Author(s)

Bielinski M. Santos, James P. Gilreath

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Soil fumigant delivery through microirrigation (drip) lines has the potential to replace direct soil injection into planting beds. However, wetting coverage in these Spodosols must be improved to increase soilborne pest and weed control. Field trials were carried out to determine the impact of soil moisture on the extent of wetting cross-sectional areas through varying irrigation times. Soil moisture contents were: a) 7% moisture (field capacity), and b) 20% (saturation), along with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 h of irrigation. Pressed beds had 70 cm tops. Drip lines had emitters spaced 30 cm apart delivering 0.056 L·min^–1 per m of row at 55 kPa, and two drip lines were buried at 2.5 cm below the surface and 30 cm apart from each other. Water was mixed with a blue marking dye to analyze the water distribution patterns. Beds were opened at the emitters and high-resolution digital pictures were taken for each treatment. Resulting images were adjusted using photographic software and covered areas across the beds were determined. Regression analysis showed significant quadratic equations for both soil moisture situations, with saturated soils obtaining the highest cross section coverage (90 and 94% after 8 and 10 h). In field capacity beds, the maximum cross section coverage obtained was 82%. Within each soil moisture situation, there were no differences between 8 and 10 h of irrigation.

Methyl Bromide; Drip Irrigation; Soilborne Pests; Water Management

Santos, B. and Gilreath, J. (2011) Effects of soil moisture and length of irrigation on soil wetting to deliver fumigants through microirrigation lines in sandy spodosols. Agricultural Sciences, 2, 533-535. doi: 10.4236/as.2011.24069.