Effect of Guar gum polymer treatment on infiltration behaviour of soils

In the present study, Guar gum polymer solution was applied to the soil in concentrations of 0.01, 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1% by weight of water and the infiltration behaviour of soil was observed to assess and quantify the effect of polymer treatment. The inert and biodegradable Guar gum is an indigenous, economical and easily available polymer which does not produce any harmful effect when applied to the soil. The experimentation was carried out under actual field conditions at Pantnagar. The infiltration behaviour of Guar gum treated soils observed with the help of double cylinder infiltrometer indicated ingeneral, that Guar gum polymer treatment to the soils resulted in reduced rate of infiltration. The efficacy of Guar gum treatment in reducing infiltration rate was found to be increasing with the increased concentration of polymer treatment. It was also observed that soil streated with polymer acquired basic infiltration rate earlieras compared to untreated soils.