New water conservations and soil conditioners: mode of action and efficacy evaluation in various soils and water qualities

Dr. Meni Ben Hur and Dr. Uri Nachshon
Start: Oct 2015 –  End: Oct 2018

In this research we study the impact of H2Flo, a surfactant, on soil wetting processes. Previous studies have shown that the H2Flo improves root zone wetting in sandy soils. Nevertheless, understanding of the processes was limited. We examined the impact of the substance on hydrophobic soils and found that it reduces soil hydrophobicity. The impact of the substance on water suction to hydrophobic and hydrophilic capillaries was tested and it was shown that the use of the H2Flo reduce suction to hydrophilic capillaries but also reduce repulsion in hydrophobic capillaries. Impact of the substance on percolation processes, surface runoff and soil erosion will be examined in a rain simulator.