Water‐soluble polymers in agriculture: xanthan gum as eco‐friendly alternative to synthetics

Abstract

Water-soluble polymers (WSPs) are a versatile group of chemicals used across industries for different purposes such as thickening, stabilizing, adhesion and gelation. Synthetic polymers have tailored characteristics and are chemically homogeneous, whereas plant-derived biopolymers vary more widely in their specifications and are chemically heterogeneous. Between both sources, microbial polysaccharides are an advantageous compromise. They combine naturalness with defined material properties, precisely controlled by optimizing strain selection, fermentation operational parameters and downstream processes. The relevance of such bio-based and biodegradable materials is rising due to increasing environmental awareness of consumers and a tightening regulatory framework, causing both solid and water-soluble synthetic polymers, also termed 'microplastics', to have come under scrutiny. Xanthan gum is the most important microbial polysaccharide in terms of production volume and diversity of applications, and available as different grades with specific properties. In this review, we will focus on the applicability of xanthan gum in agriculture (drift control, encapsulation and soil improvement), considering its potential to replace traditionally used synthetic WSPs. As a spray adjuvant, xanthan gum prevents the formation of driftable fine droplets and shows particular resistance to mechanical shear.Xanthan gum as a component in encapsulated formulations modifies release properties or provides additional protection to encapsulated agents. In geotechnical engineering, soil amended with xanthan gum has proven to increase water retention, reduce water evaporation, percolation and soil erosiontopics of high relevance in the agriculture of the 21st century. Finally, hands-on formulation tips are provided to facilitate exploiting the full potential of xanthan gum in diverse agricultural applications and thus providing sustainable solutions.

CRISPR/FnCas12a-mediated efficient multiplex and iterative genome editing in bacterial plant pathogens without donor DNA templates

“…The understanding of the bacterial life cycle, pathogenesis and colonization in hosts will help us to breed crops with broad-spectrum resistance as well as to develop bacterial control agents for field application. Also, Xanthomonas strains are important resources to produce metabolites for various applications in human society [43]. Therefore, powerful and efficient genetic manipulation methods for Xanthomonas are always in high demand.…”

Metabolomics Response of Wheat (Triticum aestivum) to “Green” and Conventional Nonionic Surfactants at Different Application Stages

“…Compared with the conventional nonionic wetting agent, xanthan gum has higher biodegradability and is a renewable resource. The addition of triethyl citrate has been shown to improve xanthan gum wettability and moisture retention on the leaf surface . The applied concentration of the SA was based on the suggested dosage from the manufacturer: 1 g/L of nonylphenoxy polyethoxy ethanol (Nonionic SA), and for the Green SA mixture, 0.5 g/L of xanthan gum and 5 g/L of triethyl citrate were adopted.…”

Agricultural Applications of Superabsorbent Polymer Hydrogels

“…Except for a rather detailed review [ 2 ], they were devoted to some particular classes of polymers, which are of great significance in this field, including hydroxyethylcellulose derivatives [ 14 ], polyhydroxyalkonoates [ 15 ], microbial exopolysaccharides [ 15 , 16 ]. Undisputed leaders in the number of agricultural applications are polysaccharides and hydrogels based on them [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. It is an explosive development of research in what can be called polymer agriculture that has prompted us to present an overview of the achievements of the last five years in this field.…”