Smart Polymer Hydrogels as Matrices for the Controlled Release Applications in Agriculture Sector

Abstract

Synthetic polymer hydrogels and modified natural polymer hydrogels are widely and increasingly used in agriculture, health care textiles, effluent treatment, drug delivery, tissue engineering, civil concrete structure, etc. Among them, the use of hydrogels in agricultural and horticultural sectors as matrices for the controlled release of water, various primary and secondary nutrients has drawn significant attraction from researchers, scientists, and industry persons due to their smartness with reference to controlled release characteristics based on plant requirement. Since the use of these hydrogels for controlled release application ensures the minimum utilization of water and plant nutrients in fields. Besides, this will bring down the overloading of fertilizer, soil contamination, and water pollution such as eutrophication, nitrate pollution, and micronutrient imbalance. This chapter is focused on the class of hydrogels that are used for the controlled release application in the agricultural and horticultural sectors as matrices, the possible methods of fine-tuning their structures for improving their fertilizer uptake and release behavior, safety aspects, and environmental issues.