A Saudi has invented a liquid absorbing polymer that soaks up water when mixed with soil and doubles the production of agricultural products.
“The polymer, Polykem Hydrogel PagriSAP, is like big pieces of salt. It absorbs large quantities of water. If you put it in the soil, it will absorb 600 times its own weight of water,” Ibrahim M. Alalim said during the Advanced Technologies Forum held recently.
Alalim worked for 20 years in Lausanne, Switzerland, to develop the polymer whose patent is owned by Polykem Hydrogel in Switzerland and Estefa Group in Saudi Arabia.
“It is produced worldwide and if any group is interested in Saudi Arabia, we would be willing to grant a local patent,” he said, adding that the Daytona Farms in Al-Baha started using the technology in 2012 and made its first harvest last year.
“The farm owner, Saleh bin Abbas, used the polymer and planted 7,000 olive trees of seven varieties. After one year, he harvested 13 tons olive fruits. The trees three meters high,” he said.
He said invention acts as a water reservoir in the root zone and provides water on demand to the crop and helps prevent water loss due to evaporation.
“PagriSAP helps prevent water runoff and increases survival rates, often improving economics for the farmer by reducing the use of costly fertilizer and irrigation water,” he said.
Moreover, it improves growth, he said, and increases the yield of plantations in clay soil deserts with both arid and non-arid soils and inside green houses.
“PagriSAP economically nurtures a plant to achieve maximum potential and increased crop yields. It does not have a detrimental impact on the environment and has a multi-year shelf life if stored correctly in a dry environment,” he said.
He added that it also significantly increases the yield and reduces the maturity time of crops for biofuel.
“Water and air penetrate the soil more easily because soil porosity is increased due to the use of Polykem Hydrogel PagriSAP,” he said.