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Development and Characterization of Biobased Superabsorbent Materials for Agricultural Applications: Study in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under Drought Stress

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Abstract

The main objective of this research was to develop biobased superabsorbent materials (SAM) able to control humidity in soils. For this purpose, two abundant biopolymers (alginate and chitosan) were studied. Concentration of both polysaccharides, cross-linking time, CaCl2 and acetic acid concentrations were evaluated through Taguchi design. Then, two formulations were selected and fully characterized. Samples were tested in soil substrate in two different concentrations to evaluate the effects in lettuce plants grown under hydric stress. Swelling degree significantly varied with the studied factors (822–8932%, after 24 h in distilled water). The two selected formulations had the minimum acetic acid and CaCl2 concentrations, and cross-linking time tested, but the highest chitosan content, expecting an elicitor effect in the plants. The selected materials showed superabsorbent properties. Addition of 5% w/w of either biobased materials to soil substrates led to noticeably more vigorous specimens after 6 days of drought compared to lettuce grown in substrate without SAM. However, some phytotoxicity is suspected. Further assays are necessary to optimize chitosan content improving soil properties while stimulating plant growth without phytotoxicity. Overall, results showed that Chitosan-Alginate SAMs might be considered as promising sustainable agricultural devices.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge Lic. Andrés Torres-Nicolini from INTEMA (CONICET-UNMDP) for the TGA analysis. Some figures were created with BioRender.com.

Funding

Financial support obtained from Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) (PIP 0617), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (15/G539), and Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT) (PICT-2017-0603, PICT-2018-0711 and PICT-2018-0970) is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo de Materiales Compuestos Termoplásticos (CoMP), Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (INTEMA), UE CONICET-UNMDP, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP) y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    M. Pascual, L. M. Sanchez, V. A. Alvarez & B. Tomadoni

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas (IIB), UE CONICET-UNMDP, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP) y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    M. F. Salcedo, A. Y. Mansilla & C. Casalongué

Authors
  1. M. Pascual
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  2. M. F. Salcedo
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  3. L. M. Sanchez
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  4. A. Y. Mansilla
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  5. V. A. Alvarez
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  6. C. Casalongué
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  7. B. Tomadoni
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Contributions

The experimental work was carried out by M.P. and M.F.S.; data analysis was performed by L.M.S., A.Y.M. and B.T.; the article was written by L.M.S. and B.T.; the article was reviewed by L.M.S., C.C., V.A.A. and B.T.; the article was supervised by L.M.S. and B.T. All authors have read and agreed to publish the manuscript.

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Correspondence to B. Tomadoni.

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Pascual, M., Salcedo, M.F., Sanchez, L.M. et al. Development and Characterization of Biobased Superabsorbent Materials for Agricultural Applications: Study in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under Drought Stress. Polym. Sci. Ser. A 64, 744–754 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965545X22700456

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965545X22700456

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