Biodegradable Hydrogel Developed to Maximize Water Use

UCM academic Radha Devi Pyarasani developed an agricultural hydrogel that decomposes through a natural process and releases nutrients in a controlled manner.

A remarkable advance for the agricultural industry represents a hydrogel developed by a researcher from the Universidad Católica del Maule, within the framework of a project financed by the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC). It is a promising technological tool that, in addition to optimizing the use of water in crops, is biodegradable.

“In the market there are traditional products that are synthetic, but in our case we are making a hydrogel based on biopolymers that are biodegradable and environmentally friendly,” announced Radha Devi Pyarasani, an academic at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of Maule (CIEAM), which belongs to the campus.

Created from resins from trees such as radiata pine and liquid amber, and from agri-food waste, the hydrogel will disintegrate through a natural biological process.

“The idea is to provide innovative solutions to drought in the region. Thanks to the action of polymers, the structure will have the capacity to absorb and retain large quantities of water or fluids, without dissolving, incorporating itself directly into the root zone of the plants. The coating will act as a barrier that prevents the ‘explosion effect’,” said Pyarasani, who has been working in the field for six years.

Pyarasani explained that the compound will be able to release fertilizers in a gradual and controlled manner, in sync with the metabolic needs of the crop. “We think the hydrogel can work mostly on vegetables such as tomatoes and strawberries, and fruit products such as cherries. We have to do the study in the field, in the soil; we are very excited to start this work,” she said.

International networks

Revolutionizing modern agriculture, facilitating the growth of healthy plants, with reduced water use, also generated expectations in the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID), which allocated resources to promote the global analysis of the hydrogel.

“We were awarded a FOVI-ANID project to make links with foreign universities, such as the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), where a student from the university’s PhD in Translational Biotechnology will travel, to test the materials we prepare here and see if they are effective and can be commercialized. The interregional and international collaboration network facilitates the creation of joint training programs, academic exchanges and the publication of research, which will have a direct impact on the prestige and visibility of UCM at the international level,” she said.

Through the “Fostering International Linkages” competition, the project will contribute to the training of human resources, who will also carry out training programs and internships at Qatar University.

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