Available water content for the management of irrigated crops in the northwestern region of Parana State - DOI: 10.7127/rbai.v14n101152

Resumo

Pedotransfer functions of the available water content (AWC) as a function of the granulometric variability may contribute to irrigation management. The aim of this study was to generate pedotransfer functions to estimate soil water retention curves and AWC fractions in soils in the Northwestern Region of Parana State (Brazil) to manage water in irrigated systems with different crops. In 2016, soil sampling was carried out for granulometric determinations (total sand content, five sand fractions, silt, clay), total organic carbon, and water retention for eight soil water tensions at 0-0.20, 0.20-0.40, and 0.40-0.60 m deep. These evaluations were made in eleven irrigated areas of six watersheds in the Northwestern of Parana, having pasture in fixed conventional sprinkler irrigation systems. The soil water retention of this region is highly dependent on the proportion of fine sand fraction and practicality to be estimated by the total sand content between 550 to 910 g kg^-1. The pedotransfer functions of the AWC fractions between 20% and 65% will allow estimating the water content and tensions as a function of the total sand content in the soil for the water management of crops of these regions.