A Silicon Valley startup is developing a soil enhancement product that helps farmers produce more crops with less energy, fertilizer and water.
The company, mOasis, has produced a non-toxic, FDA-approved hydrogel that increases crop yields by retaining water and nutrients in farming soil when applied directly to the land using standard agricultural equipment. The product also reduces water stress on the land between rain and irrigation cycles, according to the company website.
Susanna Kass, CEO of the two-year-old startup, said the hydrogel, called mOasisgel, can reduce by 30 percent the amount and cost of water use for farming while increasing the biomass of the crop yield by 30 percent, the news blog GigaOM reports.
The company is currently conducting field tests on broccoli, lettuce and tomato crops with help from farmers and researchers at the University of California at Davis and California State University at Fresno, GigaOm reports.
It plans to launch its first commercial product in California by the end of 2012.
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