Hydrogels
Hydrogel agriculture technology involves gel forming polymers that are
insoluble water absorbing polymers designed exclusively for agricultural use by
the late 1980’s. They were developed to improve physical properties of soil to:
1. Increase water holding capacity
2. Increase water use efficiency
3. Enhance soil permeability and infiltration rate
4. Reduce irrigation frequency
5. Reduce compaction tendency
6. Stop soil erosion, farm run-off & surface leaching
7. Increase plant performance, particularly in structure-less soils stressed
with drought condition
Hydrogels as they are commonly called are cross-linked three-dimensional
networked water absorbent polymers.
Three main types of Hydrogels have so far been found appropriate for
agricultural use:
1. Starch-graft copolymers
2. Cross-linked Polyacrylates
3. Cross-linked Polyacrylamides & Acrylamide-acrylate copolymers
Potassium Polyacrylate is the principle material used in SAP industry and
marketed as hydrogel for agricultural use because of its longer retention and
high efficiency in soil with nil toxicity issues.
They are prepared by polymerizing Acrylic acid with a cross linker. Cross-
linked polymers can hold water 400 times their own weight and release 95% of
that to growing plants. Use of Hydrogel leads to increased water use efficiency
by preventing leaching and increasing frequency for irrigation. During summer
months particularly in semi arid regions, lack of soil moisture can cause plant
stress. Moisture released by hydrogel close to root area helps reduce stress and
increase growth and plant performance. Hydrogels can reduce fertilizer leaching
and reduce application of pesticides.
Water Absorption with Hydrogel
Hydrogel works as water reservoirs round the root mass zones of the plant. In
presence of water, it expands to around 200-800 times the original volume.
There is ample possibility to trap irrigation and rainwater that can then be
collected, stored and gradually released for crop requirements over prolonged
durations. Hydrogel mixed with soil increase soil permeability and improve
germination rates. It is compatible with a wide range and type of soils and thus
has in general a tendency to increase plant performance and yield. Rainwater
retention, soil erosion by storm water run-offs, especially in sloped terrains can
be greatly averted. There has been proof of decrease in fruit & vegetable loss
due to insect by around 10-30%.
AGRICULTURE SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS OF
HYDROGELS
Hydrogel application in agriculture in terms of proposed practices and their
advantages are summarized herein.
1. Conservation in Agricultural Lands
Addition of hydrogel polymer can increase water retention capacity of soil by
50-70% with proper amendment with various dosages of soil to hydrogel ratio.
Consecutively soil bulk density can reduce by 8-10%. There is an upward trend
in saturated water volumetric content of soil with increasing dose of hydrogel
showing clear signs of increase in agricultural water use efficiency in arid and
semi-arid regions. This has positive impact on the net plant yield. Hydrogel
directly influences soil permeability, density, structure, texture, evaporation and
infiltration rates of water. Irrigation frequency, compaction tendency and run-
offs decrease while aeration & microbial activity is promoted.
Water stress due to scarcity of moisture around root zones is often associated
with premature leaf shedding, decreasing chlorophyll content, reduced seed
yield, less fruit and flower yield per plant. Use of hydrogel can help moderate
these impacts caused by deficit irrigation. Being a water retaining agent greatly
increase irrigation period of cultivation, enhancing irrigation efficiency
particularly in arid & semi-arid belts.
2. Drought Stress Reduction
Drought stress can lead to production of Oxygen radicals that result in increased
lipid perioxidation and oxidative stress in the plants. Visible effects include
stunned height, decrease in leaf area and foliar matrix damage etc. Hydrogel can
reduce drought impact on plants leading to reduced stress and oxygen radical
formation. This in turn provides scope for better growth and yield even in
unfavorable climatic conditions.
3. Enhanced Fertilizer Efficiency
Irrigation technology has major constraints in the fields of application of
fertilizers, herbicides and germicides. Studies suggest the use of synthetic
fertilizers can be greatly reduced when hydrogel agriculture is practiced without
hindering with crop yield and nutritional value. It would indeed be a more
appropriate practice for sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid conditions
and regions with similar ecological constrains. Moreover, potassium
polyacrylate is safe and non-toxic thus prevents pollution of agro ecosystems.
4. Biodegradability of Hydrogel Polymer
Studies have confirmed that hydrogel is sensitive to the action of UV rays, and
degrades into oligomers. The Polyacrylate becomes much more sensitive to
aerobic and anaerobic microbiological degradation and can degrade at rates of
10-15% per year into water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen compounds. The
hydrogel molecules are too voluminous to be absorbed into plant tissue and
have zero bioaccumulation potential.
Application rates
Considering the efficiency of hydrogel in soil conditioning and moisture
retention, it can be understood that an optimum mixing ratio is needed to get
maximum efficacy of the method. Since the moisture holding capacity is a
function of soil characteristics, dosage of hydrogel is also varied and designed
based on the type of soil it is used with. A simple dosage chart has been
illustrated herein but the ultimate quantity and application can only be
determined after testing specific soils to be conditioned
Different types of hydrogel to grow plants
Even before modern science explored industrial manners of increasing water
retention in soils, agriculturists were hoping to find ways to reduce runoff and
make rainwater “stay there” for crops to use. There’s many different forms of
irrigation, and modern hydrogels are assuredly the most recent development to
date..
Three major groups of hydrogels
Hydrogel material is always one of the following three major groups:
natural hydrogel – this is derived from starch, extracted from crops
such as corn and wheat. Often used in processed foods to influence structure.
cellulose hydrogel – this comes from plant materials that contain
cellulose. Usually mixed in with a small portion of petroleum-based products.
Often used in health applications and cosmetics.
synthetic hydrogel – 100% derived from petroleum (oil). Currently the
cheapest available product category. This type is most often used in agriculture
and horticulture.
Here are the differences among hydrogel polymers
Polyacrylate vs polyacrylamide (or polyacrylamine)
Sodium acrylates vs Potassium polyacrylates
Cationic vs Anionic vs Neutral
Natural or Biopolymer vs Synthetic
Quality grade: Cosmetic, Food and Agricultural grade
Manufacturing trust levels
Claims, facts and advantages of hydrogel
Hydrogel, miniature water cisterns in the soil
Hoarding water and releasing it slowly to plants around it is the primary
claim that hydrogel manufacturers put forward.
A hydrogel, or superabsorbent polymer, is characterized by either of the
following two metrics:
how many times it can absorb its own weight in water
how much it swells compared to its original, dry size.
Hydrogel makes space for roots
Since they swell and shrink with each water cycle, the water crystals push the
soil around them away and provide small crevices.
In soils that are compacted, heavy clay soils, or in passageways where
people always tread, this can be precious. Small nooks and passages help plants
that have trouble developing a root system.
This also increases air circulation. Bacterial and insect life is enhanced.
Worms reappear.
Furthermore, this is particularly relevant when soils have been depleted of plant
and animal life. Normally, worms and a bugs bore tunnels as they hunt and
forage underground. However, in contaminated, dead soil, they’re absent and
the ground stays packed. Hydrogel compounds are a solution to make plant
recovery easier.
Hydrogel reduces runoff, erosion and evaporation
When gallons and liters of water pour down from the sky, usually only a
fraction of it is absorbed by bare soil.
Most of it pools together and runs off, forming rivulets that drag away
nutrients and smaller sediments. Soil is left bare and isn’t very nourishing.
This is called erosion.
Since a single gallon of superabsorbent material can absorb hundreds or even a
thousand gallons of water, much if not all of the water is captured on-site. It
won’t collect to run off.
Water isn’t lost to evaporation since it’s held back in the crystals.
Hydrogel and roots fuse to form osmotic nodes
Roots have a gift in that they always find their way towards water. It has been
observed that roots will always locate and colonize pellets or crystals saturated
with water.
They’ll even grow in and around it to maximize surface contact, forming
curious nodes that aren’t so common in the natural world.
The water retention of the hydrogel slush is high enough to prevent loss through
evaporation, but not too high that roots can’t pull the water out. This makes it a
great medium for the plants to grow.
Hydrogel can dispense needed nutrients or chemicals
When pre-loaded upon manufacturing, hydrogels can be infused with
chemicals.
Fertilizer, nutrients and even herbicides can be embedded in the
polymer.
As water cycles in and out of the chain-like structure, some of these chemicals
are leached out to the environment.
This confers precious properties to the hydrogels. Often it is used for good
purposes, like Polyter, which adds organic fertilizer compounds to its
cellulose-based polymer structure.
At other times, it’s used to spread poison, such as when Monsanto, recently
acquired by Bayer, integrated synthetic polyacrylamides (a type of hydrogel
made from petroleum) to herbicides. This ensured that the herbicide would stay
put and take years to leach out into the ground, sterilizing land or killing off
wild flora.
Safety, risks and dangers associated to hydrogel
Hydrogels in agriculture are very recent developments. There isn’t much
research on the various dangers that might result from using superabsorbent
chemicals over extended periods.
An in-depth review of hydrogel risks that have been considered is available
here, and those that stand out are:
presence of acrylamine monomers in small amounts upon purchase –
although harmless when multiple acrylamine polymers are bound together,
single monomers have been found to foster cancer.
slow release of acrylamine monomers as the product degrades – the
polymer breaks down over time into its constituent monomers, but some types
have been shown to interfere with reproductive hormones. Even if each
molecule is broken down by microbes within at most two months, constant
exposure may have an effect.
Some agricultural water-absorbing crystals release sodium (salt) as they
break down, eventually causing salinization.
new chemicals used aren’t perfectly characterized – as with many
experimental products, potential issues haven’t yet been extensively researched.
physical swelling of hydrocrystals may plug or block intestinal tracts of
animals and insects when ingested.
