Farming II
Self Watering Soil – The Single Greatest Breakthrough in Agriculture in the Past Century
It’s not exactly “self-watering” farming but it’s close. A research team led by Dr. Guihua Yu at the engineering school at the University of Texas in Austin have developed a hydrogel that when mixed with soil captures humidity from the air at night and releases the water during the day to irrigate the soil and promote plant growth.
Amazing Hydrogels
Hydrogels are not new. These compounds contain water and absorb water incredibly well. They’ve recently been used in things like healthcare, first aid products, and contact lenses. Over the past few years, these UT researchers have been refining many applications for this technology.
Three years ago they reported on their new zinc oxide hydrogel that could remove moisture from the air to minimize localized humidity, by coating an interior wall or window with these materials. Once saturated, hydrogels become opaque and can significantly reduce infrared light transmission when used as a window coating. The materials can even generate small amounts of electricity and serve as an emergency power source similar to the energy from a AA battery.
A year later, Dr. Yu’s engineers spent time exploring how their hydrogel could be used for water generation and filtration. They added a thermal responsive element to the material that causes it to release the absorbed water when the hydrogel is heated – for example by sunlight. At that point they could envision mobile, solar powered water generating systems that seemingly would make water out of thin, moist air.
Next Generation
Dr. Yu and his team pushed this technology even further and developed a specific hydrogel that can be mixed with soil to support a self-watering system for plants and crops. Picture a farm or garden in which hydrogel-infused soil collects humidity from the cool, moist night air and then releases that moisture into the soil in the form of liquid water when the sun rises and temperatures heat up.
In one experiment, radishes planted in the hydrogel soil survived and grew over a 14-day period without any ongoing irrigation. However, radishes grown in a side-by-side experiment with untreated soil, didn’t survive more than two days after their irrigation stopped.
Yu’s engineering researchers found that hydrogel soil farming can be very efficient – one gram of the soil mixture can absorb three to four grams of moisture. For some crops, a kilogram or less of the material can irrigate roughly 1 square mile of farmland.
The Future of Self-Watering
Hydrogels are just the latest example of how we are capturing and using some of nature’s abundant, renewable resources. Wind, solar, and hydropower are now mainstream. Hydrogel-infused soil that captures and uses natural humidity will be mentioned in similar breakthrough lists in less than a decade.
And it’s just in time. We’re losing farmland. Lack of soil is not the only issue; desertification and lack of water is becoming a huge factor. Water scarcity is forcing farmers to compete with cities, water recreation, and even wildlife for these resources.
Extreme weather has been altering rainfall patterns, and one of the effects is increased drought. Hotter weather and the resulting faster evaporation are limiting the amount of water for irrigation – just at a time we need more rain for farming to feed a growing world population.
But water is all around us in the form of vapor and humidity – 50,000 cubic kilometers in fact. If a significant portion of farming can rely on hydrogel soil technology, we won’t have to choose between fish and farms.
And it appears that hydrogels can also be infused with fertilizer and pesticides for slow, controlled release of these substances to further promote healthy, substantial crop yields.
Coming to Fields and Gardens Near You
Now that the concept of hydrogel soil has been proven, commercializing and scaling it will likely take 3-5 years. Once it’s mass produced, except in the most arid environments, we’ll see subsistence and commercial farms spring up around the world without the need for irrigation systems, pumping, and other water supply challenges. We’ll have more farmable land that requires less surface water.
Farmers around the world will rototill hydrogels into the soil in their fields. Small bags will be available at home gardening stores to mix with potting or gardening soil. We’ll apply it to our yards so we can throttle back watering frequency for our lawns.
Predictions for the future will certainly always be filled with headline-grabbing topics like space colonization, self-driving cars, and robotics. But the quality of our future may rely just as much or more on basic scientific breakthroughs like hydrogel soil that efficiently tap into nature and our existing natural resources.
By Futurist Thomas Frey
Author of “Epiphany Z – 8 Radical Visions for Transforming Your Future”
Features Archive
- Green Energy
- Climate Change III
- Climate Change II
- Farming II
- Farming
- Banking VI
- Banking V
- Banking IV
- Politics III
- Politics II
- Politics
- AI Ethics IV
- AI Ethics III
- AI Ethics II
- AI Ethics
- Waste III
- Medicine
- Water IV
- Water III
- Creativity
- Solar Energy II
- Solar Energy
- Fashion
- Fashion II
- Humans IV
- Humans III
- Humans II
- Humans
- Money V
- Money IV
- Money III
- Money II
- Money
- Urban Futures II
- Urban Futures
- Ageing II
- Ageing
- Space IV
- Space III
- Space II
- Space
- Governments
- Metaverse IV
- Metaverse III
- Metaverse II
- Metaverse
- Technology III
- Technology IV
- Technology II
- Privacy III
- Privacy II
- Privacy
- Meat IV
- Meat III
- Meat II
- Meat
- Housing III
- Housing II
- Housing
- Retail
- Insurance
- Logistics II
- Logistics
- Mobile II
- Security III
- Security II
- Language II
- Tourism Post-Covid-19
- Entertainment Post-Covid-19 II
- Entertainment Post-Covid-19
- Cities Post-Covid-19
- Work Post-Covid-19 III
- Work Post-Covid-19 II
- Work Post-Covid-19
- Post-Covid-19 Economy II
- Post-Covid-19 Economy
- Education Post-Covid-19 II
- Education Post-Covid-19
- Post-Covid-19 V
- Post-Covid-19 IV
- Post-Covid-19 III
- Post-Covid-19 II
- Post-Covid-19
- Pandemics V
- Pandemics IV
- Pandemics III
- Pandemics II
- Pandemics
- Food II
- Food
- Futures V
- Futures IV
- Cars V
- Cars IV
- Cars III
- Cars II
- Cars
- Futures III
- Futures II
- Futures
- Education XI
- Education X
- Education IX
- Cities VI
- Cities V
- Cities IV
- AfriCities VIII
- AfriCities VII
- AfriCities VI
- AfriCities V
- AfriCities IV
- AfriCities III
- AfriCities II
- Youth II
- Migrants II
- Foresight IV
- Foresight III
- Higher Education VII
- Agriculture VII
- Work III
- Work/Women
- Cities III
- Carbon Tax
- Higher Education VI
- Higher Education V
- Higher Education IV
- Higher Education III
- Higher Education II
- Higher Education
- Banking III
- Banking II
- Banking
- Humanity VII
- Humanity VI
- Humanity V
- Humanity IV
- Humanity III
- Women V
- Digitalisation of Informal sector
- Islamic Economy
- Drones VII
- Drones VI
- Drones V
- Drones IV
- Drones III
- Drones II
- Drones
- Digital Health III
- Digital Health II
- Digital Health
- Transport IV
- Transport III
- Transport II
- Transport
- Infrastructure V
- Infrastructure IV
- Infrastructure III
- Crime V
- Crime IV
- Crime III
- Crime II
- Crime
- Agriculture VI
- Agriculture V
- Agriculture IV
- Agriculture III
- Agriculture II
- Women IV
- Women III
- Women II
- Women
- Humanity II
- Humanity
- Artificial Intelligence V
- Artificial Intelligence IV
- Artificial Intelligence III
- Universal Basic Income
- Alternative Economies V
- Alternative Economies IV
- Foresight II
- Alternative Economies III
- Additive manufacturing
- Artificial Intelligence II
- AI Risk, Ethics & Regulation
- Waste II
- Mining II
- African Futures IV
- Education VIII
- Justice
- Libraries III
- Libraries II
- Libraries
- Education VII
- Education VI
- Education V
- Green Energy II
- Financial Systems III
- Education IV
- Alternative Economies II
- Research
- Education III
- Artificial Intelligence
- Economic Integration II
- Health Inequity
- Invisible Economy
- Future Thinking
- Pan Africanism VII
- Infrastructure
- Financial Systems
- Sustainability III
- Sustainability II
- Alternative Economies
- Water II
- Mega Trends 2015, 2010s, 2100s?
- AfriCities
- Energy
- Sustainability
- Families
- Prisons II
- Prisons
- Work II
- Work
- Health II
- Pan-Africanism VI
- African Futures III
- African Futures II
- African Futures
- Economic Integration
- Climate Action III
- Manufacturing
- Green Economy
- Climate Action II
- Climate Action
- Foresight
- Ethnicity & Tribalism
- Pan-Africanism V
- Youth Policy II
- Gender Equality II
- Gender Equality
- Youth Policy
- Migrants
- Waste
- Pan-Africanism IV
- Pan-Africanism III - East Africa
- Pan-Africanism II
- Pan-Africanism
- Philanthropy
- Renewable Energy III
- Renewable Energy II
- Renewable Energy
- Informal Cities III
- Informal Cities II
- Informal Cities
- Human Development
- Security
- Global Engaged Citizens - Upskilling for Post Growth Futures, Together
- System Thinking - Systems thinking and courage
- Thrivability II - New Movements
- Thrivability - Bottom Line to Full Circle
- Youth Unemployment
- Food Insecurity II
- Food Insecurity
- Language
- Globesity
- Kenya II
- Kenya
- Mining
- Infrastructure II
- Women & Poverty II
- Women & Poverty
- Cities II
- Cities
- Innovation
- Climate Change
- Agriculture
- Books
- Youth
- Mobile
- Regional Integration IV
- Regional Integration III
- Regional Integration II
- Regional Integration
- Fresh Water
- Education II
- Health
- Education
- Leisure
- Urban Poor
- Economy
- Peace
- Women
- Technology
- Environmental
- Democracy
- The brief called for a blog
- Post-oil
- Game Changers