| Sanction Date: | 21-12-2018 | ||||
| Project Category | SG | ||||
| Year | 2018-2019 | ||||
| Project Duration | 3 Years + 14 Months and 22 Days Project Extension | ||||
| BTA : | Water Resource Management | ||||
| Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: |
Tripura |
||||
| Organization/ Implementation Agency: |
Tripura University (A Central University) Suryamani Nagar, Bikramnagar Agartala, Tripura |
||||
| Lead Proponent: | Dr. Sachin Bhaladhare Tripura University (A Central University) Suryamani Nagar, Bikramnagar Agartala, Tripura |
||||
| Project Brief Description: | The principles behind the Hydrogel application in agriculture are summarized herein. 1. Conservation in Agricultural Lands Addition of hydrogel can increase water retention capacity of soil by 50-70 % with proper amendment with various dosages of soil to hydrogel ratio. Consecutively soil bulk density can reduce by 8-10 %. The expected upward trend in saturated water volumetric content of soil with increasing dose of hydrogel will show clear signs of increase in agricultural water use efficiency in arid and semi-arid regions. This will have positive impact on the net plant yield. Hydrogel will directly influence soil permeability, density, structure, texture, evaporation and infiltration rates of water. Irrigation frequency, compaction tendency and run-offs will decrease while aeration & microbial activity is promoted. Water stress due to scarcity of moisture around root zones is often associated with premature leaf shedding, decreasing chlorophyll content, reduced seed yield, less fruit and flower yield per plant. Use of hydrogel can help moderate these impacts caused by deficit irrigation. Being a water retaining agent greatly increase irrigation period of cultivation, enhancing irrigation efficiency particularly in arid & semi-arid belts. 2. Drought Stress Reduction Drought stress can lead to production of Oxygen radicals that result in increased lipid perioxidation and oxidative stress in the plants. Visible effects include stunned height, decrease in leaf area and foliar matrix damage etc. Hydrogel can reduce drought impact on plants leading to reduced stress and oxygen radical formation. This in turn provides scope for better growth and yield even in unfavorable climatic conditions. 3. Enhanced Fertilizer Efficiency Irrigation technology has major constraints in the fields of application of fertilizers, herbicides and germicides. Studies suggest the use of synthetic fertilizers can be greatly reduced when hydrogel agriculture is practiced without hindering with crop yield and nutritional value. It would indeed be a more appropriate practice for sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid conditions and regions with similar ecological constrains. 4. Biodegradability of Hydrogel Polymer Studies have confirmed that hydrogel is sensitive to the action of UV rays, and degrades into oligomers. Cellulose based hydrogels become much more sensitive to aerobic and anaerobic microbiological degradation and can degrade at rates of 10-15 per year into water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen compounds. The hydrogel molecules are too voluminous to be absorbed into plant tissue and have zero bioaccumulation potential. |
||||
| Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: |
|
||||
| Activity Chart | Click Here | ||||
| Total Grants (in Rs.) | Rs. 31,91,000.00 (Rupees: Thirty One Lakh Ninety One Thousand Only) | |||
| Project Objectives | Quantifiable Deliverables | Monitoring Indicators |
| Synthesis of biodegradable Cellulose based hydrogel for agriculture application. | Development of biodegradable cellulose based hydrogels to improve water retention and act as cross linker to minimize percolation of fertilizers. | Development of biodegradable cellulose based hydrogels and Cellulose Nano Crystals |
| Study the ability of hydrogel to alter water retention properties of soil | Database on qualitative improvement in soil water retention | Increased Agriculture yield (%) |
| New knowledge on field testing the hydrogels to save irrigation water and nutrients up to 50-60% and improve agriculture soil fertility and soil texture, to increase the agriculture yield about 10-30 %. | Number of beneficiaries (Nos.) | |
| Synthesis of Cellulose Nano Crystals as reinforcing agents to hydrogel | No. of Reports/Research articles/Policy documents/ Manual prepared and published (Nos.) | |
| Study the properties of hydrogel with and without reinforcing agent | ||
| Study the effect on the plant growth with hydrogel modified growth media. | Manual to further propagate use of hydrogel. Manual to further propagate use of hydrogel. |
| S.No. | Name (Sanctioned) | Qualification | Designation (Sanctioned) | Salary (Sanctioned) |
| 1. | 01 JRF | @ 25,000/- |
| S.No. | Name of Equipment (Sanctioned) | Use of Equipment/ Details | Cost (in INR) |
| 1. | Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer (FTIR), Hot Air Oven, Rotary Vacuum Evaporator. | 9,90,000/- |
