Effective soil additives for improved soil water retention.

Muhammad  Sohail-Ur-Raza; Zammurad Iqbal  Ahmed; Muhammad Azim  Malik; Shahzada Sohail  Ijaz

Author(s)

Muhammad Sohail-Ur-Raza Department of Agronomy, Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Zammurad Iqbal Ahmed Department of Agronomy, Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Muhammad Azim Malik Department of Agronomy, Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Shahzada Sohail Ijaz Department of Soil Science & SWC, Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Abstract

The study was conducted during 2010 at Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan, to screen soil additives with improved water retention. Different soil additives i. e. Qemisoyl, gypsum, compost and farm yard manure (FYM) were evaluated to quantify plant available water under controlled conditions. The samples of clay loam soil were subjected to various pressure levels (33 to 1500 kpa) to develop soil moisture characteristic curves. The results revealed that highest soil moisture content at field capacity (0. 284 m3 m-3), permanent wilting point (0. 146 m3 m-3) and plant available water content (0. 138 m3 m-3) was recorded with the application of Qemisoyl @ 15 kg ha-1 as compared to control (0. 251, 0. 128 and 0. 123 m3 m-3 , respectively). Generally, the combined use of various soil additives was equivalent to their sole applications. The results indicated that soil moisture retention can be enhanced with the application of soil additives especially Qemisoyl @ 15 kg ha-1 that gave about 12% higher moisture retention than control to achieve higher levels of crop production in drought-hit areas to ensure food security. Further comprehensive field studies based on results of present laboratory study may help develop useful water harvesting/capturing interventions at the farm scale.

Publication Details

Page(s) 463-468

DOI DOI not available

Published Journal: Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Volume: 52, Issue: 2, Year: 2015

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