Authors :
Shabir Ahmad Bhat; Bisma Nazir; Nadeem Nissar, Sadaf salam; Mehraj ud din sofi; Fayaz Ahmed Bahar; Waseem Ahmad Raja
Volume/Issue :
Volume 7 - 2022, Issue 12 - December
Google Scholar :
https://bit.ly/3IIfn9N
Scribd :
https://bit.ly/3CrvpV8
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7508711
Abstract :
- Water scarcity is currently a major problem
for humanity, particularly for the farming population.
The total growth and development of a plant depends
heavily on water. This issue has become exponentially
more problematic because of climate change. India's
population is expected to grow to 1.6 billion people by
the year 2050, which will worsen the country's water
shortage. The country only has 4% of the world's
freshwater despite having 16% of the world's
population. About 1122 BCM (690 BCM from the
surface and 432 BCM from groundwater) of the nation's
total water resources are usable, which is just 28% of
water which comes from precipitation . A significant
portion of this water is being diverted for irrigation in
agriculture about 85% (688 BCM) , it may increase up to
1072 BCM by the year 2050, and at the same rate, water
use in the home and industrial sectors could reach 29.2
BCM by 2025. Therefore, it is anticipated that water
availability in the agricultural sector, mainly for
irrigation, will decline to 162.3 BCM. Taking all these
factors into account, scientists worked to come up with
an alternative solution to this ongoing issue. The United
States Department of Agriculture invented the notion of
hydrogel in the 1960s (USDA). Hydrogels initially do not
receive much attention due to their poisonous nature,
high cost, and short lifespan because of their starchbased structure, which was vulnerable to soil bacteria.
Maintaining this restriction Pusa Hydrogel, a cellulosic
hydrogel, was created at the Indian Agriculture
Research Institute (IARI).
Keywords :
Pusa Hydrogel, Water Scarcity, and Water Productivity.
- Water scarcity is currently a major problem
for humanity, particularly for the farming population.
The total growth and development of a plant depends
heavily on water. This issue has become exponentially
more problematic because of climate change. India's
population is expected to grow to 1.6 billion people by
the year 2050, which will worsen the country's water
shortage. The country only has 4% of the world's
freshwater despite having 16% of the world's
population. About 1122 BCM (690 BCM from the
surface and 432 BCM from groundwater) of the nation's
total water resources are usable, which is just 28% of
water which comes from precipitation . A significant
portion of this water is being diverted for irrigation in
agriculture about 85% (688 BCM) , it may increase up to
1072 BCM by the year 2050, and at the same rate, water
use in the home and industrial sectors could reach 29.2
BCM by 2025. Therefore, it is anticipated that water
availability in the agricultural sector, mainly for
irrigation, will decline to 162.3 BCM. Taking all these
factors into account, scientists worked to come up with
an alternative solution to this ongoing issue. The United
States Department of Agriculture invented the notion of
hydrogel in the 1960s (USDA). Hydrogels initially do not
receive much attention due to their poisonous nature,
high cost, and short lifespan because of their starchbased structure, which was vulnerable to soil bacteria.
Maintaining this restriction Pusa Hydrogel, a cellulosic
hydrogel, was created at the Indian Agriculture
Research Institute (IARI).
Keywords :
Pusa Hydrogel, Water Scarcity, and Water Productivity.
