This study investigates the negative impact of climate change on water resources, specifically water for agricultural irrigation. It describes how to optimize swelling, gel properties and long-term water retention capacities of Na-CMC/PAAm hydrogels for managing drought stress of Sugar beet plants through techniques such as changing the composition, synthetic conditions and chemical modification. Gamma radiation-induced free radical copolymerization was used to synthesize superabsorbent hydrogels using sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC) and acrylamide (AAm). The study also explored how varying Na-CMC/AAm ratio and radiation dose influence their swelling behaviour, gel fraction, and water retention. FTIR showed that CMC and PAAm components are part of the hydrogel structure. The equilibrium swelling reached a maximum value of similar to 500 g/g at a Na-CMC/AAm ratio of 60/40. High content of AAm reduced swelling because it caused increased hydrophobicity while high radiation doses up to 50 kGy increased crosslinking resulting in improved but limited swelling from 65 to 85 (g/g). After the second cycle, KOH modification reached maximum swelling capacity by introducing anionic carboxylate groups up to 415 (g/g). SEM images revealed uniform pores in an unmodified scaffold while larger cavities were formed upon modification facilitating Water absorption. Surprisingly, the improved hydrogels retained more water: about 75% even after 16 days as opposed to a 50% drop within five days in the case of unmodified ones. This hydrogel significantly enhanced shoot length by 18%, root length by 32%, fresh weight shoot by 15%, and dry weight shoot by 15% under severe drought conditions. As a result, yield increased by 22%, proteins went up by 19%, and carbohydrates rose by 13%. Leaf chlorophyll content increased with a corresponding decline in stress enzymes indicating decreased oxidative damage. This eco-friendly Na-CMC/PAAm-based hydrogel seems to have potential use for addressing water scarcity and agricultural challenges.

Yam is a vegetatively propagated crop generally multiplied using a portion (sett) of the tuber, which represents 30% of the cost of production. This study evaluated four propagation materials of yam, (i) vine seedlings from aeroponic system (VS), (ii) seedlings from semi autotrophic hydroponics (SAH), (iii) mini- tubers, and (iv) minisetts for their suitability for evaluating resistance of yams to nematodes. Two recently released yam genotypes, TDr 95/19177 and TDr 89/02665, were challenged with Meloidogyne incognita and Scutellonema bradys. Plastic pots were arranged in a screenhouse following a completely randomized design with twelve replicates. Plants were inoculated six weeks after planting with 5,000 eggs of M. incognita or 5,000 mixed individuals of S. bradys. Data were collected during vegetative growth, at harvest, and during storage. Vine length, number of leaves, and number of vines were not significantly different at the vegetative growth stage (P > 0.05). At harvest, the nematodes had significant effects on vine length, fresh and dry shoot weight, and tuber diameter (P < 0.05). After storage, there were significant losses in tubers weight of 61.8% and 43.3%, respectively, for S. bradys and M. incognita inoculated plants (P < 0.05). Damage indexes for all the planting materials were not significantly different, however, nematode recovery was less in VS and SAH plants compared to minisetts and mini-tuber plants. Mini-tubers and minisetts are apparently more reliable as planting materials to be used when screening yam genotypes.