One of the primary sources of life is water. Its usage is essential in various ways and processes. One of these is farming, which consumes a large amount of water. While water is a critical factor in the production of crops, can the irrigation process be improved to make it more effective? The goal of work is to find out if mucilage can improve the process.<br/>This study aims to determine the amount of water absorbed by the soil after the introduction of cactus mucilage. It will be done by using the COMSOL multiphysics software suite to simulate the process. Simulations of water redistribution patterns after irrigation due to the gravitational field. Results are revealed using Darcy’s law and the Richards equation, which are used to predict the behavior of the soil-water system when adding mucilage. Moreover, it is representing the attitude of variables on the system. The study showed that Darcy’s variable is independent of changing the composition of the flow. On the other hand, the Richards equation is subject to change when adding mucilage. It was found that the Richards equation was the best model to describe the characteristics of the soil-water system using cactus mucilage. This work also found that the optimal water holding capacity was accurately modeled by the Richards equation as analyzed by COMSOL for each mucilage extraction added to the soil system.<br/>In closing, this work also includes experiments where the optimal amount of cactus mucilage that led to water content in soil systems was determined by using different percentage amounts of cactus mucilage 0.1, 0.125, 0.15, and 0.20. Other significant findings also include the optimal ratio of the two fractions of cactus mucilage known as the Gelling Extract (GE) and the Non-Gelling Extract (NE) in the system in the system were used as 4NE:1GE and 1GE:4NE. It was also found that increasing the GE amount forms a thin, protective layer on the top of the soil, which will be of interest in future study investigations. The result of the experiment was used to determine the parameters needed to update the simulation model to fit the experimental data. Finally, this work provides valuable information to transform how water absorption can be optimized in soil systems to improve water uptake and improve crop production rates. The next stage to study how it will help to reduce irrigation water needed for plants and reduce the amount of water needed in each irrigation run.

Water regulation for enhancing soil quality using cactus mucilage: A theoretical and experimental analysis

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