On-farm effect of bamboo intercropping on soil water content and root distribution in rubber tree plantation

Collecting accurate real-time soil moisture data in crop root zones is the foundation of automated precision irrigation systems. Soil moisture sensors (SMSs) have been used to monitor soil water content (SWC) in crop fields for a long time; however, there is no generally accepted guideline for determining optimal number and placement of soil moisture sensors in the soil profile. In order to study adequate positioning for the installation of soil moisture sensors in the soil profile, six years of field experiments were carried out in North China Plain (NCP). Soil water content was measured using the gravimetric method every 7 to 10 days during six growing seasons of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L), and root distribution was measured using a soil core method during the key periods of winter wheat growth. The results from the experimental data analysis show that SWC at different depths had a high linear correlation. In addition, the values of correlation coefficients decreased with increasing soil depth; the coefficient of variation (CV) of SWC was higher in the surface layers than in the deeper layers (depths were 0–40 cm, 0–60 cm, and 0–100 cm during the early, middle, and last stages of winter wheat, respectively); wheat roots were mainly distributed in the surface layer. According to an analysis of CV for SWC and root distribution, the depths of planned wetted layers were determined to be 0–40 cm, 0–60 cm, and 0–100 cm during the sowing to reviving stages (the early stage of winter wheat), returning green and jointing stages (the middle stage of winter wheat), and heading to maturity stage (the last stage of winter wheat), respectively. The correlation and R-cluster analyses of SWC at different layers in the soil profile showed that SMSs should be installed 10 and 30 cm below the soil surface during the winter wheat growing season. The linear regression model can be built using SWC at depths of 10 and 30 cm to predict total average SWC in the soil profile. The results of validation showed that the developed model provided reliable estimates of total average SWC in the planned wetted layer. In brief, this study suggests that suitable positioning of soil moisture sensors is at depths of 10 and 30 cm below the soil surface.

Download Full-text

Effects of Irrigation Rate and Frequency on Young Citrus Tree Performance and Root Distribution

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.31.4.577b ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 577b-577

Author(s):

Larry R. Parsons ◽

T. Adair Wheaton

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Root Distribution ◽

Growth Yield ◽

Leaf Nitrogen ◽

Irrigation Rate ◽

Daily Evapotranspiration ◽

Wetted Area ◽

Orange Trees

Hamlin orange trees on Swingle rootstock planted in 1991 were subjected to six different rates of irrigation with approximately the same amounts of water applied either daily (1-day), every other day (2-day), or every 4th day (4-day). Rates provided from 0.43 to 1.95 of historical daily evapotranspiration (ET) applied to the wetted area. Irrigation was delayed following rainfall. The effects of irrigation rate and frequency on trunk and canopy growth, yield, soil water content, root distribution, and total water use were studied. There was little effect of irrigation rate or frequency during the first 2 years after planting. However, tree growth improved with increasing irrigation rate during the 3rd and 4th years, and growth in these years was greater when irrigation was scheduled daily. Effects of rate and frequency on growth were not as great as expected. Yield increased as irrigation increased in 1994. Leaf nitrogen was generally higher at the lower irrigation rate. Soil water content varied with depth. Extraction of soil water was more rapid in the top 45 cm of soil. Roots after 4 years did not extend below 45 cm with 60% of the roots in the top 15 cm and 90% in the top 30 cm. Roots were concentrated closer to the trunk for trees at the lower irrigation rates.

Download Full-text

TRANSPIRATION, GROWTH AND LATEX PRODUCTION OF A HEVEA BRASILIENSIS STAND FACING DROUGHT IN NORTHEAST THAILAND: THE USE OF THE WaNuLCAS MODEL AS AN EXPLORATORY TOOL

Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s001447971100086x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 49-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

L. BOITHIAS ◽

F. C. DO ◽

S. ISARANGKOOL NA AYUTTHAYA ◽

J. JUNJITTAKARN ◽

S. SILTECHO ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Rubber Tree ◽

Northeast Thailand ◽

Tree Stand ◽

Evaporative Demand ◽

Tree Transpiration ◽

Key Points ◽

Latex Production

SUMMARYIn order to get the benefit of the growing world demand for natural rubber, Hevea brasiliensis is increasingly planted in drought-prone areas, such as in the southern part of northeast Thailand. Modelling can be a useful approach in identifying key points of improvement for rubber tree cultivation in such water-limited areas. The first objective of this study was to test the possibility of using the Water Nutrients and Light Capture in Agroforestry Systems (WaNuLCAS) model as an exploratory tool to simulate water use, growth and latex production in a pure stand on a daily basis. The second was to evaluate the relative accuracy of predictions with the current model version. Finally, the third aim of this study was to identify particular parameterisations that may be adapted to improve overall prediction quality. Model outputs were compared to measurements recorded in a mature rubber tree stand of RRIM 600 clones growing in the water-limited area of northeast Thailand. The period of analysis concerned seven months of full foliation, from May to November, including a severe drought spell. Whole-tree transpiration was estimated by xylem sap flow measurement from 11 trees. The results show that the model was able to simulate daily and seasonal change of soil water content, tree transpiration, girth increment and latex production within plausible ranges. However, under detailed scrutiny, the predictions show large inaccuracies compared to the observations: soil water content (determination coefficient (R2) = 0.461, relative root mean square error (RMSErel) = 35%), tree transpiration (R2 = 0.104, RMSErel = 94%), tree girth increment (R2 = 0.916, RMSErel = 208%) and latex production (R2 = 0.423, RMSErel = 169%). As soil water content was overestimated during the driest periods, no water stress was predicted and transpiration, growth and latex production were logically overestimated during such periods. However, tree transpiration was also largely overestimated in conditions of non-limiting soil water availability with high evaporative demand. Hence, two key points of parameterisation and improvement are identified for better simulation in our conditions: the soil water balance and particularly the ratio between water infiltration and run-off, and the regulation of transpiration under high evaporative demand. In conclusion, the WaNuLCAS model is usable as an exploratory model to simulate water use, growth and production for a pure rubber tree stand. However, in our conditions of much degraded soil and high evaporative demand, the modules of soil water balance and tree transpiration require particular parameterisations and improvement.

Download Full-text

Soil Water Content Below 33.7% Progressively Reduces the Latex Yield of Rubber PB 60, A Study in Sembawa, South Sumatra, Indonesia

Journal of Tropical Crop Science ◽

10.29244/jtcs.7.03.97-103 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (03) ◽

pp. 97-103

Author(s):

Risal Ardika ◽

Andi Nur Cahyo

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Root Zone ◽

Soil Analysis ◽

Rubber Tree ◽

Field Capacity ◽

Raw Material ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Rubber Production

Rubber is one of the economically important tropical trees that produces natural rubber, an essential industrial raw material in Indonesia. In general, rubber can grow well in areas with 1,500 - 3,000 mm rainfall per year that evenly distributed round the year. During the dry season, water availability is reduced so that water becomes a limiting factor for the growth and production of the rubber tree. This paper aimed to determine minimum soil water content that must be maintained to prevent the reduction of PB 260 rubber production based on field water balance. This research was carried out at the Indonesian Rubber Research Institute Experimental Field, South Sumatra, Indonesia, between 2014 to 2019. This experiment used PB 260 clone which was planted in 2001 using a 6 x 3 m plant spacing. Soil analysis showed that the Sembawa had a clay loam soil texture. The measured parameters were latex production (kg per ha per year), rainfall, and evapotranspiration (mm). The results from our six years of study showed that rubber production always decreased when soil water content started to decline below field capacity (33.7 %, or equal to 337 mm with 1m depth of root zone).

Download Full-text

SOIL WATER CONTENT AFFECTS THE AVAILABILITY OF PHOSPHATE

Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association ◽

10.33584/jnzg.1985.46.1696 ◽

1985 ◽

pp. 185-189

Author(s):

M.C.H.Mouat Pieter Nes

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Soil Solution ◽

Equivalent Reduction

Reduction in water content of a soil increased the concentration of ammonium and nitrate in solution, but had no effect on the concentration of phosphate. The corresponding reduction in the quantity of phosphate in solution caused an equivalent reduction in the response of ryegrass to applied phosphate. Keywords: soil solution, soil water content, phosphate, ryegrass, nutrition.

Download Full-text

Effect of inter-row cultivation on soil carbon dioxide emission in a peach plantation

Agrokémia és Talajtan ◽

10.1556/agrokem.59.2010.1.19 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

pp. 157-164 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

E. Tóth ◽

Cs. Farkas

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emission ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Soil Disturbance ◽

Biological Properties ◽

Soil Tillage ◽

Favourable Effect ◽

Volumetric Soil Water Content

Soil biological properties and CO2emission were compared in undisturbed grass and regularly disked rows of a peach plantation. Higher nutrient content and biological activity were found in the undisturbed, grass-covered rows. Significantly higher CO2fluxes were measured in this treatment at almost all the measurement times, in all the soil water content ranges, except the one in which the volumetric soil water content was higher than 45%. The obtained results indicated that in addition to the favourable effect of soil tillage on soil aeration, regular soil disturbance reduces soil microbial activity and soil CO2emission.

Download Full-text