- Hydroabsorbent products - the differences
- TerraCottem - how is it different?
- Are all such products safe?
- Water retention capacity
- Water availability
- Water availability
- Pesticide and herbicide use
- Freezing temperatures
- Effect of salts
- Root rot
- Fertilizer absorption
- Use with fertilizers
- Water savings
- Product longevity
- What happens later?
- "Polyacrylamide is toxic.”
1. "All hydroabsorbent polymers
(also know as hydrogels or superabsorbents)
are basically the same"
False - Although on the exterior one hydroabsorbent polymer may look
similar to another, their chemical construction, the physical structure
of the network, and especially the crosslinking density can be vastly
different and will affect how they absorb, store and release their contents,
and will determine their toxicity, longevity and suitability for use in
growing plants. Caution must be exercised, as many are sodium-based, manufactured
principally for use in baby diapers and other sanitary wares, for use
as flocculants and for chemical liquid waste disposal, making them unsuitable
for use with plants or turf. Unfortunately, some of these products are
repackaged and sold for use in horticulture.
The TerraCottem mixture simply contains those potassium-based hydroabsorbent
products that have demonstrated the best results on plant growth and water
efficiency, in independent efficacy trials carried out on behalf of TerraCottem.
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2. "So how does this make TerraCottem different from other products utilizing hydroabsorbent technology?"
Years of testing demonstrated that the best results, over a number of
plant growth and water-use efficiency parameters, were achieved with a
select mixture of hydroabsorbent, nutrient and growth-stimulating components.
This mixture became the TerraCottem product, and changes from time
to time as better components become available. Because most of the components
in the TerraCottem mixture are not manufactured by the company, new
products which improve TerraCottem's performance can be added to,
or replace, a current component without a conflict of interest. This independence
to change and improve the product, often using technology developed by
the world's leading manufacturers, ensures that the TerraCottem product
remains simply a proven mixture of the best products for the task available
anywhere.
With the full backing of an internationally-recognized university, a heritage
linked with its initial use in United Nations' and other humanitarian
projects, and a client base on five continents which includes top professionals
in the relevant markets, TerraCottem has a credibility rarely matched
in the industry.
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3. "All hydroabsorbent polymers are safe to use for growing plants"
False - Hydroabsorbent polymers all contain a certain quantity of monomer
residues from the manufacturing process. These acrylamide and acrylic
acid monomers are phytotoxic at levels above 500 ppm. All older hydrogels
and approximately half of those currently manufactured contain toxic levels
of monomer contamination. The hydroabsorbent products in the TerraCottem
mixture have a monomer level below 215 ppm and have been certified to
be non-toxic in tests meeting the highest internationally recognized standards,
meaning the product will not contaminate plants, soil or ground water.
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4. "The higher the product's water
retention capacity,
the more water will be available to the plant"
False - The water retention capacity is not necessarily relevant in terms
of performance, for high water retention capacity does not mean high water
availability. While most hydrogels (primarily produced for the diaper
and sanitary wares industry) can absorb hundreds of times their own weight
in water, they are designed to irreversibly bind the moisture, or compete
with the plant roots for the same water. Thus, no water is made available
to the plant. Additionally, no water retention capacity is absolute. The
higher the level of minerals or impurities in the water, the lower the
water retention capacity is. Even given the same water quality, when mixed
into the ground the water retention capacity will decrease with higher
soil pressure.
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5. "All the water absorbed by a hydroabsorbent polymer is available to the plant"
False - Many hydroabsorbent polymers do not have the ability to make
the water they absorb available to the plant, and if available, it may
only be for a short period of time. The hydrogels incorporated into the
TerraCottem mixture do make 95% of this water available, for an extended
period of time.
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6. "Plant roots will have to compete with the hydroabsorbent polymers in TerraCottem for the same water"
False - The hydroabsorbent polymers in the TerraCottem mixture were
chosen for, among other things, their ability to absorb, retain and then
make water available to plant roots. The hydrogels contained in TerraCottem
have absorption tensions which allow plant roots to pick up the water
on demand, yet ensure that the hydrogels remain humid over a long period
of time and are not dried out by the surrounding soil.
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7. "TerraCottem cannot be used on areas treated with pesticides and herbicides"
False - The hydroabsorbent polymers used in the TerraCottem mixture
can only absorb cations and anions with a regular, small ion volume. Most
benzene-based organic pesticides and herbicides (as well as hydrocarbons,
alcohol and other organic solvents) cannot penetrate the polymer structure
due to their significantly higher molecular volume (demonstrate this for
yourself by adding rubbing alcohol to a spoonful of the mixture and see
what happens). For this reason, most benzene-based organic pesticides
and herbicides may be used on areas treated with TerraCottem, with
no negative effects. Should you have any doubts, test first by pouring
a watery solution of the product over a spoonful of TerraCottem.
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8. "In colder climates, the hydrogels may freeze, causing problems"
False - The TerraCottem soil conditioning technology freezes at -2º C, and thus
is not affected by overnight frosts. Freezing the product has no detrimental
effect on it, on treated soil or on plants whatsoever. Because TerraCottem
freezes at lower temperatures than water in the soil, water is available
at lower temperatures and for a longer period of time, possibly lengthening
the growing period by up to several weeks.
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9. "Salts, fertilizer and chellated iron products added to soil treated with TerraCottem will degrade or destroy the product"
Salts, fertilizers and minerals do not decrease the lifespan of TerraCottem,
but do have an effect on its water retention capacity.
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10. "TerraCottem may promote the creation of root rot"
False - Root rot is often caused by a surplus of water in the growing
medium, where poor soil structure prevents the water from draining off
or being used effectively by the plant, and limits or prevents oxygen
from circulating, eventually asphyxiating plant roots.
In soil treated with TerraCottem, water absorbed by the product is
not free, but contained within the hydroabsorbent polymers and released
only on plant demand. As plants only absorb the water that they need,
the rest remains in the product. These swollen particles open up and aerate
the growing medium, preventing compaction and root rot.
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11. "Does TerraCottem absorb water-soluble fertilizers?"
TerraCottem can absorb and retain fertilizers added to the growing
medium in which it is mixed.
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12. "What kind of fertilizers may be used in conjuction with TerraCottem?"
Customary types and rates of fertilizer may be used on areas treated
with TerraCottem. Water-soluble fertilizers can be absorbed by the product,
reducing their loss by leaching or runoff. After the initial grow-in phase
of the turf or plants, lower rates may be experimented with in order to
find the most economical one.
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13. "Realistically, what kind of savings can be achieved by incorporating TerraCottem into the growing media?"
Cost of Inputs: TerraCottem clients report water savings of between
40 - 80%, and fertilizer savings of between 20 - 50%.
Maintenance costs: Time, labor and input costs associated with the maintenance
of areas treated with TerraCottem are between 25 - 80% less than
in areas not treated with the product, according to information supplied
by clients.
Replacement costs: Data from TerraCottem clients shows a reduction
in plant mortality of between 20 - 100%.
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14. "How long does TerraCottem remain active in the soil?"
The fertilizer starter component and trace amounts of growth stimulating
agent are designed to perform during the initial growth phase after incorporation,
and the slow-release fertilizer component has a 6 - 12 month utility,
depending on the average temperature.
While the different hydroabsorbent products in TerraCottem have high
but varying levels of mechanical and biological stability, the longest-lasting
components have demonstrated a lifespan of more than eight years in practical
applications.
It is the synergy of all of TerraCottem's components which determines
the product's effectiveness in growing media, and which make it a soil
conditioner.
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15. "What happens to the TerraCottem product® after it's useful life?"
The TerraCottem soil conditioning technology has a neutral pH, and its various components
break down into their constituent parts of minerals and nutrients, ammonia,
carbon dioxide and water, with no residual toxicity.
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16. "Polyacrylamide is toxic.”
FALSE. Polyacrylamide is an acrylate polymer formed from acrylic acid
and acrylamide subunits that are readily cross-linked. Polyacrylamide
is not toxic, but un-polymerized acrylamide is, since the acrylamide
monomer is a neurotoxin. Therefore, products containing high acrylamide
monomer residue could be of concern. However, TerraCottem’s third
generation hydroabsorbent propenamide-propenoate copolymers are both
manufactured and selected in such a way that the monomer residue is neglectible
and guaranteed to be well below any dangerous levels set by governmental
agencies worldwide.
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More Growth, Less Water
TerraCottem, Leading soil conditioning technology.