;V\">*CiT;3r"^M^^'!,3<^

REPORT NO. IAEAwR-2596-F

TITLE

Sandy soil plantation in semi-arid zones by polyaciylamide gelconditioner prepared by ionizing radiation (part of a coordinatedprogramme on radiation modified polymers for biomedical and bio-chemical applications)

FINAL PEPORT FOR THE PKPIOD

1979-07-01 - 1983-08-31

AUTHOR(S)

Reda A.f .

INSTITUTE

Inshas Nuclear Research CentreAtomiciEnergy EstablishmentCairoEgypt

INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY

July 1983

INTERNATIONAL ATCMAIC ENERGY AQENCYFOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ISOTOPE AND RADIATION TECHNIQUESIN SOIL PHYSICS AND IRRIGATION STUDIES

Aix-en<Provance, France, 18-22 April 1963

IA€A-SM-267/l5

SASD-RiIG COMHHiIIOS 8HTOLiTIHO WWBSHX COJkJXX MCCL

R. AZZAJt, Q« A, BL-HiDS1* a»d A.. A0

Atonic Snaggy Authority, Huoltar ObaaiateyCair», IgTpt,

°Hatioagl 9t#Mreh C«at«r, S e l l s «at l » t « rDoIcIcI1 a iM» «gypt.

Pr»p«p»tl«fc «f BAMAZZiM

I I . 3*metax« Stabil ity «adR. AZZlII and 0. A# ÄL-HAOT

E. AZSAM and 0« A.

IY. P o t a t i o n aod B n M t l o M l9. 1L-HA0I, t . AiUlIt A. LOSfI «MA S.

ABSTRACTS

I. Radiation Preparation of RAPGt

Radiation chemical investigation of acrylamide polymerizationhas revealed the conditions for maximum hydrophilicity. Polyacryl-amldo gel "PiMQ" application in aggregating aand visualized that thenucleophilic nitrogen coordinates in soil via a silicon, atom of theparticles» This is reinforced by hydrogen bonds» posnibly formedbetween the carbonyl and silanol groups. Accordingly, sites ofcoordination and reinforcement ore dominated in reclaimer amelioratorpolymeric gel "RAFG**. It ia a modified acrylonitrlXe base multi-function polymer grafted upon a binder of oellulosic worthless egxi-»cultural discard. It varies chemically from non-ionic through anioaicand cationie to ampholite. The aylroproperty of the gel ia similarlycontrolled. Thus, BAPG can be tailored for any soil texture undervarious climatic conditions.

II. Structure Stability and Maintenance i

Sinai dune aand is trjated with non ionic and anionic RAPGsat rates varying from 0.05 tj 0.2 wt %, The »tability inoreased withRAfG1S anionicity and rate of application. The foraed structuremaintained three cycles of complete destruction and reformation with-out significant changes in erosion index. Resistivity of sand-RAPGcombination against breakdown by tillage as well as wlaA and watererosion is practically evidenced. This is besides butefieial changesin bulk density, void ratio and micro porosity whlob. are achieved.

IiI. Water Preoervatioz»

Inshaa sandy soil treated by RAPG is compared with fertileclayey soil. Water holding capacity and retention at differentsuctions are increased. Available water to plant in treated sand hasreached 15 times that of the control and even exceeded clay by 11 % .Water losses by evaporation and leaching as well as deep percolationare all minimized.

IV. Plantation and nutritional Status»

Pepper seeds germination, growth and dry matter are increasedin sand-RAPG combination relative to fertile clayey soil. Optimumrate and anionioity of BAPG are determined. This increases wateruse efficiency to two folds that of the fertile clayey soil. Macroand micro nutrients uptake have also increased. Thus, fertilizersuse efficiencies are increased almost to three times that of clay*These lead convincingly to the conclusion that BtPG furnishesadequate conditions for sandy soil plantation.

Part I

RADIATION FBBFARATION OF HAFG

R* Azzam

In 1980 we prospected that polyacrylamide gel "EAHG" wouldpreferably condition sandy soil /1/* Since that time; we starteda research programme on methods of preparation and application ofacrylamide polymeric gels* XhIs is financed partly by theInternational Atomic Energy Agency and supported by the Academycf Scientific Research and Technology.

EXPERIMENTAL

radiation sources: Canadian Co-60 gamma cell No* 220 and spentfuels of the Nuclear Reactor stored under water were used*Dosage distribution was calibrated by solid-state TL-dosi-matera of 'LlF in teflon matrices* Average dose-rate wascalculated /27. The integral dose was also determined byPricke dosimeter of ferrous ammonium sulphate /£7*

Monomer solutions were prepared and polymer was identified asdescribed elsewhere /3,47.

Swelling degree is determined by soaking the gel in excess waterfor 24 h* It is the weight of water absorbed per unit dryweight of polymer.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1) rolyacrylamide gel Preparation by Co-60 radiation "PAtIG-I" i

The dosage distribution inside Co-60 irradiation chamber

is determined by solid TL-dosimeters* The results are shown

in fie. (1).

It is inferred from the figure that the dosage is uniform.

The dose-rat* is calculated /2/ to be 519.93 Gy/h, However, the

determined value by Pricke dosimeter was 542*7 Gy/h. She

difference between both values is attributed to the building up

factor in aqueous media

Acrylamide in aqueous solutions was Irradiated to Co-60

radiation* The gelation dose IB encountered at absorbed dose of

^2.5 KGy* This exceeds the dose for complete conversion* Thus,

the influences of dose and monomer concentration on the swellability

- 3 -

of tho gel were studied. The results axe given in table I and

^, (2).

Table I shows that the swellability decreases with the dose.

This is mostly argued to creation of some cross-links. The in-

tonaity of the latter increases with the &osao So, also is

inferred from fig. (2) that the swellability decreases with mono-

mer concentration. This may be attributed to compactness of the

polymeric gel. So, hydrogen bond intensity among the macromoleculea

increases which hinders the swelling process. Further evidences

c-.re gained ^y Btudying the post effect , Figs. (3 & 4).

Fig. (3) shows that at lowest dose, the swelling degree in-

creased with the post effect. This can be argued to aegmental

motion or function group orientation. As the amide group is

hydrophilic by nature» its orientation in aqueous media would be

towarda the water phase. However, with Increasing the dose, the

intensity of cross-liaks increases. This restricts the orientation

of macromoleculea and BO is the change in hydroproperty of the gel.

Consequently, at the highest dose, no appreciable change in the

swelling degree is seen. Moreover, in fig. (4) two lsoplestic

points are manifested. These provide corroborating evidence for

the structural changes of the macromolecules within the post effect.

Though, the swelling degree increases at low monomer concentrations

and decreases at high oneo. Thus, the effect of gel compactness

on decreasing swellability is seemingly inevitable.

2) Gel Preparation by Spent Raaoto? Fuels' lladiatioa nPÄUQ-2"i

Spent reactor fuel elements are stored! under water. In a

position surrounded by four elements, the dose distribution is

determined. The results are shown in fig, (5).

Fig. (5) shows that the dosage of radiation is well symmet-

rical in the irradiation position. The average dose-rate is

determined as being 24 Gy/h. The average energy of gamna radiation

is found to approach 0.9 Mev.

- 4 -

Acrylamide in aqueoua solutions is polymerized by the rad-

ietion of the reactor fuel elements. The process behaved simiStu*

to the previous one. Though aome peculiarities have come into

liehta. She gelation dose is nearly one-fourth that of Co-60

while the swelling degree is fourfold the latter» These are

attributed to the low dose-rate and continuous dissipation of the

hent of polymerization. At low dose-rate, the monomeric segments

are alined almost quantitatively towards the water phase. Collap-

sing mccromolecules by heat effset is aviodad in irradiation under

••viter. Thus, the method is plausibly advantageous *

3) Two-phase polymerization system:

Acrylamide polymerization in acetone-water mixture is studied

using Co-60 radiation. The polymerization medium is firstly

examined by varying acetone s water volumetric ratio at constant

absorbed dose. The results showed that the conversion stood

constant at acetone:water ^ 55 vol. % . Thusf the polymerization

medium employed is composed of 60 : 40 acetone t water* The

effects of the dose and monomer concentration on the conversion

are elven in table II.

Sable II shows that the conversion increases with absorbed

«loae and monomer concentration. This is expected from tha

the kinetics of the process £tj, Moreover, the gelation dose is

rather low. It is around 0.59 KOy,

The influence of the dose at two monomer concentrations on

the swellability of the gel is shown in fig. (6).

fig* 6 shows that the swelling degree decreases with in-

creasing the dose and monomer concentration* This is in con-

sistence with previous findings. However, the values of the

swelling degree in the present system are much lower then PiNg-I .

This may be argued to the acetone* It ia a poor solvent /7,§7.

In its presence, the hydrophilic group is mostly oriented into

the polymeric matrix far from the environmental medium*

Bart IW 1

- 5 -4) Gel Preparation by Solid-State Irradiation Of Soluble Polymer;

Water-soluble acrylamide-acrylate copolymer is prepared Z"2,

3/, The copolymer is irradiated by Co-60 radiation under vacuum

in the solid-state. !Che gelation dose is found to be greater

than 10 KGy. The variation of the swelling degree with the dose

is shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 7 shows that the awellability decreases with the dose

as previously noted. However, the values of tho swelling degree

are much higher than PAMG-I. This is mostly attributed to

presence of the carboxylic group. It may substantially increase

or fortify hydrogen bonding. So, the hydrophilicity of the gel

is increased.

Accordingly, the hydrophilicity of polyacrylamide gel is

presumably dependent of the architecture of the macromolecule.

MBCiHAHISM OP SOIL STABILIZATION WITH PAMG »

There is ample evidence that polyacrylamide gel stabilizes

sandy soil fs-llj. It is a truism that it does not follow either

the adsorption or adhesion mechanisms. It is surmised that the

nucleophilic nitrogen of the amide group coordinates with one

silicon atom of soil particles. This nay be geminated or forti-

fied by hydrogen bond formation between the carbonyl and silanol

groups. Tig. 8 presents the proposed mechanism of soil stabili-

sation with PAMG. This may be supported by the findings of Griot

and Kitchener fcQ that PAU was adsorbed by newly exposed silica

surfaces. Immediately ignited silicas showed also similar ad-

sorbability /137.

Accordingly, the coordination and relaforoement site» are

increased in the reclaimer ameliorator polymeric geli iftAPG. It

is a multi-functional acrylonitrile base polymer graftad upon

ceUulosic worthless agricultural disoard A t f . the volatility

of RAPG is evident from its structure, fig. (9)* The OH-rloh

\

- 6 -

binder grows water-trees besides fortifying the coordination bonds.

Though, cooperative effect of function groups with the binder may

be envisaged to increase hydrogen bond induction, Shis explains

the increase in soil stability and water abstraction synerglstically.

The proposed mechanism is shown in fig, (10). So also, the swelling

degree arrived to 750 times the dry weight of the gel. Moreover,

the cationic exchange capacity reaches 650 meq/100 g. This Implies

efficient abstraction of cations by the acidic group while the

basic one forms adducts with the anions. Furthermore, evidences

are recently gained on incresing population of bacterium rhisobia.

REFERENCES:

(Tj

/47

/87

/107

/Ia7

AZZAlI, R., Commun. Soil ScI. & Slant Analysis, 11 8 (1980) 767AZZAM, R4, "Sandy Soil Plantation in Semi Arid Zones by PoIy-acrylamide Gel Conditioner Prepared by Ionizing Radiation",lAEA-contr. Ho. 2596/RB Progress Rpt., Vienna (1981) July1980-March 1981 .AZZAS, R, k SINGER, K., Bratislava 7th IUPAC Intern. Conf. onModified Polymer, 1 (1979) 143AZZAM, R, & SINGER, K., Polymer Bull., g (1980) 1471BIPUHSKII, O.I., KOVOZHILOV, B.V., SAKHAROV, V0N,, «ThePropagation of Gamma Quanta in Matter**, Transl. BASU, P.,Pergamon Press, Oxford (1965)AZZAM, R,, "Radiation Chemical Polymerization I. TheoreticalTreatment11, IVTh Intern. Meeting on Radiation Processing,Yugoslavia (1982) Dubrovnik.WABA1 T., et al., J. Polymer Sd., Ch«n. Ed0, ]£ (1975) 2375GROMOV, V.F., et al,, Europ. Polymer J., 16 (1980) 529AZZAM, R, & SIXAM, T., Annals of Agrio ScI,, Moshtohor ,J3. (1980) 215BL HADY, 0. & AZZAM, R., Egypt. J. Soil ScI., 23 (1993) 2in press.AZZAM, R., "Polymeric Conditioner Gels for Desert Soils",Conuun. Soil Sol, & Plant Analysis, (1983) In press.GRIOT, 0. & KITCHENER, J.A.,Trans. Faraday Soc,, & (1965) 1026GREENLAND, D.J,, Mad. BWc. Landbouww. State UnIv. Ghent,3J 3 (1972) 897AZZAM, R . , Egypt* P a t . A,ppl. No. 311 (1981) June 7Th.

- 20 -

0 2 1 6 8 10 0 6 4 2 0Diltanc* from iithtr l id*

Pig, Ii Dose TXLatri.liati.oninside Co-60 irrad-iation Chamber

2.7

say

12

Fig, 3« Variation of Swe33LabilityB* * of Polymers prepared atvarying absorbed dose andconstant monomer of 1#4M/l, within the post effect

0 2 4 1 8After »ffeet, day*

10

Fig. 4: Variation of Swel-labil ity of PolymersPrepared at varyingmonomer cone* butconst* dose of 2*7KGy. within the posteffect

60

eu

tS

20

0 MDon r*t*.

5: Dose distributioninside irradiationchamber in storageof the Reactor SpentFuels under water

»«•• KGy5 . 0

Pig» 6 s Variation of theSweXlability ofgels prepared inacetone-water system

0

S]S)

-aate»

IiO

Fig. 7s Effee* of Doee onSwwllabillty ofoopolyaer geled bysolid-state Irrad-

iation

Fig. 81 Presentation of th*flw?hfMvf<Bin of soi lcoordination with -

PAMG

Structural

•• VL

-

Fig. 1Ot Presentation of the Umctmalmu.of Soil Stabilisation with RAPG

Sable XVariation of Swellabilityof PAMQ-I witli AbsorbedDose, D, at constant mono*mer concentration of 1.4 M/l

D, KGy

2.725.761.7

Swellingdegree

25.9913.989.57

Sable IIEffect of Dose and Honomer concentra-tion on Aerylaaide Polymerisation in

Acetone-Water Mixture

0.59 1.15 1.66 2.81

Conraraita Cq) in %

Bart I I

3TOTCTlJHB STABnm AND KAMTSKAHCB

K . AZZAM and O . A a EL - HADY

Sand dune f ixat ion I s an International otjact ive • Longlasting stable

structure towards wind and water erosion - with adequate latex and intra aggre-

gate voids - i s of subreme Importance . This allows beneficial cropping .

In this Tiwfc , s tab i l i za t ion of Sinai dune sand with Heolainer and Amel-

iorator Polymeric OeI " EAfC " i s studied . The maintenance of ttie formed s truc-

ture i s further determined •

1 - Soila i a* Sinai dune sand from Quantra - SL-Arish Road , ( 99»9j£

sand), fc» Ferti le clayey so i l from BeIUs , Sharkia Oovernoxate , ( 46.2< clay

and 0 .63* 0.M ) .

2 - HAPO application i RAFO dispersed i n water i s homogeneously nixed with

sand , dried and passed through 8 ran s ieve .

5 - Indices applied f o r structure evaluation 1

a. Heohantoal s t a b i l i t y using rotat ing " Soil Test " dry sieving ma-

cfcina /" l J .

b. Water stable aggregate s ize distribution by wet s ieving . Time of

iicvijift IO min* C^J 0^ erosion index /*3_7 .

0. Hydraulic conductivity of 2 - 1 mm fractions a f ter percolation for

three liouxa under constant head ,

*. Bulk density , pore s ize distr ibution and volume expansion [A & 5 J»

4 - lUHrt—ftaoe «f struoture t I s revealed by three eyolea of destroying

the formed atruoture to ^ 1 on and reforming i t again by wetting and drying .

Mater stable aggregates ^ 0.5 nm and erosion index «ere determined •

RESULTS and DI3CD33I0N •

1 - Weohanioal e tab i l i t y aaainst wind erosion ;

JHffespent cr i terea used for evaluating tha conditioning process are prese-j

M iut* t

- 10 -ntad in Table ( I ) . These are total ( A0 ) and the most stable ( T ) structur-

al units y 0.84 <«> t ***« relative values of either Instability Ärameter ( S. P )

and De-a^gregation Bate ( B Q ) and the destructive mechanical action expressed

hy the number of rotations ( W») or the time of dry sieving in minutes ( t ^ )

iioedted to return the conditioned soil to i t s original state i . e the oontrol , C^-

Sata reveal that soil structure was improved with increasing degree of

unioniuity and with the amounts of conditioners applied . Since soi ls with a

content of non - erediole particles )>0.B mm exceeding 60 ftfwpra inaraased aa

soils resistant to wind erosion £f>J , RAFGs of 0.2 £ from 20 jf anionio f 0.1

and 0.2 j£ from both 30 and 40 £ anionio i s seemingly the » a t ntable treatments e

They show tha highat mluea of V , W- and t^and tho lowest ftnea of both 3.P

and K I)2 - Wataar attMlity i The water stable aggregate size distribution ( Big» 1 )

and tlifa maximum hydraulie oonductivj-'cr values ( Sfebla ZI ) denotes that the s t i -

uoture of sand -fraated by RAJQa i s stable in tha wet state • This i s also reveal-St til

od :'i-om dt; U-; pvoaeBted Sa VaUa V ' 1 & 4 ooluame ) where tha water stable

S 0*5 n» reached more than 95 $ and erosion index arrived to i t s max-

imum t while thaw «f olayey aoil were ^ 5 0 jL and ^ 1 . 0 , respectively •

3 - Ln tar M^lBto>ajMCFag8.te voids t Beneficial ohangee in bulk density $

void ratio , total pwroeiiy and micro porosity were aohieved by conditioning sand 9

( (Cable III ) . Thaw ohangae are mostly related to the swelling degree of the gel •

Moreover , the ohaitge» in the parameters under study increased with increasing the

application rata , ffaiv Ia plausibly expected . laudmun vartioftl swelling ( Sable

IV ) ranges between 2.7 and 35.0 4 for the untreated sand and 0.4 € ef 30 # anionio

HARJ , respectively • This i s to be compared with 20. 3 4f foa* the olayey soil •

No appreciable ohtngea in tha volume of aandy aoil ware notioed during drying ,

while clayey eoil showed high shrinkage ( 17 f) wift CBacking .

4 - MftiT inftfl0* o^ atruotura tTha obtained structure i s highly maintained

after complete deetruotion within the studied oydes , " 5 ^ 9 ( 7 ) ^om that

- n -chows that water stable aggregates ) o , 5 » and eroaion index are higher Lhe

higher are the application »ate «nd anionie i ty of RAPQ . Insignif icant ehaiyces

vri.thin the three cycles are noticed at anionic i ty ^ , 20 £ aad nates ^, 0.1 jf .

This means the resistance of structured sand against breakdown fy t i l l a g e .

nOKCLIISIOMS t

TMe work verify the mechanism invesaged in the previous part . The pr i -

velage of the present bonded structure i s that i t i s s e l f dependant » I t s form-

ation does not require any external chemicals or environmental conditions , That

Is-why i t i s restored instantaneously .

i

[\J Hl-Hady , 0 • A ( 1982 ) Criterea to evaluate soil conditioners for aggre-gate fanation and wind erosion control • Sgypt, J* Soil ScienceVoI* 24 ( 1 ) * , 1984 - in press .

[2] Ksmper , W . D ( 1965 ) Aggregate stability , In C . A „ Black et al ( ed )Methods of soil analysis Bart I . Agronomy 9. * 311 - 519 . j\raeroSoc. Agronooy % Madtaon , Wis. t 1965 »

f IJ Vondevelde , R |: D» Boodt , K ana Oabriela , 0 ( 1974 ) Determination ofan exoaioa Index for oonditioned soi ls in acooxdanoe with data of therainfall ainulato* , Pwiologis XXTV ( 1 ) 5 - 16 dent t 1974 •

[A J Black , C . A at al f »iitor ) ( 1965 ) Methods of soi l analysis , Part IAmerican Society of Agronomy , Inc. f Publisher , Madison , Wisconsin ,U . S . A .

/ 5 J Loveday , J ( 1974 ) Methods for analysis of irrigated s o i l s • Common-weal th Agricultural Bureaux „ 1974 •

/ 6 J PasaK , V ( 1974 ) Detexnination of th* potential wind erosion of soil .Trans 10 th Int. Gong. Soil Soience , VoI VI 1 80 - »7 , Moscow ,1974 •

Table [. : Ds-aggragation characterlaticE of

Sinai Dune Sand treated with RAfG

Treatment

UntreattdNon ionic

0.05*0 . 1 *0.2 *10* Anionic0.0»0,1 *0.2 *

20% Anlonle0.055*0.1 *0.2 *

30$ Anloalc0.05*0.1 *0.2 *

40* Anionie0.05*0.1 *0.2 *

0.05

7.412

! 21

9.62650

194278

226285

237696

0.01

3.68.4

11

5.41424

102034

123152

133264

S.Px XO2

5.365

1.9751.8901.815

1.9281.7571.563

1.8341.6501.497

1.7821.5231.247

1.7701.5191.169

X l O

1.341

0.4940.4720.454

0.4820.4390.391

0.4580.4120.3.'4

0.4450.3810.312

0.4430.3800.292

•• v

- —

217271297

24332:

289363436

308422557

314425612

— —

1.451.611.98

1.622.U2.63

1.932.422.91

2.052.813.71

2.092.834.08

Tafcle II t «ft-**™™ hydraulic conductivily( c m / h ) a f 2 - l m aggregates

SeIs

rate «£

0.050.10,2

Anionicity decree <

0

12.9414.6716.40

10

17.9121.5729.13

20

24.8129.1332,^6

30

28.0554.52/5.31

40

?6.O343.1549.62

® HeIevent value of the untreated dune sand is10.14 cm / h .

«able Trr: Cflang«a0 In Bulk Density, Void ratio**« and Soil Poronity

Iraataant

ionicO.95*0.1 *0.2 *

D*er«aa«in bulkdanalty In Told

ratio

Inex*aa« in

Miero"

AaIa0.03*0.1 *0.2 *

11.0511« 9314.42

13.3719.6123.15

20* Anlonle0.05* 20.50.1 * 23.340.2 * 34.86

30* Anionic0.05* "0.1 *0.2 *

40* Anionic0.05*0.1 *0.2 *

26.5231.7738.45

17.9027.9635.19

39.2242.6753.23

48.7176.9495.04

81,47124.78168.97

113.79146.98197.20

68.75122.41171.34

69.43176.77307.52

114.42233.07317.26

119.68241.23346.72

169.40325.68471.43

138.36270.43363.04

fatal

23.8125.7131.07

28.8142.2649.88

44.1761.0175.18

57.H68.5182.81

38.5760.2475.77

°Calealat<jd as *for sepaxatiag tharadius ot 14.5 x 1aa of «at«jv «oetlon

to tha untr«at«d nna.from alero ports a

i eerxeapoatlflg to 100tiMd (Loreday, 1974).

taala "[V1 (*}BAKU

nlel*/to*

010203040

tat* 0* •

0.025

4.05.06.29.16.6

0.05

4.75.38.3

11.57.8

LBtUa

0.1

5.28.2

13.317.513.4

fctios i

0.2

5.99.9

20.228.720.5

Ln*

0.4

8.715.225.235.022.6

IO•

Clog•od

1

•

Table "Sf t Water Stable aggregates > 0.5 ma and KroaianIndex during three cycles of destroying andreforai&g structure by soil wetting ft drying

Water Stable Aggre-gate* > 0.5 «a

1stcycle

2ndoyole

3rdcydB

Brosion. Index

1stcycle

2ndcycle

3rdcycle

UntreatedNon ionic

0.05% I0.1 *0.2 % I

105« Aaieaie0.05*0.1 *0.2 ft

20% Anionie0.05»0.1 %0.2 *

30* Aalonii0.05*0.1 *0.2 ft

40%0.05%0.1 ft0.2 ft

6.8

9.933.134.2

13.940.374.6

39.859.696.8

44.288.297.4

84.189.496.2

6.1

7.710.014.7

9.628.650.7

28.941.790.7

33.877.890.4

83.987.491.8

Clayey Soil 49.8

6.0

749.6

13*88.625.346.7

24.836e278.0

29.673.286.9

77.082.388.4

0.290

0.3610.7130.853

0.4001.2393.257

1.1042.5044.778

1.3594.1024.727

4.2274.3164.6620.99

0.2920.3230.371

0.3230.9722.113

0.9002.0174.399

1.2053.6614.044

4.1354.3114.402

0.2890.3200.358

0.3170.8771.812

0,7651.6703.613

!•0733.1843.494

3.4893.8624.132

100

20

Anionioity degree of RAPGto'/. $Z

SÖ6o

195 8666 6 66 6 66

H t I 1 Wt % Of

S 98

fmm

2-1 mm1-O.Smm

\<0.Smm

CDi «Bt«r «table «is* distribution

n i

B • AZZAU and Q . A . BWSUJHf

Deserts; suffer f r « droughts; « Ifeinfall distribution ia aren jaor i» semi

arid sana» 1 «ms? ia»w*Sng wter T*eser«atien in sandy soils: i s of a pwfaiand

imjortanoe I SäKbt ifr the aim of the present work •

1 2 Sailg aafl golr aaaainad i Theee axe poreaM&tad ia TaU* I • AppUea-

tion xat«E for «aady a»ll -wxl«d frcia 0*0 to 4 S / Kg M H •

2 • ifciiBjagfo "HfTao-tegiattea i The dataarmiiÄtloa of soil anisture «quili—

brium valu«r wwr oanr£od out over the xaage from 0.0 to 19 ata* uaiac prowwre

and praantro aMteans • Mologlcal stathod to d«t«mdno wilting pwromt-

«as alao oaniad out • [ \ aad a_7 •

3 • ffl^yy^t^aa i Soil aggravates < 4 mm w«ra oarfully |»olcad in tiLaatic

colunma to simlAte th« bulk danKtty of aaoh treatngut # A M * «ora aatuaratad

and expoaad to VNtiaxa-lioa parooeaa uadar tha oJiaatolafloal ooadttion» of InÄas •

The low ia nata» through wmWHwtiott t»a pazlodloally datomtaad by weight .

The l""~ cyola of «vapoaratioa «aa finished whan the oontxol loot all i t s wafer

content . This? eyole was; repeated six tinea '» Ewh cyol* lasted Iron eight to

ten days •

4 • Jaty^sito 'pyaaaaTttlfrty and »nyp Txge d.f^^ter t Hydraulic ooaduotivity

was measured » / * 2 ^ , Dataware oar»#oted to avoid mriatioa ia temperature .

Intrlaaic Beiw»Mlity and maan soil pore diameter were calculated , £3 J .

aad

Kffira ( 1 ) illufftiatea the moisture ohareetariBticr of Ihaha» sandy soil

as affeoted by BISQ traatunts . Those ware oo&pared with that of ilayey soil •

Applied oonditiaaerst have inoreaaad sail water holding capacity and aatar retain-

ed in soil at different motions . More increase was obtained by iaoroaatng gels

oocentxatian* lUi-fihwgfr total water holding oajaoity of sand treated with OJt ff

of the 30 # anianto RAR) i s only about three time»- that of the untreated

- 15

i t cat^retain at i t s field capacity over 9 times the amount of water ret;_I::c-i

under the Bane conditions by sand alone • Available moisture has reached noro

than 15 tinea that of the untreated sand and ha» exeeded that of the fer t i le

clay by 11 4 •

BAPG also reduces water evaporation from the soil , ( Fig. 2 ) . more-

over at the end of the evaporation cycle ,the evaporation adjusted to unity for

the control haa decreased to 0.67 and 0.61 for the 0.2 # of 30 4 anionic RAPGat

and elay t reepovtivety - f ( WaWe II , l"" oolunoi } c Therefore , a correspandan-ce increase i s water retention in soil is evidented . Under Inahas agroclimat-

ological conditions ( E9* 5.1 and 6,5 nun / day during March and April , respect-

ively ) , while the clayey soil reached i t s wilting percentage after 1 week ,

treated sand with 0.2 jf of 30 £ anionic BA1PG can stay s t i l l having available

moisture for plants atout 2 weeks . Moreover , water loss through evaporation

WAS nearly conatant over successive six cycles of wetting and drying ( Table II ) .

Vn±3 reveal that BAPG remains fully effective in soil during the period of study

and indicates the stability of the formed structure and the slow biodegradabil-

ity of the prepared gels •

Also p BiFG decreased to a great extent vertical water movement under

saturated conditions and the mean diameter of soil pores » ( Table I I I ) indi-

cating '.ainimizing water and nutriait-3 losses by leaching or deer) Percolation .

RfiFEBflICES t

£\J Black , C . A 1 Evans , D . D ; Ensminger , L . E J White , J . L andClark , P . E ( 1965 ) Methods of soil analysis . Vol. I , Amer.SQC. of Agron. Inc. Pub. , Madison » U . S . A .

/ X 7 lovoday , J ( 1974 ) Methods for analysis of irrigated soils . TechnicalCommunication No» 54 of the Commonwealth Bureau of Soils . Common-wealth Agricultural Bure&vcc »

/"5_7 Dielman , P . J . and DE Bidder , H , A ( 1972 ) Elementary ground -water hydraulics . Hminage Princinles and Applications . Pub. No. IC ,1 - 153 • UBI , Tlageningen . The Netherlands •

bie I: Some Analytical *rop»rtiea of the Studied Soil» sad OcIs

S o i l Type

Ir\»naS WOdjr »Oil

' '• %jrey s o i l

Coarsetend

2000 -200 u

86.2

2.7

Ka*MOd200-

top10.518.2

Silt20 -2 /

1.1

31.3

Clay

0.946.2

CaCO3

*

0,45

2.33

0.11.

*

0.020.63

f.S.S,%

o.u0.14

PH

8.07.9

C.B.C.M) . /100«

0.9141.6C-

Studied QeIa

Swellability

C.E.C. meq/100 gsoil

Bon ionic

190

150

10 % onionlc

370

189

70 % unionic

450

263

30 % anloale

750

445

40 % anlonle

400

£50

Table Adjusted water evaporation from sandy soil

treated with BAFO during six cycles of

wetting and drying.

Treatmenteono.

Controllton-ienlcRAPfl

0.0250.050.100.200.40

%

*ftf>

1st

1.00

C.9990.9840.9720.9400.909

10* Anionic RAKt0.0250.050.100.200.40

20* Anlonio 10.0250.050.100.200.40

30% AnioDio0.0250.050.100.200.40

40% Anionlo0.0290.050.100.200.40

Evaporation

ft5»5»%

Wl

%%%

RAJ

%

r.»

0.9870.9820.9210.8850.873

1O0.9530.8860.85b0.8130.79«?60.8750.7920.7490.6700.596

RAPGft O.B6A**

ft

0.6300.7950.7550.699

2nd

1.00

0.9830.9710.9390.9220.879

0.9630.9390.8740.8390.775

0.9040.8090.7790.7210.670

0.8430.7710.7190.6620.631

0.8680.8160.7880.7410.701

Cycle Number3rd

1.00

0.9850*9790.9170.9130.882

0.9710,9630.9050,8960.783

0.9330.8350.8010.7830.672

0.8640.7890,7110.6620.583

0.8830.8010.7630.7100.672

4th

1.00

0.9900.9Y30.9370.9310.87«

0.9650,9460.9110.8730.778

0.9400.8430.7900.7660,653

0.8530.772•W8.0.576

0.8790.8360.7820.7210.633

from free surface water•7.2 46.5 46.8 48.1

5th

1,00

0.99«0.9680.9210.9060.834

0.9700.9520.9000,8650.7T0

0.9620.8020.7820.7000.619

0,8690,7330.6980.6460.534

0.8900.8210.7560.6980.596

47.9

6th

1.00

0.9950.967

0.9010.805

0.9440.9130.8950.6320.726

0.8020.7760.7510,6660.598

0.7890.7320,7100.6330.530

0.8610.7880.7450,6480.573

49.4

f**l* (SIi Intrloafar—MH ty (K«)•atjtMV* alaaistsx

sXVI IUfl_CTWtJssmUBtr««t*dIon lonla

0*09*0.1«O.t ft

QVtVM0.05ft0.1ft0.1ft

2*1 940ft ABiSBi

0.09ft0.1 ft0.2 ft

mua. ^ n

K* m 2

8.69

6.40

4.26

3:113.94

5.444.113*92

5.263*40M HI)2.79

5.123.763.36

Icand

ailed

*>*¥•

16.7

14.312.411.7

13.412.211.313.211.510.6

13,0X0#4

O KZ9.5

12.810.910.4

B trt WHCe

-here E aai MC are the cannlative evawmtion, and totelnator holding catsoity , respectively , while tr and s arevie treated soil and the control , respectively .

Total water holding capacity

«tt«r r«t*intd at pP»2.01 v?leld capacity)* for clay at pf-2,54

fat*r retained at ph4»2Available Wa:er

JfJO S HN-*

SSSd• • « * 9

ODOO O

H M *• • • • •

OO OOOo o o o ' o o o oo'oApplloatioa xatea of BA.PO»

Pig. ( 1 ) i lbiature ohareoterlatioa of Inahaa mndy soil fia affectedEiPO treatments , oeamred with that of olayay soil •

100

80

60

40

H g .

SO % «Sioille RAMMttoMBt r*t«a of application

_ «.*controllw>r

0,2 * JUW>t diffaraot Haloalclty

O 10 » 36 40 70 O 10 20'

Ji cnte t of l u a on »»tor «vspontlon frcn laiAu Svaij Soil (E a

3P 40 SO

•Tapormtion Tram

Bart VT

AND NUTRITICMAi 3TATtTS

O • A . EL-H&DY {• E . AZZAM ( A . LOTPY and M .

D8TBODOCTIOH i

Arid zone furnish inadequate environmental conditions for germination

and nuzfery • Sa , fa i lure of great portion i a expected , especia l ly in sandy

s o i l s . The present work aims to find out the proper sand - KAPG combination

which rea l izes convince for growing s e n s i t i v e plants .

I

Greenhouse experiment with pepper ( Capsicum, lrutescens Ta*. Califor-

nia Wonder ) was" carried using Xnshas sandy sail «Sand i s treated by BAPGs

with different anionioity at different rates t i l l 0.4 % • Afertile olayay soil

was ohosen fear comparison . The data of the original so i l s and gels were given

elsewhere « [ i j . Thirty seeds were planted in ^ 4 am aggregates uniformly

paoked in pots- to, simulate bulk density of eaoh treatment . All pots were

adjusted to the same moisture percentage , i . e 60 ^ of soil water holding

capacity , -briee aweek . After 12 days , plants were thinned to 10 / pot •

Complex fertilizer contains both macro and micro nutrients was used with the

normal rates • After 40 days from sowing , transplants were Investigated 9 /*2 ,

3 and 4.7 .

RE3TJLTS and DISCUSSIONS i

Figure ( 1 ) i l l u s t r a t e s the germination percentage of pepper seed»

after 12 days from sowing . I t shows that 100 <f germination i s lying a t 0 .1 %

of 30 ^ aaioaio BAPO • The oorresnonding values for untreated «and and clayey

s o i l were 51.5 Wd 7 7 ^ t respectively .

Similarly , the growth continued increasing s ign i f i cant ly hi^ier i n

conditioned sand than in the control . Uoveaver , the increase in transplant's

hoieht for the treated sand has avooaded that for cloy lay 38 - 55 £ according

to the degree of RAPG anionici-ty and ratea of application ( figure 2 ) .

Diy weight of pepper transplants af ter 40 days from plantation i s ,^

- 19 -

in TaI)Ie ( J ) • This implies further privilege of the coditioned sand ,

recorded decrease In dry weight with high rates of conditioners could be a t l -

ibuted to gala swellability and consequently the high moisture retention 01

treated sand over the needs of transplants . The effect of anionicity due-

on tlie retention and release of plant nutrients may be another reason «

Regarding the relation between the dry matter production and evapotror-

pir&tion , data in Table ( II ) indicate the beneficial effect of the studied

.;,els on water uaa uffioiency by plants , This could be explained on the basis

of decreasing evaporation /*1_7 > «al the increase in dry matter production

relative to tfa* «vapotranspired water . In other words , RAPG can convert soil

rater evaporation into plant transpiration .

The uptake of nacufoiaftrienta by pepper transplants i s illustrated in

figure ( 3 ) • It shows that K , P and K uptake i s generally increasing with

KAPG's application rates; . Hittogen uptake has reached 225.5 and 270.1 f(of the

untreated sand at rates of 0.1 and 0.2 ^respectively . This i s twice that of

the fertile olayey soil . Phosphorus uptake was mare than 5 times that of the

control by treating nand with 30 ft anionic RAfG at the rate of 0.2 4 or more .

The increase in P uptake reached 250 <ft of that of the clayey soil . On the other

hand , the increase in K uptake arrived to 146 f compared to the untreated sand

ut the 0.4 i» of 30 ft anionic RAPG . This i s more or less 2.5 folds that of clay-

ey aoil .

Miciomtrients uptake i s given in Figure ( 4 ) • Generally at low rates

of Rape application , the uptake increases with the degree of anionicity . Thour'n

at higher rates , both 30 and 40 £ anionic RAPG may change their positions •

This behavior floes in parallel with the change in the swellability of the poly-

meric gels and consequently the water content of the treated soil . The increase

in miorenutritnte uptake In treated sand with 0.2 ^ of the 50 fl anionic RAPG

reached 7.7 , 222.6 t 356.4 and 303.2 f over that of the fert i le clayoy soil for

Zn , !& . »e and Cu , respectively .

- 20 -

efficiency data ( dxy matter produced Iy unit of added

nutrients ) ax* np*B«t*i in Table TII . I t indicates aloe the beneficial eff-

scta of BAFGs fox saad conditioning . I t i s obviou* that th» fairest efficien-

cy i s lying at 0.1 Jf of th* 30 ft anioolc SAPO 1?*ata*nt • QIIB i s about 3 folds

that of the f«rtil* olayey soil .

paooesa , Slant growth and dry satt«r graduation are in-

creased due to th* iMprovsBiact in both soil stxuatur* and mtes? pagime • Mara-

over , the b*nrfioi*l af f act of RAFOs i s «vident*d fro» incr*a*ing nuftrt*nt«

uptak* and b»th «at** and fertilisers us* ef fioieaoes . 30 Jf aaJoaio RiW at

t".:o rat* of 0*1 jf «a* superior aa oonparad to th* *th*nr • VaIu i s appli*d

auccwafuly oa field «oil* «xp*rt»*nta v {"5 J •

t B MA a«4kdy , 0 » A ( 198? ) Sand - KAM OMfcUfttlan t l B i l ttag f*rttl* *lay*y « U • I i l i latep p n m w t l o » . IAIk - W - 967 /15 1 AiX - •» - VXVHMfr , lHUM* •

£?.J , M ; L ( 1967 ) tell Cbcnioal Analysis , Pwntio* BdIV • J . , California ,

f} 7 HlMk , 0 , A ( *4tte» ) ( 1965 ) U*ttodv«f toll Aaalysla , Hurt II ,iMTiftft» Stoiaty of AfewMMgr , LM* , MMJssn t flasomsln , 0 , • . A

C\J Aap«a , 1 . S aad » « i t , f . f ( 1961 ) tfvttud* «f Amlysi» for toi lPlan* and Watsv , TMv. Oaliforaia , b±v. A«ria. Sot. .

jr , G . A , Aiaaa , X tad Lotfy , A ( 1983 ) iion r l iUMng ftrttl» olayey soil . T i l i * UVMl«r publieailw ) ,

Pabla I Iff«ot of BAFO on dry wslaht ofw d l l a g s (40 days) Ia »«Tplant

Rat*of epp-lleatloa0.0250.050.10.20.4

AaionlciVy of UVQ0 *

15.4217.7222.4«29*2027.77

1 O S

17.7820.9724.1526.0028.61

2OS

t!:ii38.1826.8627.32

3OS

23.6526.5819.322S.1526*34

4 O S

22.6525.0328.0026.0524.31

Table H

Bffect a# treating Inahas sandy MtI "tih SJLBd on «ater use

efficitncjrby pepper transplants UO day* froa

application

Rate

0.025 s

0.05 z

0.10 S

0.20 ft

0.40 %

ABtMiicity , degree

S«*4anie

0.5535

0.5698

0.6887

0.7921

0.8362

10 *

0.5938

0.6491

0.7M«

O.a«t

0.8834

i 20 %

0.6859

0.7765

0.8132

0.9464

0.9078

30 H

0.7326

0.6172

1.1237

1.0078

«.9431

40Jt

0.ST93

0.7603

0.8367

O.93H

0.8985

* * **** — *»t«r

-ise efficiency for untreated sandy »oil * 0.5410» • fertile clayey soil • 0.7509

T.ach figure i s the msan of 4 replicat»».

Tabl«lt£i Tvrttlieers Ua* Efficiency by Pepper XraaapXants ay <d tectedby RAFG additions

Tikat-aan* *eoao*tw«rattoa

Control»•and '

1

8.60

r

9.00

K

11.13

Pa

TlO"2

51.23

Zn

x 10"3

27.82

Mn

XlO-*

48.60

Cu

xlO"3

24.89

* ofincreweov»r theControl

Non ionio0.0250.050.10.20.4

9.3510.74.,»6615.2716.83

9*7811*2414.2615.9817.61

10 S Antonio RAXOi0.0250.050.10.20.4 1

10.7812.7114.6415.7617.34

11. 2813.3015.3216.4918.14

20 % Anionle RATQi0.02$ %0.09 %0.1 %0.2 *0.4 %

12.5814.9117vO817,4916.56

13.1715.6117.8718.3117.33

30 H Anionie BAfQ:O.02T %0.05 *0.1 *0.2 %0.4 %

40 t Anionic RAfGi

14.3416.1117.7717.0615.96

15.0016.8618.5917.8616.70

0.025«.05 £0.1 %0.2 %0.4 %

13.7315.1716.9715.79

114.73

14.3615.8817.7616.5215.42

12.1013.9017.6319.7721.78

13.9516.4518.9420.3922.44

16.2819.3022.1022*6421.43

18.5520,8522.9922.0820.66

17.7619.6321.9620.4319.07

55.6863.9881.14

. 90.981100.25

64.1975.7187.19

. 93.851103.27

74.95, 88.83101.74104.20

98.61

85.40, 96.68105.84101.63

95.08

81.7690.36

!101.0794.0587.75

30.2434.7544.0749.4154.45

34.8641*1247.3650.9756.09

40.7148.2555.2656.5?53.56

46.385 2 U557.4855*2051.64

44.4149*0654.9051.0847.66

»2.82.70

76.9886.3195.10

60.8971.8382.7189.0397.97

71.1084.2796.5198.8493.55

81*0191.02

100.4096.4190.19

77.5685.7295.8889.2283.25

31.191 25.336.79B 47.842.371 70.245.6ll 83.250.191X01.6

36.421 46.343.171 73.449.441 98*650.641103.447.92» 92.5

39.73143.9149.1245.7142,64!

59.*76.45T.383.671.3

Fertil»Ciayoy I 6,75 I 7.07 I 8.74 1 40.22 | 21.84 I 38.15J19.54l

100

90

geo

170

60

• Li/rrs

f

of

•tr- **** *o .r:

o.

. •

. O -

•f »ppU««*i«a 1

- O

. OG

« S

LettrSOf 'IO *«Oft

10 S '

0 *

-

0 0.1 0.2 0*3 0.«

ll«rcMtr.l O.MS 0.0» 0.1 0.» 0.4Ifete of Ri?£f Apnlication t f?

?i<3. ( I J « Height of peoper 3B9dliiwts after 20 days( whita ) and 40 days ( black ) from plantation a.3affected tcr aniouic RAPG additiona .

1.0

*

gjo.a

•MtMl

0.0»

o.ot

4-0

t Jl * a© *Aalatttlk? of ApiOl.4 UK

4 0 «

( 3 ) i Nitrogen » Hioaphowia and Potaasiura tiptako ( rag / plant }V pepper transplants as affected ty RAPG treatments .

200

o K

— — _ ei»/«y_äp<*.

«,1 0»2 p.} 0.4at ««-iprtlcMon in *

0 0.1 0 .1 O.I 0 .4

HARi ialooioity HAf» ««OBlelty

0 0,1 0.2 0,3 Q,4tot* of UJro-lppUcaUon Ia ft

OtI ff.» 0.J 0.4Rat* «r RAfO-*pplicU««» m ft

» ( 4 ) t Micro nutrients uptake ( rag / Pot ) tjjr pepper transplantsaa affected ty RAPG treatments .