Effect of Soil Management and Its Texture on Aggregate Stability Parameters and Wetting Rate

Abstract

The present study was carried out to evaluate the soil management and soil texture on the structure parameters and soil water wetting rate. Six soil samples of 0-30 cm depth were selected from three different sites in the texture of Clay, loam and Sandy loam in Basra Governorate (Abi Al-Khasib, Madinah and Zubair). Three samples represented the treatment of soil management (soil cultivated with alfalfa crop for 7 years respectively). The other three samples were from the same sites for uncultivated soil (bare soil), with three replicates for each sample. Soil organic matter content, bulk density, mean weight diameter, aggregate stability percentage and water wetting rate were measured. The results showed that the soil management factor had a highly significant effect in raising the values ​​of OM, MWD and WSA%. It was as a general average of 56.337 gm.Kg-1, 0.893 mm,71.33%, respectively, and on the other hand, soil management led to a decrease in the values ​​of 𝛒𝐛 (1.38 Mgm.Kg-1) and WR (0.2522 cm33gm-1 min-1), and its rise in uncultivated soil of 1.51 Mgm.Kg-1, 0.3989 cm33gm-1 min-1, respectively. While the soil texture factor effect that the clay texture had the highest values ​​as the average of OM (34.71 gm.Kg-1), MWD (0.8 mm) and WSA (62.67%), followed by loam and sandy loam, respectively. While a decrease in the values ​​of 𝛒𝐛 (1.325 Mgm.Kg-1 ) and WR (0.265 cm33gm-1 min-1) in Clay soil with a significant difference compared to loam and sandy loam soil, and the interaction between the soil management factor and the increase in its content of silt and clay led to an improvement the soil properties.