Zeolite application boosts soil water absorption, improving crop growth potential.
Zeolite can improve soil properties like how water moves through it. Researchers tested a method to link how fast water moves in soil (diffusivity) with how much water it can hold (sorptivity) when zeolite is added. They found that in sandy loam and silty clay soils, the best results were seen with 8g of zeolite per kg of soil. In loam soil, zeolite didn't make a big difference. Zeolite reduced sorptivity in sandy loam soil, but improved it in loam and silty clay soils. The method used to measure sorptivity indirectly gave similar results to direct measurements. This means we can estimate how water moves in different soils with zeolite by doing a simple test.