EICHHORNIA CRASSIPES-BASED HYDROPONIC GROWTH MEDIUM: A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO PLANT CULTIVATION AND RESOURCE VALORIZATION
The increasing demand for sustainable food production has intensified the search for biodegradable and cost effective alternatives to conventional hydroponic growing substrates. The present study investigated the potential of Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) biomass incorporated with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a biodegradable hydrogel substrate for the cultivation of Vigna radiata L. An aqueous extraction method was employed to recover polymer from E. crassipes, yielding approximately 10% polymer with a pH of 6.0. The extracted polymer was incorporated with CMC to develop an Eichhornia-CMC hydrogel, and its performance was compared with CMC hydrogel and conventional soil. Seed germination, seedling vigour, shoot and root growth, leaf development, chlorophyll content, water retention, biochemical composition, mineral accumulation, and endogenous auxin content were evaluated. The Eichhornia-CMC hydrogel promoted rapid seed germination and superior seedling development, with a Seed Vigour Index of 382 compared with 287 and 370 in CMC hydrogel and soil, respectively.