Fertilizer Salts Reduce Hydration of Polyacrylamide Gels and Affect Physical Properties of Gel-amended Container Media

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Abstract
Hydration of three commercial hydrophilic polyacrylamide gels in deionized water ranged from 340 to 420 g per gram of gel. Hydration was progressively inhibited by fertilizer salt concentrations from 0 to 20 meq·liter-1. Hydration of the gels in the presence of divalent cations (Ca2+ and Mg2+) and monovalent cations (K+ and NH4+) at 20 meq·liter-1 was reduced to ≈10% and 20% of maximum, respectively. The valence of the accompanying anion did not affect hydration. Gel hydration was unaffected by urea over the range of 2 to 20 mm. Sequential rinses of the hydrated gels with deionized water completely reversed the inhibition due to the monovalent, but not the divalent, cations. The electroconductivity (EC) of the external solution increased during gel hydration. In the presence of fertilizer salts, the physical properties of a 2 redwood sawdust : 1 sand (v/v) container mix were unaffected by hydrophilic gel additions of 1.2 and 2.4 kg·m-3 (1 × and 2 × the recommended rate, respectively).

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