By Faridat Salifu
Researchers in Italy have developed a fully biodegradable hydrogel that enables plants to grow with minimal water, offering a sustainable solution to farming in drought-prone regions.
The innovation, created through a collaboration between the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (UniBz) and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa, could transform hydroponic agriculture by reducing water use and replacing petroleum-based substrates with eco-friendly alternatives.
Hydrogels are materials made of porous polymer networks that can retain large amounts of water and nutrients. The new material, derived from red algae biopolymers and enriched with whole-algae extracts, demonstrated the ability to swell by up to 7,000% and gradually release moisture and nutrients to plants.
In laboratory tests, the hydrogel successfully supported the growth of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, showing stronger development compared to conventional hydroponic systems. The research has been published in ACS Agricultural Science & Technology.
“Our goal was to develop a material that was not only biodegradable and sustainable, but could actively interact with plants by providing them with water and nutrients,” said Camilla Febo, researcher at UniBz and IIT. “This approach significantly reduces water consumption and strengthens resilience in agriculture.”
The project also envisions embedding flexible, biodegradable sensors into the hydrogel to monitor plant health and soil conditions in real time, paving the way for precision farming with minimal environmental impact.
“With freshwater resources shrinking and plastic pollution rising, smart and sustainable materials like this hydrogel are key to building resilient food systems,” said Athanassia Athanassiou, Vice Scientific Director of IIT and head of its Smart Materials Unit.
The researchers highlighted that the innovation is zero-waste and can be safely applied to soil without causing pollution, offering a potential breakthrough in sustainable agriculture at a time when climate change, desertification, and biodiversity loss threaten global food security.