Novel antimicrobial polysaccharide hydrogel with fertilizer slow-release function for promoting Sesamum indicum L. seeds germination

Abstract

The problem of seed germination is one of the important scientific and technological issues facing the field of agroforestry cultivation, and the germination process requires both sufficient water and certain nutrients. The high solubility of fertilizers and pesticides makes their utilization inefficient, while water resources are costly in difficult standing environments. This article innovatively provides the preparation of hydrogels with slow-release function by using cellulose and chitosan as substrates, which have high water retention capacity and long-lasting fertilizer release (CCH/PVA/NCC/NPK). In this study, cellulose chitosan hydrogel (CCH) with 50 wt% of chitosan, 1 wt% of polyvinyl alcohol solution (PVA), 0.5 wt% of nanocellulose solution (NCC), and 2.5 wt% of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) solution were used in optimized conditions to successfully prepare hydrogel materials with swelling as high as 79 g g−1 of CCH/PVA/NCC/NPK. Under neutral conditions, CCH/PVA/NCC/NPK has the slowest water release rate and the strongest water retention capacity, and it can greatly reduce the amount of fertilizers and the consumption of water resources, and it has a wide range of applications and prospects for development.