An Idea On Acid Rain

[dopplereffect]

Hello ,
Im a high school student from mumbai,India and recently came up with an idea
its a bit simple and basic but i just want people opinion on whether it will work and if it has potential.

Recently i conducted an experiment to show how an increased ph level in soil used for agriculture has harmful effects on the health of the crops.This of course is commonly known (acid rain)
so i just thought of a simple way to prevent this long term damage
What if the water supply used in watering the field was made to be slightly alkaline
in my country agriculture is an extremely important source of income
and maybe id farmers began to use alkaline water the crops would stay healthier
i setup an experiment where i poured simulated acid rain(using very dilute sulphuric acid )
on two plants over a few weeks

I watered one of theme with water that had minute amounts of baking soda dissolved in it
and it worked, the plant i watered with regular water showed signs of root degradation and wilting
the plant i poured baking soda on was perfectly healthy
So what do you guys think
this is my first time sharing a theory online
Do you think this idea has research significance?
has it already been thought of?
i just want your opinion
of course I'm just a high school student so

[pgrmdave]

Hello ,

Im a high school student from mumbai,India and recently came up with an idea

its a bit simple and basic but i just want people opinion on whether it will work and if it has potential.

 

Recently i conducted an experiment to show how an increased ph level in soil used for agriculture has harmful effects on the health of the crops.This of course is commonly known (acid rain)

so i just thought of a simple way to prevent this long term damage

What if the water supply used in watering the field was made to be slightly alkaline

in my country agriculture is an extremely important source of income

and maybe id farmers began to use alkaline water the crops would stay healthier

i setup an experiment where i poured simulated acid rain(using very dilute sulphuric acid )

on two plants over a few weeks

 

I watered one of theme with water that had minute amounts of baking soda dissolved in it

and it worked, the plant i watered with regular water showed signs of root degradation and wilting

the plant i poured baking soda on was perfectly healthy

So what do you guys think

this is my first time sharing a theory online

Do you think this idea has research significance?

has it already been thought of?

i just want your opinion

of course I'm just a high school student so

Welcome to hypography! I know that different crops require pH levels. It looks like greenhouses and farms already measure and adjust for this, at least where they can. That means that you came up with a great idea! It's so good that large companies agree with your idea and are doing stuff like that (though in slightly different and more controlled ways).

 

Can I propose a follow up on your experiment? You've already shown that pH levels have an effect on the plants. Now see how acidic or basic the soil should be for best growing conditions. Is a perfectly neutral soil best? How little baking soda is needed to bring the soil to a reasonable point? Post the ongoing experiment here and we'll help!

[Speedjohn]

I think it's a very good idea to prevent crop damage by acid rain,Baking soda on plants causes no harm and may help prevent the bloom of fungal spores in some cases. Acid rain is more likely to weaken the crops by damaging their leaves, limiting the nutrients available to them, or poisoning them with toxic substances slowly released from the soil. The damage depends on the strength of the acids in the acid rain.Alkaline water could neutralize it's effects.

 

[exchemist]

I think it's a very good idea to prevent crop damage by acid rain,Baking soda on plants causes no harm and may help prevent the bloom of fungal spores in some cases. Acid rain is more likely to weaken the crops by damaging their leaves, limiting the nutrients available to them, or poisoning them with toxic substances slowly released from the soil. The damage depends on the strength of the acids in the acid rain.Alkaline water could neutralize it's effects.

You do realise this post you are responding to was made two years ago, do you? 

[Maine farmer]

You do realise this post you are responding to was made two years ago, do you? 

The original post is old, but the topic could still be of relevance to someone.

 

 

I think it's a very good idea to prevent crop damage by acid rain,Baking soda on plants causes no harm and may help prevent the bloom of fungal spores in some cases. Acid rain is more likely to weaken the crops by damaging their leaves, limiting the nutrients available to them, or poisoning them with toxic substances slowly released from the soil. The damage depends on the strength of the acids in the acid rain.Alkaline water could neutralize it's effects.

Typically, we farmers use limestone, which is traded globally,  to raise the ph of our soils. The calcium in limestone is also vital to the animals that eat the plants.  I'm not sure what the chemical reaction would produce with sodium bicarbonate reacting to acid rain, but I bet exchemist knows.  

[exchemist]

The original post is old, but the topic could still be of relevance to someone.

 

 

Typically, we farmers use limestone, which is traded globally,  to raise the ph of our soils. The calcium in limestone is also vital to the animals that eat the plants.  I'm not sure what the chemical reaction would produce with sodium bicarbonate reacting to acid rain, but I bet exchemist knows.  

I imagine it would be chiefly sodium sulphate and nitrate (I think I have read that most of the SOx and NOx are oxidised in the atmosphere right through to sulphuric and nitric acids). The carbonate, after accepting H+ from these acids, would be converted to CO2 + water.