The Water Regimes in Stratified Soils and Their Yield Potentials

Water regimes in stratified soils having alternate layers of loam soil and sand were studied in metallic lysimeters. The stratification enhanced the water retention of the layers at field capacity in soils having loam as overlying material, in comparison to the layers of the same soil texture in homogeneous profiles at the same depth. But, with time the former offered poor moisture regime for the plants in comparison to the latter, because of faster depletion of moisture due to increased evaporation at the surface. In the other category of soils having sand as an overlying material in the profile, the water retention followed a reverse trend where the movement upwards was slower with time. Therefore, the stratified soils of both categories happen to be less productive in comparison to a homogeneous loam. The productivity of such soils could however be raised by following differential irrigation system in comparison to homogeneous soils.