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Agricultural and forestry water retention agents, often referred to as soil moisturizers, plant transpiration inhibitors, or miniature underground reservoirs, are materials with unique properties. Fundamentally, they are high molecular compounds with a complex three-dimensional network structure, containing numerous highly hydrophilic groups capable of absorbing and retaining water hundreds of times their weight. In agriculture and forestry, by mixing these agents with soil, they can rapidly absorb water during rainfall or irrigation and lock the water within the molecular grid, preventing loss due to evaporation or infiltration, forming a long-lasting moisturizing layer. Especially under drought conditions, these water retention agents can slowly release water for plant roots to absorb, enhancing the plants' drought resistance.
In greenhouse agriculture, water loss due to deep leakage, evaporation, and crop transpiration can be severe, leading to reduced water use efficiency. By adding super absorbent polymers to the soil, super absorbent water retention technology can store water for extended periods and slowly release it, effectively reducing irrigation needs and improving water use efficiency. Research indicates that various super absorbent water retention agents, such as super absorbent hydrogels, polyacrylate hydrogels, and starch-based hydrogels, can absorb 20 to 700 times their weight in water, extending soil water retention time by over threefold, helping crops resist drought. Crops using super absorbent water retention agents, such as soybeans, tomatoes, melons, and cabbages, can achieve zero additional irrigation throughout the growing period, significantly reducing dependence on external water sources [1].
In 2019, the global demand for agricultural and forestry water retention agents reached 10.208 billion USD. Currently, the main types of water retention agents on the market include sodium polyacrylate types. In particular, sodium polyacrylate-based water retention agents gradually gained prominence in the market share in 2022, showing strong market acceptance for this type of product. Looking forward to 2029, sodium polyacrylate-based water retention agents are expected to achieve wider market penetration, with the market share anticipated to further expand. With the advancement of urban greening and beautification projects, urban landscape gardening has become a key application field for water retention agents. Simultaneously, with the advancement of agricultural modernization, the eastern and southern regions have widely adopted water retention agents in agriculture to improve crop yield and quality.
As one of leading sodium polyacrylate suppliers, SOCO is continuously committed to innovative technologies and products for efficient water resource utilization. Our agricultural hydrogel solutions help global agriculture tackle the challenge of water scarcity, contributing to sustainable agriculture.
[1] Zou, H., Wang, F., Zeng, Z. et al. Next-generation water-saving strategies for greenhouses using a nexus approach with modern technologies. Nat Commun 16, 2091 (2025).
