Effect of gamma irradiated super water absorbent from sago waste on vegetables

Super water absorbent (SWA) has the ability to absorb water hundreds of times bigger than its own weight and potentially can be used as a water retainer in agriculture. Other than holding water, SWA can release water to the soil, which is required by the plants. In this study, SWA from sago waste has been successfully prepared using the gamma radiation technique and the properties of SWA such as FTIR, gel fraction and swelling have been carried out. Performance of SWA from sago waste as a water retainer has been carried out with mustard and Chinese kale with three different compositions (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5%) of SWA mixed with the soils. The effects of SWA on the plants such as height of plants and weight of plants have been determined. Generally, the height and weight of the plants were at the highest at 0.1% of SWA content in the soil.