Improvement of sandy soil with water-conserving membrane and its effect on crop growth

Abstract

Water-conserving membrane is a new material of improving sandy soil. It is based on the rule that a compound with organic and inorganic components can produce colloid after its integrating with Ca2+ in soil. The water-conserving membrane will obstruct capillary and increase viscidity of sandy soil, so as to decrease leakage and evaporation in sandy soil. The water-conserving membrane contains polyacrylic acid (PAA) and bentonite. When PAA concentration and pH of solution are different, water-conserving membrane can be made in different depth of soil. This experiment shows that the solution with 0.2% PAA does not harm and poison the crops, on the contrary, promotes crop germination. The solution with 0.2% or 0.4% PAA can accelerate corn growth. Accordingly, different crops need the application of the different PAA concentrations in the cultivation. Therefore, on the basis of different vadose coefficient in sandy soil, the solution with different PAA concentration can improve sandy soil and increase its water-conserving competence very well. The solution can be used to improve sandy soil and control desert enlargement in arid, semi-arid and semi-humid areas.