Abstract
A novel poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)AlZnFe2O4/potassium humate superabsorbent hydrogel nanocomposite (PHNC) was synthesized and its physical properties characterized using SEM, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and FTIR spectroscopic techniques. Air dried sandy loam soil was amended with 0.1 to 0.4 w/w% of PHNC to evaluate its soil moisture retention attributes. Effect of PHNC amendment on pH, electrical conductivity (EC), porosity, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity of sandy loam soil was also studied. The soil amendment with 0.1 to 0.4 w/w% of PHNC remarkably enhanced the moisture retention at field capacity as compared to the un-amended soils. Seed germination and seedling growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was considerably increased and a delay by 6–9 days in wilting of seedlings was observed in the soil amended with PHNC, resulting in improved wheat plant establishment and growth.
Highlights
Water conservation is a key step to attaining sustainable agriculture growth and development and productivity
A novel poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)AlZnFe2O4/K-H superabsorbent hydrogel nanocomposite was synthesized for agricultural use and SEM analysis of the synthesized nanoparticles was carried out (Figure 1)
The chemical composition of the nanoparticles was determined by Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), which showed that nanoparticles contain only Fe, Zn, Al and O with no traces of by-products (Figure 2)
Summary
Water conservation is a key step to attaining sustainable agriculture growth and development and productivity. The use of hydrophilic polymers, commonly known as superabsorbents (SAPs), to improving soil water and fertilizer retention properties and crop productivity is attracting considerable interest [1,2,3,4,5]. Different clays such as kaolin, bentonite, montmorillonite, attapulgite, smectite and cellulose nanowhiskers have so far been used in the synthesis of superabsorbent hydrogel composites (SHCs) [6,7,8]. It is widely accepted that these substances are one of the most potential sources of the humates used in agriculture [9,10]
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