Does anybody have any information on use of PUSA Gel in the field for crop production and its effect on water conservation?
Dear Kamal Kishor,
The gel, Pusa Hydrogel, a semi-synthetic super absorbent polymer, has been developed by the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI). It is mixed with the soil on which the seeds are sown.The gel then absorbs water and expands to 300 times its original size. It sticks to the roots of the plants and when the soil moisture falls as the temperature rises, the gel Pusa Hydrogel has been in use since 2012, and its benefits are now being reaped across the Indiaas well as foreign country. Extensive trials have established that Pusa is non-toxic and bio-degradable, It increases plant yield by 10-25 per cent. Saving waterIt works as an anti-drought mechanism and reduces the water requirement of plants. Typically, a farmer irrigates his field every four days for high value crops, but with the gel, you can irrigate the farm every eight days.“Farmers are able to defer irrigation cycles and hence use the water effectively. Due to use of Pusa, there is a 40 to 70 per cent saving of water.It also reduces fertiliser application — as it binds the fertiliser to the root, it reduces leaching of fertilisers,” The gel helps crops store water for a dry spell and aids farmers to cope with the increasingly unpredictable monsoon seasons.
Regards,
Prem Baboo
Most of the hydrogels can hold water to the tune of 400-1000 X of its mass. The recommended dose of these gels are 20 kg/ha. Which means it can hold approximately 8000-20000 l water perha. It may slightly improve yield under severe water stress( drought) but considering return on cost and normal condition bulky organic manures such as FYM would be much better in improving water holding capacity and associated physical properties of soil and soil water.
Dear Dr Kamal for the more information regarding Pusa Hydrogel I suggest you to follow publication of Dr R.S. Bana. He has wider knowledge about it subjective as well as experimental. Thank u . Good Luck
Dr Sharma, I got across your question on Pusa Hydrogel and the related uploaded responses of different persons.
In this regard, further to Dr Babu's response, this is is to add that Pusa Hydrogel is highly effective under limited water availability conditions s in Rabi, kharif and summer crops. Under assured irrigation conditions, it is highly effective in high value crops, vegetables, flowers, sugarcane, cotton, tuber crops.
Unlike other gels, where recommendations vary between 15-20 kg/ ha and higher, Pusa Hydrogel is recommended between 2.5-5 kg/ ha. Input cost comes around near 2500-3500 RS per kg as compared to other gels costing around 7000-10000 rs per ha. Besides, the results are highly satisfactory across different agroecological situations of country. As an example,
Pl refer to https://youtu.be/c8ptv9yNJjQ
For more details you can contact me.
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