Engineering the unsaturated soil behavior for agricultural drought preparedness

Frequent occurrence of agricultural drought has a far-reaching impact on the soil moisture, which further has a cascading influence on the microbial population, erosion characteristics, nutrient content, and hence its overall quality. It is explicit that poor quality of soil lead to poor vegetation growth affecting crop production of agrarian states. The moisture retention or moisture holding capacity of a soil depends on its unsaturated properties. For fulfilling UN sustainable development goals, (2) Zero hunger and (3) Good health and well-being, under frequent or prolonged agricultural drought, it is essential to engineer the unsaturated soil behavior for ensuring minimal loss of moisture. This study explores the role of water absorbing polymers as soil additive to increase moisture holding capacity of the soil. The various nuances associated with its application in the soil are discussed. A few of the priority research directions related to the development of such additives for enhancing quality of the soil subjected to frequent droughts are enlisted.