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Sudan Journal of Agricultural Research
Effect of cultivation of sugarcane on soil bulk density and soil water
content
O.A. AliI, A.I. Adam2, A.A. Salih3 and M. Brouwers.
Abstract:
The study was carried out in a high yielding field (HYF) and a lower
yielding field (LYF) . Soil samples were collected in an increment of 15 cm
down to 75 cm during the growing season (moist) and after harvest (dry) and
from a virgin site. The bulk densities (DO) of LYF under the ridge are
higher than those of HYF whereas the DD under the furrow in HYF are higher
than those of the LYF. The study shows that under dry soil conditions the DD
values under the ridge are lower than those of the virgin land in the top 30
cm whereas below 30 cm the DO ofthe cultivated land are higher than those of
the virgin land. Under moist soil conditions and below 15 cm, DO under the
ridge of cultivated land are lower than those of the virgin land. Under
furrow DO of cultivated land are lower than those of the virgin land.
Available water capacity of the cultivated land is about 12% while that of
the virgin land is 19%. Soil moisture curves show some variability in water
retention of these two fields while in virgin land the curves cluster around
a narrow range for any pF level reflecting uniformity of pore size.
Keywords:
Sudan Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 2 (1999) PP. 19-22
