Super absorbent polymer to improve water use efficiency in agriculture

15-Jan-15

A novel hydrophilic super absorbent polymer which will help farmers in using water with utmost efficiency in agriculture practices in arid and semi-arid regions of the country has been developed by The Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) - a government institution. The technology, comprising super absorbent hydro-gels, will be commercialized by the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) - a ministry of science and technology enterprise - and the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). Since hydro-gel has capacity to absorb a minimum of 350 times its weight of pure water at 50 degree Celsius, its use will help farmer in getting high productivity by using much less quantity of water. Agriculture scientists claim that its use will also improve physical properties of soil such as porosity, aggregate stability and hydraulic conductivity. After successfully testing its potential, the NRDC and the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) executed an agreement for commercialization of this novel super absorbent hydro-gel technology.