Hydrogels for Sustainable Agriculture: Toward Adaptive Rhizosphere Interfaces

Abstract

Future sustainable agriculture requires root-zone systems that conserve water, retain nutrients, support beneficial microbes, withstand drought and salinity, and degrade safely in soil. Hydrogels are a promising material platform because their hydrated polymer networks can be tuned in chemistry, mechanics, transport, architecture, and degradation. This viewpoint frames agricultural hydrogels as adaptive rhizosphere interfaces, with exchange at the root-soil interface as the central design target. We organize this opportunity around three directions: water resilience, nutrient efficiency, and biotic integration. Water resilience demands root-zone moisture regulation under soil confinement, salinity, and wet−dry cycling. Nutrient efficiency requires reversible ion retention and synchronized release under plant demand. Biotic integration requires hydrated, permeable, and biodegradable microhabitats that support plant−microbe interactions. We argue that hydrogel design must move beyond swelling capacity and release curves toward the field materials engineering, including soil-confined testing, multifunctional trade-offs, scalable forms, and safe end-of-life behavior for practical climate-resilient and resource-efficient agriculture.