THE AVAILABLE‐WATER CAPACITY OF A SANDY LOAM SOIL

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Abstract
Summary: To assess the effects of cultural and manurial treatments on the available‐water capacity of a sandy loam soil it was necessary to determine the upper and lower limits of the available water.The results of determining the moisture content of the soil at field capacity (FC) by two methods have been compared. It has been found that the direct method involving soil sampling after irrigation and when drainage had almost ceased, gave more accurate and consistent results than the suction‐plate method using any single tension.With the soil which had received farmyard manure, the permanent wilting percentage (PWP) determined on undisturbed cores and on crushed samples of soil by the sunflower technique showed significant differences and for critical work the results of determinations made on soil cores were preferred. The desiccator method of determining PWP was found to be insufficiently accurate for use in this type of work.