Hydrogel is a type of polymer which absorbs water or you can say it is a new type of macro molecule synthetic water absorbing polymer material. It is also known as SAP, super soakers, water gel and absorbent gel. As we know that India is an agricultural country, but farmers here have to face many problems while farming due to lack of water, which is increasing with time. Keeping these problems of farmers in mind, a Hydrogel has been prepared by ICAR to relieve them from this problem, which is proving to be very helpful in farming without water in drought prone areas.
Hydrogel for Agriculture
Hydrogels are white sugar like polymers which swells in water. Nowadays hydrogels are used extensively to improve mechanization of farming and growing crops to enhance cultivation. They are used in agriculture to obtain higher yields. These polymers are used as soil conditioners, planting, transplanting gels, seed coating for controlled germination and in soil sterilization. This hydrogel is used in places where there is scarcity of water or where the available resources for irrigation of crops are not available. For irrigation, farmers have to buy water due to which the cost of farming becomes very high. In such a situation, this hydrogel is very beneficial for the farmers in water scarcity areas.
How much Hydrogel is needed?
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You can use it easily in your crops 3 to 4 times.
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You need 2 to 3 kg of hydrogels in 1 acre of field.
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This gel does not spoil even at 40 to 50 degreeCelsius temperature.
Types of Hydrogels
They are mainly of three types :-
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Strach-graft copolymers.
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Cross-linked polyacrylates.
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Cross-linked polyacrylamides and Acrylamides-acrylates coploymer.
Benefits of Hydrogel in farming
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Hydrogel will nourish the roots near the roots for a long time by soaking the water and will not allow the plants to lack water.
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It reduces irrigation frequency.
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It helps to save labour cost( Cost during irrigation and fertilizing).
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It reduces overuse of pesticides and fertilizers.
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They help in binding loose soil and forming loams.
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They help to reduce soil erosion.
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They help in absorbing extra moisture.
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They reduce the seedling mortality by several folds in nurseries.
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They absorb both natural and supplied water and they absorb 400-500 times their own weight.
So, these are some of the benefits of using hydrogel.
