Biodegradable hydrogels have emerged as a promising solution in the realm of sustainable agriculture, offering innovative approaches to address the pressing challenges faced by the industry. A simple, low-cost formulation that could be prepared without any sophisticated techniques would be helpful to the farmers in creating a biodegradable hydrogel of their own. In the current study, three distinct biopolymer-based hydrogels were prepared by the chemical polymerization technique. They are agar hydrogel, hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) hydrogel, and a composite hydrogel made from a 50:50 combination of agar and hydroxyethyl cellulose. The present study found that the HEC hydrogel has a maximum water absorbency of 50.76%. The loamy sand soil has a natural capacity to hold soil moisture due to the presence of 3% clay. This was further increased when the hydrogels were applied. Regardless of the hydrogel utilized, the sandy soil showed a considerable decline in water retention on the fourth day of the trial. The reduced root volume shows the effectiveness of HEC hydrogels in retaining soil moisture, thereby preventing roots from penetrating deep into the soil in search of water. Seedlings cultivated in soil containing HEC hydrogels in loamy sand and sandy soil have longer roots irrespective of the presence of hydrogel. According to a correlation analysis, there is a strong positive association between the percentage of soil moisture and the weight percentage of hydrogel degradation. Thus, the gradual deterioration of the hydrogels leads to the release of moisture into the soil.
Ambili T.R (Tue,) studied this question.