EFFECTS OF SOIL TEXTURE AND ORGANIC MATTER ON EVAPORATIVE LOSS OF SOIL MOISTURE | Journal of Global

Moisture stress has a significant impact on agricultural crop productivity. Evaporation is the principal source of moisture loss in agricultural soils. This study was conducted to determine the effects of soil texture and organic matter on soil evaporation, as well as to develop a link between soil moisture diffusivity and evaporation water content in a limited soil core. The experiment was conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture's Soil Science laboratory at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. 6.6849° N, 1.5705° W is the location of the University. At a depth of 0-5cm, soils of varying textures were gathered from fields under diverse land uses or management approaches. Evaporation in the laboratory was induced by employing a standing electric fan as a source of electricity. Cocoa farm (Sandy loam), uprooted/harvested Oil palm plot (Loamy sand), Grass ley (Loamy sand), and vegetable plot (Loamy sand) were the textural classes for the plots studied (Sand). The cocoa field, uprooted oil palm, grass ley, and vegetable plots had organic matter content of 4.80 percent, 3.71 percent, 2.55 percent, and 1.69 percent, respectively. Diffusivity was highest in soils with high organic matter and clay content, and lowest in coarse-textured soils. However, soil water conservation was more successful where organic matter and clay concentration were high.

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