Surfactants or soil wetters can help soils that repel water, but Washington State University’s Troy Peters found no benefits for normal, nonrepellent soils in a test he conducted. Various soil-wetting agents are available that claim to improve water penetration and distribution uniformity in the soil as well as soil moisture retention, water use efficiency, and drainage. These are commonly referred to as surfactants, and they claim to make water “wetter.” The question is, are these worth the money? The answer, as usual, is “it depends.” Water repellency The polar nature of water makes it want to stick together (cohesion). Since […]