Patent ID: 8016907

Claim:
A method of treating soil comprising the steps of: forming a composite comprising an agriculturally useful solid product and an aqueous polymer-containing composition applied to said solid product, said composition having a pH of from about 1-4 and including a substantially water-soluble copolymer containing individual quantities of maleic and itaconic moieties, water, and an organic compound drying agent selected from the group consisting of organic alcohols and ketones, said composite further including from about 0.5-5% by weight boron as boric acid, and an amount of bimodal polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) having individual high and low molecular weight (MW) fractions, said low molecular weight fraction comprising low MW PVA having a weight averaged molecular weight of from about 13,000-23,000, said high MW PVA having a weight averaged molecular weight of about 145,000 and above, said low MW PVA being present in an amount greater than said high MW PVA; allowing said drying agent and a substantial part of the water present in the composite to evaporate, so that the composite does not contain said drying agent or water to any substantial degree; and applying said formed and dried composite to soil.