Effect in Growth of Corn Plant from Cellulose-Based Hydrogel Derived from Wheat Straw
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ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
Effect in Growth of Corn Plant from Cellulose-Based Hydrogel Derived from Wheat Straw Pradyumna Kumar Sasmal1 • Subhajit Patra1
Received: 30 May 2020 / Accepted: 14 September 2020 Ó The Institution of Engineers (India) 2020
Abstract The objective of the current work is to form a cellulose-based hydrogel from wheat straw and analyze its impact in plant growth. The isolation of cellulose in various stages is confirmed with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. Through copolymerization of acrylic acid and cellulose, a cellulose-based hydrogel was synthesized by using cross-linker N,N-methylenebisacrylamide, and initiator ammonium persulfate. The experiments carried out at different concentrations of cellulose assert the fact that water holding capacity increases with an increase in the concentration of cellulose. The germination index of different seeds mixed with hydrogel was measured and compared with the values obtained under the control condition. A pilot study was performed where hydrogel was implemented for agricultural application. The growth of the corn plant cultivated in a soil treated with cellulosebased hydrogel was investigated and compared with same soil sans hydrogel. The presence of hydrogel has an immense effect in plant growth. This work concludes that the quantity of water retained in the soil increases significantly with inclusion of cellulose-based hydrogel and it resulted in controlled release of water into soil under dry conditions. Keywords Wheat straw Cellulose-based hydrogel Germination index Plant growth
& Subhajit Patra [email protected] 1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology Bhopal, Bhopal, India
Introduction Water scarcity affects food production tremendously. Agriculture consumes 70% of global water withdrawals alone [1]. The ever-growing water usage in agricultural section increased hand in hand with other domestic, industrial, and environmental uses. Different water management methods have been adopted to resolve the issues by various researchers. Super absorbent material can be used in agricultural fields for its large water absorption capacity [2]. Superabsorbent enhances the physical properties of soil by increasing its water holding capacity and reducing soil erosion due to evaporation [3]. Hydrogel’s presence in the soil increases the soil absorption capacity. Therefore, it decreases the frequency of irrigation. The hydrogel absorb large quantities of water due to presence of a hydrophilic functional group (carboxyl, sulfonic, hydroxyl, amide, etc.) [4] associated with polymeric backbone. Cellulose is probably one of the most abundant polymers on the planet. It has wide range of applications in both industrial and agriculture sectors. Cellulose has hydroxyl groups, and it is useful resource for preparations of hydrogels [5]. Wheat straw (Triticum aestivum) powder can be used as a natural input for the preparation of cellulose-based hydrogel. The super-absorbent hydrogels specifically
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