Learning Support

Solving Soil Salinity Problems by Using Soil Conditioners

RATTANABURI SCHOOL

THE SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AREA OFFICE SURIN, Thailand

Mrs. Surattaya Saephoo

The context and problem state is Farmers face salty soil problems.

My challenge is.......

How can teachers support students to help solve the saline soil problem for farmers?

Why is it important?

Because that most of the people of Rattanaburi District are mainly engaged in agriculture, especially rice farming. But the yield was not so good due to soil salinity, affecting agricultural productivity less than it should, resulting in lower income for farmers. Farmers therefore choose to solve the saline soil problem by using gypsum or chemical fertilizers to improve the soil. But gypsum, which is expensive, using force sowing will lead to long-term health problems.

Context/Challenge

Step 1: Context and condition of the problem

Stage 2:

Developing understanding of the problem and background knowledge understanding and skills

Stage 3: Solving the problem

Stage 4: Communicating the solutions to the problem

Stage 5 Assessment

ขั้นการสื่อสาร

The Innovation�

The innovation is

Organizing Learning Process for Integrated STEM-ED with Four Stage PBL model

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Step 1: Context and condition of the problem

Introducing the problem and context (exploring problems in the community)

Stage 2:

Developing understanding of the problem and background knowledge understanding and skills

(each group of students Research solutions to problems and present them to STEM teachers. Teachers add the knowledge and skills they need to solve problems.)

Stage 3: Solving the problem

Solving the problem prototype innovation and selecting the best solution to the problem by a committee from various parties :Request cooperation from relevant agencies and experts)

Stage 4:

Communicating the solutions to the problem (students bring the most appropriate solutions to the problem, demonstrate to the villagers in the community to understand how to solve problems with the principles of STEM education)

The Innovation�

The innovation is Project Based Learning ; PBL+STEM-ED

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to support learning are as follows.

Step 1: Context and condition of the problem

Stage 2:

Developing understanding of the problem and background knowledge understanding and skills

• To solve the saline soil problem, the research team has studied relevant research papers to find solutions. It was found that bio-extract solution or liquid organic fertilizers can be used to improve soil in all aspects, namely, to improve both chemical, physical and biological aspects of the soil. When organic materials are decomposed by heterotropes in the soil, many different substances are obtained, both organic and inorganic. Bio-extracted solution has properties that promote plant growth and can be used to improve soil conditions. But its effectiveness depends largely on the type of material used to ferment.

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Stage 3: Solving the problem

• The research team therefore chose to make a salinity soil conditioner product from bio-extracted solution derived from local organic material fermentation. Because there are techniques and methods that are not complicated and low cost. By choosing animal-derived materials, namely Golden apple snail, eggshells, and plant-based materials, using banana peels. Because it is found that calcium is abundant in egg shells, shells, in order to eliminate the enemy of the rice plant, our team chooses to use Golden apple snail. And from the analysis of nutrient content in golden apple snails, it was found that the protein content was quite high as in fish. Which will have a protein content between 10.70-56.25 percent and in the part of the banana peel, it was found that the banana peel is rich in many benefits such as potassium, helping to accelerate the growth of every part of the plant. And contains calcium to help nourish the stems to be strong, tough, not fragile and easily broken. In addition, cheap bananas are easy to find in the community. But when finished eating, the banana peel will unfortunately be discarded. The researcher therefore has an idea to use banana peels to replace fresh fruits and vegetables used in the biofermentation process.

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3 : 0.1 : 1 : 1 : 1

• Efficacy of bio-fertilized water derived from golden apple snails, egg shells and banana peels on soil salinity compared with bio-fertilized solution from golden apple snails and banana peels at a concentration of 1:500 (bio-fertilized solution: Water). Bring the soil conditioner to spray into the soil during soil preparation. After that, the soil was incubated for 7 days and the soil was analyzed for chemical properties. It was found that soil amendment with biofertilizer containing eggshell gave lower soil electrical conductivity or salinity than the formula without eggshell. The average salinity was in the range of 1.12-1.29 decimen per meter. This electrical conductivity is in the range of non-saline soils (0-2 decimen per meter) and does not affect plants.

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• Application of soil conditioner products, The research team studied the design and construction of a soil conditioner sprayer using solar energy. The structure of the designed machine consists of the main components, for example, 16 liter chemical reagent tank, Battery size 12 volts, 7.5 amperes, dry type, used to install on the sprayer's body. Serves as a collector of electrical energy produced from solar panels for use at the desired time. The solar panel attached to the helmet is capable of generating 15 watts of electricity.The charge controller (Charge Controller) is responsible for charging the electricity produced from the solar panel into the battery and controlling the charging current to the appropriate amount for the battery to prolong the life of the battery. including supplying electricity from the battery. The motor helps to spray the 12-volt chemical solution and the solar panel converts solar energy into DC power.,

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• After designing and constructing a sprayer, it was found that the machine can be used to spray chemical liquid for an average of 11 minutes 3 seconds at a 15 liter tank capacity.The chemical solution was sprayed using a non-adjustable spray nozzle as the experimental model.
• A chemical injection experiment was conducted to find the water distribution area at different heights, namely, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 m. The best dispersion level of the chemical solution is at a height of 1 meter. The area of the chemical solution is 1.502 square meters.In the next order, at a height of 0.8 m, the chemical solution was dispersed with an area of 1.429 square meters. And at a height of 0.6 m, the least amount of dispersion of the chemical solution was 1.263 square meters.The working part of the sprayer using solar energy is designed to spray the chemical for 4.68 hours per day and the designed solar panel can fully charge the battery in about 1 days.

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• From solving the saline soil problem by using the obtained soil conditioner products in conjunction with the built sprayer, it was found that the use of the soil conditioner from the Golden apple snail mixture banana peel and egg shells can reduce the salinity of the soil. and solar sprayer 2in1 can be used in all areas reduces fatigue no fuel cost and protects against visible UV rays while in use. Therefore, agriculture should turn to use bio-fermented solution in conjunction with the aforementioned spraying equipment because it also reduces environmental pollution problems and reduces production costs as well.

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• In this study, STEM Education played a huge role. For adaptation, farmers can produce soil conditioners by using their own local organic materials in place of egg shells or Golden apple snailsuch as cockles and mussels that are left over from households.As for plant materials, other types of bananas that are not banana peels can be substituted.
• For the use of soil conditioner together with the sprayer. Farmers can adapt to create a sprayer suitable for their own area by increasing the size of the chemical tank. Don't forget to take into account the electrical demands of the motor, battery, and solar panels.

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• From solving the saline soil problem by using the obtained soil conditioner products in conjunction with the built sprayer, it was found that the use of the soil conditioner from the Golden apple snail mixture banana peel and egg shells can reduce the salinity of the soil. and solar sprayer 2in1 can be used in all areas reduces fatigue no fuel cost and protects against visible UV rays while in use. Therefore, agriculture should turn to use bio-fermented solution in conjunction with the aforementioned spraying equipment because it also reduces environmental pollution problems and reduces production costs as well.

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Stage 4:

Communicating the solutions to the problem (students bring the most appropriate solutions to the problem, demonstrate to the villagers in the community to understand how to solve problems with the principles of STEM education)

After seeing other teams' presentations, we should evaluate other teams' solutions and presentations to make recommendations. which may be brought back to improve our own work

Stage 5 Operational Assessment Assessment Criteria

Impact/Results

-Learners have created their own knowledge.

-Students have developed creative potential problem solving

and advanced thinking

-Learners have the opportunity to study and work together trained in leadership and follower

-Teachers have arranged direct experiences for students to use in their lives.

The success factor is…….

Management pays attention to learning.

Community participation in learning

Students are open to learning.

PLC (Professional Learning Community)

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Lessons

I think I have been successful in supporting their learning. Because they can use their knowledge to create innovations to solve problems for the community to a certain extent. And in the future, he will be able to continue to apply the knowledge and skills he has learned.

What I have learned from this course is Organizing activities that facilitate children's learning will help develop Encourage the knowledge and skills of learners to advance further. “Teachers are those who guide the students in good ways”

Lessons

“We started the idea by seeing the problem of farmers who have poor yields due to saline soil conditions. which results in less productivity And affecting the income of the community. Therefore, we have integrated STEM education knowledge to come up with innovative ideas to solve problems comprehensively. It started with a study on soil salinity through a scientific inquiry process and discovered that soil amendment from organic materials with fermented water was a suitable option. It can also reduce the amount of waste from the use of agricultural waste and everyday life. Including reducing contaminants as well. In addition, to reduce costs effectively. We developed the technology to create a 2in1 solar soil conditioner sprayer using mathematics. Calculate the efficiency of solar energy to maximize usage within a limited cost. We hope that this invention will improve the quality of life and generate more income for farmers.”

This is an interview that students gave to journalists

Ways Forward

In terms of learning, I plan to extend this approach to more schools.

We extend our innovation by distributing this work to farmers who suffer from saline soils. Farmers have adopted our recommended biofertilization methods to improve their soil conditions. And make a sprayer from the equipment he has found that the soil is in better condition, can be seen from the plants that he planted are growing better than before But the soil conditioning sprayer that we built has limitations, that is, it can be used in a limited area. Therefore, we plan to expand this innovation by further developing an invention that facilitates farmers in expanding the spraying area and the sprayer can be used for a longer time with low costs. Doing so may require further funding from sponsors.

Today I am glad to share my teaching experience with everyone.

Thank you for your attention