Comparative Study of Moisture Dynamics in the Soils of Two Different Sugarcane-Based Cropping System (Viz: Intercropping and Sole) in Western Indo-Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Soil water plays important role in soil–plant consortium in which plant absorbs from soil. Thus, soil acts as reservoir of water towards its proper growth. Sugarcane among the cash crop needs large quantity of water during its life-cycle. Hence, dynamics of water in soil were studied from two major sugarcane-based cropping pattern (intercropping and sole) at three depths at 15 cm interval (0–45 cm). The result invoked that soils were sandy-loam to sandy-clay-loam textured under different cropping system and depth. The increase in the clay content down the depth elevates the holding capacity of water via clogging the pore spaces under all the cropping system and depth. Therefore, the difference in behaviour is mainly attributed to the difference in cropping system only. Intercropping system showed high bulk density, low organic carbon, high clay:carbon ratio, high porosity and high E.C. compared to the sole sugarcane-based cropping system. The moisture dynamics under all cropping system behaved quadratically and attains minimum value. The other moisture parameter derived from the moisture loss curve indicates that intercropping has high moisture loss, high instaneous loss and low average moisture content.