Chemtex Alsta Hydrogel – Potassium Polyacrylate based Agriculture Hydrogel

Economy of a country, especially developing ones mainly rely on agriculture and its by-products. This territory holds the way in to the food security for the persistent populace surge, solving the problem of their livelihood for the greater part of the individuals living in countryside. The more we have this backbone strong, the more stability will a country have. But the problem arises when three-fifth of this sector’s productivity depends upon a resource which is slowly depleting. Yes! Water. Lack of water prompts dry season, monetary misfortune and other undesirable issues, for example, value upsurge, lower profitability and so on. But adversities of some of these can be curbed down with little help from science and technology.  One such is the application of super absorbent polymer which stirs up with soil particles and swells up on contact with water. This growing of the polymer acts like little bundles of water and confers moisture retaining property to root foundation. When the conditions become dry, it begins releasing water, guaranteeing continuous water supply and growth.

Potassium Polyacrylate [−CH₂−CH(CO₂K) −] _n is based on potassium salt of polyacrylic acid, mainly used as super absorbent polymer that has the ability to absorb water few hundred times more than its size. Potassium polyacrylate functions as a moisture retaining agent, forming water lumps on contact with water molecules. The sway that potassium salt has over other salts is its water retaining capacity as well as water releasing function with higher disintegration time. Potassium Polyacrylate have cross-linking molecular structure with a hydrophilic group attached, which absorbs water to about 500-600 times of its own weight and form water beads or crystals. When applied on agricultural field, it can act as a water reservoir for plants as the same will trap the water fed either through rain or irrigational canal. These trapped water gets released after a certain point over prolonged durations and can be a game changer when the conditions become dry and frizzy. These polymers also absorb vital nutrients from the soil which are then utilized by plants for carrying out various physiological processes.

We are going through some tough situations witnessing depletion of some of the major natural resource, water being an important one of them, mainly in arid and semi-arid areas due to insufficient and uncertain rainfall. The demand for clean water is rapidly increasing and its availability for coming time is something that is discussed in every forum of environmental science. What’s more alarming is the agriculture sector which has to suffer, consuming most of the available potable water while the current irrigation practices cannot even cater to half of the grown crops due to varied geographical dimensions of the sub-continent and varied soil textures. These areas still follow traditional practices which not only lower the effective use of water but also decrease the use of available water for crops.

There is another water absorbing polymer based on sodium extensively being used in fire retardant gels, freeze/PCM gel, candles, diapers, incontinence garments, hold and cold therapy packages, artificial snows and all but does not hold true for agriculture. Why? For the reason that Sodium polyacrylate does not release water.

Chemtex Speciality Limited, a pioneer specialty chemical manufacturer presents “Alsta Hydrogel” as a basic, simple to use, environment friendly agro polymer that farmers can successfully use to decrease water utilization without compromising on plant’s health and growth and yet yield rich green harvests even in dry spell conditions.

One of the major advantages of hydrogel is that it can be used on a wide variety of soils. Alsta Hydrogel polymer does not alter the chemical composition of soils on which it is applied, nor does it interfere with the biocidal action of applied fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, etc. Hydrogel polymers are effective even at high temperature mainly in arid and semi-arid areas.

Use of Alsta Hydrogel in irrigational field ensures following outcomes:

• Significant increment in water holding capacity
• Efficient use of water
• Increase in soil penetrability and invasion rate
• Decrease in water system recurrence
• Increase in crop performance, especially in territories inclined to dry season
• Reduction in the frequency of utilizing composts and pesticides, almost nullifying after some time

If we go through the above-mentioned points, it can be easily inferred that these issues can be countered by Alsta Hydrogel Potassium Polyacrylate Polymer which would not only guarantee upright monetary benefits but that too under limited or rather same resources available for farmers and other agricultural professionals.

For more information, you can visit www.hydrogelagriculture.com

Water Conservation of the Future

Super Absorbent Polymer for Agriculture

The foundation of Indian economy upon which nearly 30 percent of our GDP is based and around 60% of our population is directly or indirectly dependent, is agriculture. It has paved the way for many industrial developments over the years ergo playing a vital role in the Indian economic development. Indian irrigation infrastructure comprises nearly 39 mHa land by ground water, 22 mHa with irrigation canals, and 2/3^rd is still monsoon dependent.

Water is one of the key elements in agriculture and agriculture requires significant amounts of water most of which is rain fed or harvested. Seeds and fertilizers fail to achieve full potential if plants are not watered regularly. With nearly 20% of the world’s population to feed, India has access to only 4% of fresh water resources, out of which 90% is used for agriculture.

 

With regional and temporal variation of rainfall, and an average rainfall of 125cm, India is home to great spatial variations of rainfall. Areas of less to scanty rainfall viz. Northern Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab, Karnataka and Deccan plateau, Upper Ganga valley, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu are most susceptible to drought with 54% of India’s arable lands depending on it. Annual rainfall of India being 1183mm, out of which 75% is received in a short span of four months (July – September).

 

Water scarcity has negative impact on agriculture, and harms environment with increased salinity, nutrient pollution, loss of flood plains and wetlands. Indian agriculture uses nearly 90% water, and shall soon be facing water shortage owing to fast depletion of ground water resources and poor irrigation systems.

With 140 mHa of cultivable land in India, 42% falls in drought prone areas. Out of the 90% water usage, roughly 20% is used owing to flawed and inappropriate water management system.

Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) for Agriculture when mixed with soil can hold up to 300 – 400 times water than its own weight, significantly improving water retention capacity of the soil, soil permeability, build quality, plant growth, easier flow of nutrients and minerals to the plant, while reducing water stress, water wastage, irrigation frequencies, money and labour. The fundamentals of hydrogel agriculture technology are based on insoluble gel forming polymers that can improve water retention property of different soils. Hydrogel functions as a water reservoir round in the vadose (root) zone of the plant perfectly blended with the soil harvesting water.

Hydrogel for agriculture is mainly based on cross linked polyacrylamide (PAM) and cross linked acrylamide-acrylate polymers as they can retain their activity for a longer period. The water retention capacity arises from the hydrophilic functional group of the chain while the cross linked network of the polymer contributes for the resistance to self-dilution.

Polyacrylamide Hydrogels are mainly of two types: Soluble (linear chain) and Insoluble (cross linked). Linear PAM is water soluble and has been doing well in lowering irrigation induced erosion in agricultural fields. Cross linked PAM does not dissolve in water and inflates to around 250 – 400 times its actual volume forming a gel when in contact with water. Thus acting as water storage for irrigation and rainwater.

The working principle of hydrogels is based on the charge – cationic, anionic or neutral. This charge distribution decides the mode of action with the soil or solute.

The clay particles present in soils are negatively charged, the heavy metals have positive charges and different minerals available in soils can hold a positive or a negative charge. Thus cationic hydrogels easily bind to clay and helps in flocculation, and anionic hydrogels are mainly used as a dispersant.

This water absorbing property of hydrogel increases manifold as the force of attraction between the gel and the soil particles becomes higher.

Significance of Hydrogel for Agriculture

• Increases water holding capacity of the soil
• Reduces irrigation frequency
• Limits water and nutrient loss from soil
• Enhances plant growth and performance
• Reduces surface erosion and water runoff
• Long term protection against drought and groundwater contamination
• Reduces NPK leaching when dry mixed with fertilizer preparations
• Delivery system for Mycorrhiza

Chemtex Speciality Limited manufactures and markets Hydrogel for Agriculture under the brand name of Alsta Hydrogel. With notable mentions on Wikipedia, to success stories on YouTube, Chemtex Speciality Limited is widely acknowledged for its service in modern agriculture.

For more information about Alsta Hydrogel, feel free to visit http://www.hydrogelagriculture.com or email at mailto:info@hydrogelagriculture.com