ISHS Acta Horticulturae 294: II Symposium on Horticultural Substrates and their Analysis, XXIII IHC
EFFECTS OF SOLUBE SALTS AND FERTILIZERS ON WATER STORAGE BY GELFORMING SOIL CONDITIONERS |
| Authors: | J.M. Woodhouse, M.S. Johnson |
| Abstract:
Cross-linked, gel-forming polymers are soil conditioners developed to aid the establishment and growth of plants in drought-prone soils. Water storage properties of the polymers vary widely between different products. Water uptake patterns of one polymer from each of three main chemical families are described. A polyacrylamide gel required six times as long to reach full expansion as did a starch co-polymer or a polyvinylalcohol polymer. Water storage properties of polymers are modified by soluble salts in irrigation waters. The responses of seven polymers to a variety of salts and fertilizers commonly encountered in solution are reported. | |
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