álvarez et al., 2011); X-rays
(Ramírezet al., 2006); ultrasound (Yaldagard et al., 2008); gamma and beta radiation (Mirshekari,
2015); the use of plasma (Volin et al., 2000); and microwave radiation (Banik et al., 2003). All are
potential alternatives to reducing the synthetic additives and fertilisers applied to the soil and plants.
Laser treatment involves emitting monochromatic coherent light waves in a controlled fashion
(Aladjadjiyan, 2007). The literature concludes that it can be considered a safe technique, as it does
not alter the molecular bonds, has no mutagenic effect and does not cause marked morphological changes in the structure of the tissue (Mosneaga et al., 2018). Laser biotechnology has a wide
range of applications; it can be used in sustainable environmental engineering and preventive
biotechnology to eliminate heavy metal contamination on degraded land, as well as in wastewater
treatment bioremediation (Dobrowolski, 2010; Dobrowolski et al., 2012a,b; Mosneaga et al., 2018).
There are many studies about low-power laser biostimulation treatment, applied to plants to
stimulate germination, shooting, rooting and plant growth. These include the following:
• improved growth and yield by stimulating morphological change (Hernández et al., 2016;
Ivanova, 1998; Perveen et al., 2011; Podlesny and Podlesna, 2004; Podlesny et al., 2012;
Ying and Chen, 2010);
• stimulating germination (Abu-Elsaoud, 2013; Hoseini et al., 2013; Jamil et al., 2013;
Muthusamy et al., 2012; Podlesna et al., 2015);
Subtle Agroecologies
INTRODUCTION
The problem of soil fooding is global and affects crop yields on all the continents of our planet
(Peratae et al., 2011), and it is estimated that 6% of terrestrial land is waterlogged or prone to temporary fooding, due to heavy rainfall and poor soil drainage (De la Cruz et al., 2012; Maltby, 1991).
In Latin America, waterlogging affects 11.3% of the cultivated land, while in Cuba, poor drainage
affects up to 40.3% of the cultivated agricultural area (CIGEA, 2001).
The term fooding encompasses both excess water accumulation in the soil and submersion. The
accumulation of water can involve soil fooding, where only the roots are exposed to these conditions, and immersion, when the plant is partially or fully submerged (Sasidharan and Voesenek,
2015). Flood events have become more frequent, severe and unpredictable and are strongly associated with climate change.
The gas exchanges in the organs of fooded plants lead to the restriction of two vital plant processes, photosynthesis and respiration, which can be attributed to water being an extremely poor
medium for the diffusion of gases, mainly oxygen. Most terrestrial plants, including major crops,
are extremely sensitive to wet conditions. The adaptation of a plant to fooding includes molecular,
physiological, morphological and anatomical changes. Initiating these changes requires an accurate
and timely perception by the plant of excess water in order to invoke adaptive responses in the early
stages of vegetative growth (Sasidharan and Voesenek, 2015).
In industrial farming, different chemical additives are used to raise the productivity of plants
and livestock. Their application can cause the contamination of raw materials for food production
with toxins that are dangerous for consumers’ health as well the environment. On-farm safety for
fresh produce requires the development and implementation of new methods for quality assurance.
Through the substitution of chemical ameliorations by physical methods, one can reduce the toxins in the raw materials and thus raise the food safety levels and mitigate environmental concerns
(Aladjadjiyan, 2007; Aladjadjiyan and Kakanakova, 2008; Jacubiak and Gdowska, 2013).
Thus, the treatment of seeds from agricultural crops by non-polluting substances and techniques
could bring both qualitative and quantitative increases in agricultural production: a possibility that
has led to increased interest in applying biophysical techniques in agriculture (Hernández et al.,
2010; Mosneaga et al., 2018; Vasilevski, 2003).
Among the biophysical methods used for seed priming are treatments involving magnetic felds
(De Souza and Garci, 1999; De Souza et al., 2006), temperature or thermo-priming (Paparella et al.,
2015); light amplifcation by stimulated emissions of radiation or laser (Álvarez et al., 2011); X-rays
(Ramírezet al., 2006); ultrasound (Yaldagard et al., 2008); gamma and beta radiation (Mirshekari,
2015); the use of plasma (Volin et al., 2000); and microwave radiation (Banik et al., 2003). All are
potential alternatives to reducing the synthetic additives and fertilisers applied to the soil and plants.
Laser treatment involves emitting monochromatic coherent light waves in a controlled fashion
(Aladjadjiyan, 2007). The literature concludes that it can be considered a safe technique, as it does
not alter the molecular bonds, has no mutagenic effect and does not cause marked morphological changes in the structure of the tissue (Mosneaga et al., 2018). Laser biotechnology has a wide
range of applications; it can be used in sustainable environmental engineering and preventive
biotechnology to eliminate heavy metal contamination on degraded land, as well as in wastewater
treatment bioremediation (Dobrowolski, 2010; Dobrowolski et al., 2012a,b; Mosneaga et al., 2018).
There are many studies about low-power laser biostimulation treatment, applied to plants to
stimulate germination, shooting, rooting and plant growth. These include the following:
• improved growth and yield by stimulating morphological change (Hernández et al., 2016;
Ivanova, 1998; Perveen et al., 2011; Podlesny and Podlesna, 2004; Podlesny et al., 2012;
Ying and Chen, 2010);
• stimulating germination (Abu-Elsaoud, 2013; Hoseini et al., 2013; Jamil et al., 2013;
Muthusamy et al., 2012; Podlesna et al., 2015);