Indian Journal of Agricultural Research

  • Chief EditorT. Mohapatra

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  • Online ISSN 0976-058X

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Indian Journal of Agricultural Research, volume 54 issue 4 (august 2020) : 483-488

Effect of Soil Moisture and Determination of Critical Soil Moisture Contents of Cassava

Thitiporn Machikowa, Thirasak Thong-ob, Sodchol Wonprasaid
1School of Crop Production Technology, Institute of Agricultural Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, 30000, Thailand.
Cite article:- Machikowa Thitiporn, Thong-ob Thirasak, Wonprasaid Sodchol (2020). Effect of Soil Moisture and Determination of Critical Soil Moisture Contents of Cassava. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research. 54(4): 483-488. doi: 10.18805/IJARe.A-491.
The aims of this research were to investigate the effects of soil moisture on cassava growth and physiological processes and to determine the critical soil moisture contents. To fulifll the research objectives, cassava was grown under five levels of soil moisture, including 50, 40, 30 and 20% of soil available water holding capacity (AWHC) along with control (no irrigation). Physiological traits and plant growth parameters were measured. The results showed that cassava grown under 50% of AWHC exhibited the highest photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, predawn leaf water potential and chlorophyll activity. All physiological traits decreased significantly when the moisture content was less than 40 and 20% of AWHC in sandy clay loam and loamy sand soil, respectively. Predawn leaf water potential was used to determine the critical point of soil moisture. It was found that the critical soil moisture contents were 39.0 and 15.7% of AWHC in sandy clay loam and loamy sand soil, respectively. 
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