Description
Georgia is generally regarded as a country with abundant water resources and sufficient rainfall. However, these are distributed unevenly from a regional and time perspective and cannot cover the need for water for agriculture, which is thus forced to consume a significant part of the drinking water supply The aim of the proposed project is to verify the possibility of increasing the volume of drinking water in better quality for the population by saving water consumption and maximizing the use of water consumed in agriculture. The proposed solution is to use Aquaholder™ superabsorbent polymers developed for agriculture that are capable of absorbing large quantities of water and subsequently gradually release them into the root system of the plants in the time of drought. Absorbent use reduces the evaporation of water and prevents it from penetrating into groundwater, thereby reducing its consumption considerably. Based on previous experiments, we have shown that the same yields can be achieved by using absorbents with almost 50% water savings (or double the irrigation intervals). Absorbents also exhibit properties of retaining pesticides and fertilizers. They are potentially able to contain these substances and reduce their penetration into the groundwater, which could result in increased water protection from chemical contamination. The possibility of applying Aquaholder™ and transfer of scientific results into real life (meanwhile awarded in the innovative EU Horizon 2020 grant program and supported by Agro and Enviro Ministries) will be verified in cooperation with the renowned local partner Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture.