Effects of Different Amounts of Super Absorbent and Irrigation Interval on Some Soil Physical Properties and Atriplex Growth Indices

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Drought stress is one of the most important factors that limit plant growth in arid and semi-arid region such as Iran. By application of super absorbent, rain water can be saved in this region, thereby improving soil physical conditions and, consequently, reducing water stresses for plants. This research was performed as a factorial experiment with completely randomized design and 3 replications to evaluate the effects of stockosorb super absorbent and irrigation on atriplex growth and some soil physical properties. The treatments included 5 levels of super absorbent (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 % w/w) and 3 irrigation intervals (daily, every 3 days, and every 5 days). The results showed that application of super absorbent had positive and significant effect on plant indices including height, wet and dry weight of shoots, wet and dry weight of roots, and root length (p<0.05). All indices had the highest values in the treatment consisting of 0.4% super absorbent and 3-days irrigation interval. In addition, application of super absorbent resulted in improved soil physical properties, so that due to super absorbent application, saturated and plant available water contents increased, but bulk density and electrical conductivity decreased significantly at p<0.05. Considering the results of this study and the limited water supply for plants in arid and semi-arid regions, application of 0.3% super absorbent in combination with 3-days irrigation interval can be recommended as a successful method to retain moisture and to increase atriplex growth. 

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Journal of Water Research in Agriculture
Volume 26, Issue 2
May 2012
Pages 211-224

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