IN THE GARDEN
Nappy-filler as a
growing medium
A
newly-developed
growing method using
a waterproof, yet
absorbing film made from the
same stuff that fills babies'
nappies to make them
absorbent) will, it is claimed,
make it possible to grow crops
of superior vigour and taste
“virtually anywhere”, accord-
ing to the Japanese developer.
Dubbed Imec, the innovation
developed by Mebiol's Dr
Yuichi Mori, uses waterproof
sheets to separate the crops
being cultivated from the
ground underneath. Mebiol is
a Tokyo-based technology
company.
Outlining the basics of what it
says is a 'simple system' Mebiol
s tates. “The special features of
the new technology are to be
found in the film, which is
made of hydrogel, a hydro-
philic polymer gel used in
disposable diapers and other
products. The film's design
incorporates nano-sized (one
millionth of a millimetre)
pores, which absorb water
and nutrients but block germs
and viruses. This means only
small amounts of agricultural
chemicals are needed,
ensuring the crops are safe to
eat.”
“As the film holds the water, it
also makes the plants work
harder to get it by increasing
ALOES
From page 27
as a result of this so-called
cross-pollination hold the
genetic key to plants that are
different from both the parent
plants. The resulting seed-
ling(s) grow up to be hybrids
showing a combination of
characteristics of the parent
plants. Normally the pollen
'donor' is called the father, and
the seed bearing parent the
mother plant.
Many of the aloes available in
28
www.sasmallholder.co.za
osmotic pressure. The plants
thus create more amino acids
and sugar, and so they taste
better and have higher
nutritional value.”
Ali Adnan, senior adviser at
Mebiol, says 150 farms
around Japan have introduced
the technology, with “more
than ten already deployed in
China”.
He adds that “future projects
within the next year are
expected to be installed in
Germany, Saudi Arabia and
Qatar, with several other
countries in the pipeline for
approval”.
Imec is already being used to
grow tomatoes.
More than half of the farmers
in Japan come from a non-
farming background and,
according to Adnan, “they say
that the system is easy to use
and enables them to produce
high-quality produce”.
With its 'easy-to-use' aspect,
Imec may prove a boon to
small-scale and even urban
farmers in South Africa, and
Adnan says that, “farmers in
South Africa can access our
technology. We will first need
to export the simple system
and film from Japan.”
For more information:
www.mebiol.co.jp/en
nurseries are hybrids.
In South Africa most aloes are
also protected, with very few
exceptions, by environmental
legislation in all nine prov-
inces. It is thus illegal to
remove plants from their
natural habitat without the
necessary collecting and
transport permits issued by a
provincial or other nature
conservation authority, and
consent from the land owner.