2026-04-18T06:08:38Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/requestoai:recercat.cat:20.500.12327/4902025-10-22T11:34:27Zcom_2072_4428com_2072_4427col_2072_487898
RECERCAT
author
Poch, Rosa M.
author
Pascual, Miquel
author
Villar, Josep M.
author
Rufat, Josep
other
Producció Vegetal
group
Ús Eficient de l'Aigua en Agricultura
2025-10-22T11:34:27Z
2025-10-22T11:34:27Z
2018-11-07
Poch, Rosa M., Miquel Pascual, Josep M. Villar, and Josep Rufat. 2019. "Soil Porosity Changes In Orchards With Subsurface Irrigation: Quantification And Interpretation". Boletín De La Sociedad Geológica Mexicana 71 (1): 1-10. Sociedad Geologica Mexicana. doi:10.18268/bsgm2019v71n1a1.
1405-3322
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/490
http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2019v71n1a1
In order to assess the irrigation efficiency under
water-limiting conditions, four different treatments of subsurface irrigation of peach trees in a
semi-arid Mediterranean climate near Lleida (NE
Iberian Peninsula) were tested. The treatments
included pressurized air injection, deficit irrigation, full irrigation (as control) and an addition
of rice husk around the pipe to improve porosity.
Because the latter treatment improved physical
conditions and resulted in better tree growth,
a micromorphological study was conducted in
order to understand the reason for this behaviour.
The experiment was carried out in a commercial
peach orchard (Prunus persica L.). The soil was a
Xeric Torriorthent, with a loam texture, affected
by salinity and with low organic matter content.
One undisturbed block (30 cm each side) was
taken from each treatment, and two vertical thin
sections, 5 × 13 cm, including the subsurface pipe,
were made. A fluorescent dye was added to the
polyester resin to obtain UV light images of the
porosity. The pore parameters and the pore size
distribution were obtained for each treatment.
Strong changes in the pore types of the four treatments are evident in the thin sections. Full and
deficit irrigation treatments are characterised by
a weakly developed subangular blocky structure,
with a vesicular intra-aggregate structure. Deficit
irrigation with air injection produced, in its upper
part, a structure similar to the full and deficit irrigation treatments. In the surroundings and below
the pipe, where the effect of pressurized air was
higher, the soil structure is apedal, with vesicles
(bubbles), 200 – 500 µm in size. Porosity of the soil
modified with rice husk is greater than that of the
other three treatments: the 15 – 30 µm porosity
fraction is double, and the larger fractions three
times that of the other treatments. It contains
many oval excrements of mites (probably Oribatidae), 50 – 100 µm in size, associated with moderately decomposed rice husk tissues. We conclude
that the modifications around the irrigation pipes
that promoted faunal activity are very effective in
conveying water to the soil in comparison to that
of pressurized air, which only increases vesicular
(non connected) porosity.
eng
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Soil porosity changes in orchards with subsurface irrigation: quantification and interpretation
info:eu-repo/semantics/article