Characteristics of Aquasorb and Its Application in Crop Production

Aquasorb is a kind of sodium polymer with characteristic of absorbing and storing water. There are many types and varieties in commercial market. The purpose of this study is to determine the chemical features of sodium polymer and its effect on soil improving, and to analyze the influence on crop yield and fertilizer use efficiency in farming field. The result showed that and electronic conductivity (EC) were increased but not so high when the concentration of sodium polymer was raised. pH value was almost not affected. Ions with two positive charges, such as Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ have a negative impact on drinking water characteristic of sodium polymer markedly, which is stronger than that of one positive or negative charge, such as Na⁺ and H₂PO₄^-. It does not influence the drinking water of sodium polymer for different concentrations of urea. When soil is added with sodium polymer, the water holding capacity is raised, the aggregate of the soil is increased, this feature on sandy soil is more remarkable than that on clay soil, especially when there is 0.005% to 0.01% sodium polymer in soil. The test indicated that over 90% water holding by the sodium polymer can be used by plant. Based on the current results, it can be concluded that there are four aspects for action of sodium polymer, (1)conserving water by itself, (2)raising water holding by improving soil structure, (3)enhancing growth of plant and raising fertilizer use efficiency, (4)and reducing soil evaporation. The field test result showed that using sodium polymer by hole method at 15 kg/hm², the yields of corn and potato were increased by 22% and 16%, and the ratios of investment to benefit were 1∶3.5 and 1∶4.2, respectively. When sodium polymer was mixed with urea or with urea and phosphorus fertilizer, the urea and phosphorus fertilizer use efficiencies were increased by 18.7% and 27.1%, respectively.