Soil Moisture Depletion Pattern in Black Soils (Chromusterts) with Wheat and Gram under Dryland Conditions

In a field experiment conducted during rabi (winter) season on a deep black (clay) soil the moisture depletion and rooting pattern of wheat and gram under unirrigated conditions were evaluated. Periodical sampling at various depths and stages of crop growth showed that wheat depleted moisture at a faster rate during early and middle part of the growing season than gram but at harvest both attained nearly same moisture level at all the depths. The total seasonal water use for wheat and gram was observed to be the same. The values calculated on the basis of the upper 100 cm depth of the profile for the two crops were contributed by the more moist deeper layers and also the roots of both the crops absorbed water from lower depths as these penetrated beyond 100 cm. The root density in g/cm³ was found to be higher with wheal than gram at all the depths in the profile.