Development of Cellulose Modified Cross linking Tapioca Starch for Slow Release Fertilizer

Encapsulation through polymeric membranes to control the release rate of fertilizers can reduce fertilizer’s losses and minimize environmental pollution. The conventional fertilizer that has been used has a few drawbacks to the productivity in terms of crop production as well as non-biodegradable which can be harmful to the environment. Here is where the idea of developing the cellulose-modified controlled-release fertilizer begins. The main idea of the project is to develop a new form of fertilizer which is released to the soil with the characteristics of environmental-friendly by the use of tapioca starch (biodegradable substance) and having the ability to slow down the release to the soil by introducing cross linking (with Borax) and coating (with cellulose). The project is conducted to study the effect of blending tapioca starch with cellulose as well as the effect of introducing cross linking mechanism. Moreover, the study is conducted to determine the impact of using cellulose as coating material to reduce the rate of release of the urea fertilizer. The expected testing to be done will include the preparation of starch-cellulose blend films, test of water absorbency of the films, chemical structure observation and biodegradability test. The best condition will be applied to the fertilizer so that the new form of controlled-released fertilizer is developed.