Improvement in the Water Retention Characteristics of Sandy Loam Soil Using a Newly Synthesized Poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic Acid)/AlZnFe2O4 Superabsorbent Hydrogel Nanocomposite Material

Molecules

Shaukat Ali Shahid²  Ansar Ahmad Qidwai⁴  Farooq Anwar³  Inam Ullah¹ 

[1] Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan;Department of Physics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan;Department of Chemistry, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan;Department of Physics, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan

关键词: poly(AAm-co-AA)/;    EDX;    FESEM;    FTIR;    soil amendment;    seedling growth;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules17089397

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The use of some novel and efficient crop nutrient-based superabsorbent hydrogel nanocomposites (SHNCs), is currently becoming increasingly important to improve the crop yield and productivity, due to their water retention properties. In the present study a poly(Acrylamide-co-acrylic acid)/AlZnFe₂O₄ superabsorbent hydrogel nanocomposite was synthesized and its physical properties characterized using Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), FE-SEM and FTIR spectroscopic techniques. The effects of different levels of SHNC were studied to evaluate the moisture retention properties of sandy loam soil (sand 59%, silt 21%, clay 19%, pH 7.4, EC 1.92 dS/m). The soil amendment with 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 w/w% of SHNC enhanced the moisture retention significantly at field capacity compared to the untreated soil. Besides, in a separate experiment, seed germination and seedling growth of wheat was found to be notably improved with the application of SHNC. A delay in wilting of seedlings by 5–8 days was observed for SHNC-amended soil, thereby improving wheat plant growth and establishment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.