Polyacrylamide (PAM) for erosion control

Lentz, Rick and Sojka, Bob (1997) Polyacrylamide (PAM) for erosion control. National Conservation Tillage Digest. 4:21,24-25.

PDF 929.pdf Download (2MB)

Abstract

Erosion is one of the banes of
agriculture; it just won't go
away. Its curse has hunkered
over tillers of the soil for thousands of
years, stealing soil, nutrients and
productivity. Soil erosion is highly
detrimental, both on and off site. It
has been blamed for the loss of peoples
and the collapse of civilizations.
Now, a technology that uses an off-the-shelf
chemical flocculent provides
a convenient and economical means
of fighting back. The chemical flocculent
is PAM, short for polyacrylamide.
Field studies conducted since 1991 by
the USDA's Northwest Irrigation and
Soils Research Laboratory (Kimberly,
Idaho) demonstrated PAM's ability to
practically eliminate water erosion on
furrow irrigated fields. These findings
have stimulated the imaginations
of other scientists and farmers,
who are exploring PAM's potential for
controlling erosion and increasing
infiltration under sprinkler irrigation
and on construction sites and improving
emergence of row crops.

Item Type:	Article
NWISRL Publication Number:	0929
Subjects:	Polyacrylamide (PAM) > Water-soluble PAM (WSPAM) > Erosion control Soil > Erosion Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Users 6 not found.
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:54
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2016 20:19
Item ID:	674
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/674