New organic hydrogel helps plants withstand 30-day droughts

When using a new organic hydrogel, plants can now survive up to 30 days without irrigation. 

The bio-degradable granules from Austria's Agrobiogel company can store huge amounts of water and supply plants over periods of drought, when added to soil. 

Head of marketing Christoph Ertl says his product is much more effective than synthetic hydrogels that have been around since the 1960s. 

It took the start-up team 10 years to find organic material able to replace synthetic polymers. Finally they stumbled across lignin, a wood component usually extracted at paper mills. Thanks to a chemical reaction, it is transformed into a 3D sponge that can effectively store and supply water.

"The process behind is not so simple as it sounds," Ertl told CGTN. "There's a lot of science needed to create this 3D polymer."

That science is partly funded by the European Union, which kept the project running for the first three years. The organic hydrogel is one of several initiatives the EU hopes will help fight water scarcity on the continent. 

Extreme heat and drought are becoming a yearly problem. Brussels now aims at improving water efficiency by 10 percent over the next five years.

Ertl says his hydrogel can reduce irrigation by 40 percent – and in trial runs it even led to 20 percent more crop yield.

"You can save water on the one hand and you can increase your yield on the other hand," he says. "And this is the perfect match to give or show a positive return of investment for growers and farmers."

After the product roll-out in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Ertl is now expanding sales to drought-ridden countries like Italy and Spain, and expects a five-fold increase in production in the next year. If his hydrogel can similarly boost production for farmers, it could delay the damage from climate change.