Agrometerology Soilmoisture Concept of soil moisture balance Soil moisture is one of the most important ingredients of the soil.

It is also one of the most dynamic properties. Water affects intensely many physical and chemical reactions of the soil as well as plant growth. Waterholding capacity of soil: Water holding capacity of soil is one of the dominant factors influencing irrigation. The water holding capacity of a soil mainly depends on porosity. Porosity of a soil is defined as the ratio of the volumes of pores in the soil mass to its total volume and is expressed in percentage. Ingeneral there are two types of pores viz. i) Capillary or small pores ii) Noncapillary or large pores. The capillary pores held tightly by capillarity a large amount of water held by the soil at saturation and prevent it from being drained off under gravity. On the other hand the non-capillary pores donot hold water tightly and hence a large amount of water held by the soil at saturation is drained off under the gravity(gravitational water). Thus capillary pores induce greater water holding capacity while non-capillary pores induce drainage and aeration. The relative magnitudes of these types of pores in a soil depend on its texture and structure. Thus a sandy soil has less capillary pores, which results in better drainage and aerration but low water holding capacity. On the other hand a clayey soil has more capillary pores, which result in better water holding capacity but poor drainage and aeration. The water held by soil is extracted by the roots of the plants for being used by the plants. In general the extraction of water from the soil by the roots of the plants is restricted by some forces but resisting forces are more in clayey soils although large amount of water is held by these soils. On the other hand relatively less amount of water is held by sandy soils, but water can be easily extracted from these soils by the roots of plants. Thus an ideal soil for irrigation is that its pore space is almost equally divided between capillary and non capillary pores. Such a soil has enough small pores to provide adequate water holding capacity and also enough large pores to permit adequate drainage and aeration, and easy extraction of water by the roots of plants. The loams are therefore ideal soil as they passes good water holding capacity, have good drainage and aeration and allow extraction of water by the roots of plants without much resistance. Key points: Soil moisture:Most dynamic properties Capillary and non capillary pores Classification of soil water:

Water added to the soil mass during irrigation or otherwise is held in the pores of the soil which is termed as soil moisture or soil water. The soil water may exist in the soil in various forms on the basis of which it may be classified into the following three categories: 1. Gravitational water 2. Capillary water 3. Hygroscopic water Gravitational water: It is that water which is not held by the soils but drains out freely under the influence of gravity. This is the water in excess of hygroscopic and capillary water. With the addition of water to the soil during irrigation or otherwise, the water cotent of the soil is raised to a state of saturation. At this point all the pores of soil are completely filled with water and the soil contains maximum water content, which thus constitute the upper limit of gravitational water. Some of this water is held very loosely by the soil and readily moves downward under the pull of gravity. Field capacity is the lower limit of gravitational water. Thus gravitational water is the amount of water in the soil between saturation capacity and field capacity. Most of the gravitational water is not available to the plants for their use because it drains out rapidly from the root zone. Capillary water: This water is held in capillary pores of soil and is in excess of hygroscopic water. The water content retained in the soil after the gravitational water has drained off from the soil is known as capillary water, which is held in the soil by surface tension as a continuous film around the soil particles and in the capillary pores between the soil particles. The capillary water is thus held in the soil against the force of gravity. The plant roots generally absorb the capillary water, which thus constitutes the principal source of water for plant growth. The capillary water is also therefore designated as available water. Field capacity forms the upper limit of capillary water and lower limit is permanent wilting point(PWP). Thus it is the amount of water in the soil between field capacity and PWP. Hygroscopic Water: The hygroscopic water is that water which is absorbed is that water which is absorbed by the particles of dry soil from the atmosphere and is held as a very thin film on the surface of the soil particls due to adhesion or attraction between surface of particles and water molecules. Below the permanent wilting point, which is the upper limit of hygroscopic water, soil contains only hygroscopic water since hygroscopic water is held with considerable force, it cannot be removed easily from the soil particles. It is observed that only very little amount of hhygroscopic water laying between permanent and ultimate wilting points can be extracted by the plants for the survival. The soil water may also be classified on the basis of its availability to the plant roots or otherwise unavailable available and gravitational water. Unavailable water is held too tightly by adhesive forces and is generally not available to plant roots. Hygroscopic water may be considered as unavailable water. Gravitational water drains off quickly from the root zone

under normal drainage conditions. The capillary water held by the soil can be easily extracted by the plant roots, hence it is considered as available water. Soil Moisture Tension: Soil Moisture Tension is defined as the force per unit area that must be exerted to in order to extract water from the soil. Thus it is a measure of the tenacity with which water is retained in the soil. Soil moisture tension is usually expressed in terms of atmospheres. Several other terms such as capillary potential, capillary tension, soil pull and the force of suction are often used with the same meaning as that of soil moisture tension. For a soil of given texture and structure, soil moisture tension is inversely propotional to its moisture content. Soil Moisture Stress: Soil moisture stress is defined as the sum of the soil moisture tension and osmotic pressure of soil solution. In many irrigated soil, the soil solution contains appreciable amount of salts. Salts in soil water increases the force that must be exerted to extract water and thus affect the amount of water available to plants. The increase in force(or tension) caused by salts is from osmotic pressure. The osmotic pressure by the soil solution retards the uptake of water by plants. Thus plant growth is the function of both soil moisture tension as well as osmotic pressure or in other words it is the function of soil moisture stress. Thus for good growth of plants in soil having appreciable amounts of salts, the osmotic pressure of the soil solution must be maintained as low as possible by controlled leaching. Soil Moisture constants: Certain soil moisture contents are of particular significance in relationship between soil moisture and plants. These soil moisture contents are often called soil moisture constants. a) Saturation capacity: Saturation capacity is defined as the total water content of the soil when all the pore (capillary and non- capillary) of soil are filled with water. This is also known as maximum water holding capacity of soil. At saturation capacity soil moisture tension is almost equal to zero as it is equal to the surface tension at free water surface. b) Field capacity: is defined as the maximum amount of moisture, which can be held by a soil against gravity thus immediately after gravitational water has drained off from the saturated soil, the moisture content held by the soil is the field capacity of the soil.At the field capacity the large or non capillary pores of the soil are filled with air and the small or non capillary pores are filled with water. The soil moisture tension at field capacity varies from soil to soil, but it is normally between 1/10 to 1/3 atmosphere. At field capacity for sandy soils the soil moisture tends to be near 1/10 atmospheres while for clayey soils it tends to be near 1/3 atmospheres. In coarse textured sandy soils the field capacity may usually be achieved in about one to three days after the soil has thoroughly wetted by irrigation. In medium sandy silt and sandy clay soils about 4 to 8 daysmay berequired for the moisture content to reach fieldcapacity. In fine textured soils containing large proportions of

clay, somewhat longer periods are required. However, a soil will come to field capacity more quickly when plants are growing on the soil than when there are no plants growing on the soil. Field capacity is determined by following formula: FC= ratio of weight of maximum moisture content held in the soil to weight of dried soil sample c) Moisture equivalent: Moisture equivalent may be defined as the percentage of moisture retained in an initially saturated soil sample 10 mm thick after being subjected to a centrifugal force of 1000 times of gravity for a period of 30 minutes. The moisture equivalent of a soil can be quickly determined in laboratory and it is used as an approximate measure of field capacity. For mediumtextured soils the values of the field capacity and moisture equivalent are nearly equal. For sandy soils it is less than field capacity and for claley soils it is higher than field capacity. d) One third Atmospheric pressure: It is the percentage of moisture retained in an initially saturated soil sample when placed on a porous plate and subjected to a pressure of one third atmosphere. It also provides a good estimate of field capacity alike moisture equivalent. e) Permanent Wilting Point: the permanent wilting point is defined as the amount od moisture content in a soil when the plants become permanently wilted. At the permanent wilting point the films of water around the soil particles are held so tightly that the plant roots cannot extract enough moistyre at sufficiently rapid rate to satisfy transpiration requirements thus resulting in the wilting of the plants. A plant is considered to be permantly wilted when it does nt regain turgidity even after being placed in a saturated atmosphere, but is may however regain turgidity if water is added to the soil. Permanent wilting point is at the lower end of the available moisture range. At permanent wilting point plant growth ceases. Small amounts of water may be removed from the soil by plants after growth ceases but apparently the water is absorbed only slowly and is enough only to maintain life until more water is available. The value of permanent wilting percentage may be as low as 2% for light sandy soils and it may be as high as 30% for heavy clay soils. The soilmoisture tension of a soil at the permanent wilting point ranges from 7 to 32 atmosphere depending upon soil texture, the kind and condition of plants, the amount of soluble salts in soil solution and to some extent on climatic conditions. When the permanent wilting point is reached, there is little change in moisture content of the soil with large changes of soil moisture tension. Therefore when the soil is at permanent wilting point the soil moisture tension is generally considered to be 15 atmosphere. As an approximation permanent wilting percentage can be estimated by dividing the field capacity by a factor varying from 2.0 to 2.4, depending upon the amount of silt in the soil. For soils of high silt content 2.4 should be used. Temporary wilting: Temporary wilting of plants may occur on a hot windy day but the plants recover from wilting in the cooler portion of the day or during the night without any addition of water to the soil. Thus temporary wilting point may occur without much reduction in soil moisture content.

Ultimate Wilting: When the ultimate wilting occurs the plants are completely wilted, that is the plant die away and they cannot recover from wilting even after the addition of water to the soil.The moisture content present in the soil when ultimate wilting of plant occurs is termed as ultimate wilting point and the same when expressed as percentage is termed as hygroscopic coefficient. The hygroscopic coefficient is about 67% of the permanent wilting percentage. Although the difference in the amount of moisture content of the soil between the permanent wilting point and the ultimate wilting point is small, there is large difference in the values of soil moisture tensions at these points. At ultimate wilting point soil moisture tension may be as 60 atmospheres. The wilting range is the range in soil moisture content through which plant undergo progressive degrees of permanent or irreversible wilting, from wilting of the oldest leaves to complete wilting of all leaves. Thus it is the range between permanent wilting point and ultimate wilting point. Available Water: The difference in moisture content of the soil between field capacity and permanent wilting point is termed as available water. It represents the moisture which is stored in the soil in the form of capillary water for being used subsequently by the plants. The portion of the available water which is most easily extracted by plants is called readily available water. Only about 75% of the available moisture is usually readily available. Significance of Soil Moisture: Almost all the moisture consumed by the plants comes to it from the soil. Therefore the availability of moisture in the soil is prerequisite for the survival of plants, the lower the quantity of water in the soil the lower will be the supply of soil water to the plant. Almost every plant process is affected directly by the water supply. An essential function of water in plants is as the solvent in which the gases, mineral and other solutes enter plant cells and move from cell to cell and tissue to tissue within the plant. Water is reactant or reagent in many physiological process includiingg photosynthesis and hhydrolytic processes such as hydrolysis of starch to sugar. Water is essential to maintain turgidity for growth of cells and maintenance of the form and position of leaves and new shoots. Water stress can affect photosynthesis and respiration. Reduction in leaf area, cell size and intercellular volume are common under water stress. Amount of moisture available in soil also affects the root development. The yield of many high yielding varieties of crops grown under the condition of high level of available nutrients can be reduced by quite minor water deficits during the growing season. There are three key stages when water stress affects the grain yield in cereals these are: a) Stages of floral initiation and inflorescence development b) Stages of anthesis and fertilization c) Grain filling stage

Water stress will affect the composition of dry matter of the crop in various ways. The fresh green weight of herbage produced by crops under stress will often drop more rapidly than the dry weight. A certain amount of water stress at the end of the growing season helps to mature many fruits making them firmer and less liable to bruising on the other hand, too severe a stress will prevent the fruit from swelling property giving smaller or shrivelled fruit.