Soil Moisture Distribution Pattern under Drip Irrigation in Sandy Loam Soil Using Gravimetric Method

Soil moisture distribution pattern plays an important role in finding out the effectiveness of drip irrigation as the irrigation is scheduled based on the crop water requirement (CWR) and restricted to the root zone of the crop. The objective of this study was to characterize the soil moisture distribution pattern in the sandy loam soil of chilli field. The effective root zone of chilli crop was 18cm. The drip irrigation system with emitter discharge of 4lph was installed in the field. The soil moisture content at the depth of 10cm, 20cm, and 30cm respectively from the horizontal distance of 10cm, 20cm, and 30cm from the emitter were recorded after 2hr and 24hr of irrigation. Soil moisture content was measured by the gravimetric method. The soil moisture distribution pattern was assessed by the SURFER-16 Software from the recorded soil moisture content. The result shows that, in the sandy loam, the water movement was faster and there was more vertical distribution of the soil moisture than lateral distribution.