Water Balance for Chinese Cabbage in Spring Season with Different Upland Soils Evaluated Using Weighable Lysimeter

Water Balance for Chinese Cabbage in Spring Season with Different Upland Soils Evaluated Using Weighable Lysimeter

In this study, we evaluated the water balance for Chinese cabbage cultivation in spring season with different upland soils using weighable lysimeter, and investigated the evapotranspiration at different growth stage of Chinese cabbage and total inflows and outflows as affected by soil texture . Outflows such as percolation and evapotranspiration were different with soil type (i.e., soil texture), while no significant difference for total inflows. It was also shown that the least amount of drainage in the loam with high bulk density and the largest amount of drainage in silty clay loam. This is thought to be the result of the vertical movement of water through macropore along with the cracking of the soil that was created by repeated shrinkage and expansion of the silt clay loam during the winter season. The evapotranspiration during the Chinese cabbage cultivation period was the highest in loam, and this is probably due to the large leaf area of the Chinese cabbage grown in loam and high biomass weight. Based on the data obtained using the weighable lysimeter, water movement and water balance of the upland soil could be evaluated. Our study will contribute to the development of national factors in Korea for the estimation of the water management for upland crops with production and accumulation of several years data.

In this study, we evaluated the water balance for Chinese cabbage cultivation in spring season with different upland soils using weighable lysimeter, and investigated the evapotranspiration at different growth stage of Chinese cabbage and total inflows and outflows as affected by soil texture . Outflows such as percolation and evapotranspiration were different with soil type (i.e., soil texture), while no significant difference for total inflows. It was also shown that the least amount of drainage in the loam with high bulk density and the largest amount of drainage in silty clay loam. This is thought to be the result of the vertical movement of water through macropore along with the cracking of the soil that was created by repeated shrinkage and expansion of the silt clay loam during the winter season. The evapotranspiration during the Chinese cabbage cultivation period was the highest in loam, and this is probably due to the large leaf area of the Chinese cabbage grown in loam and high biomass weight. Based on the data obtained using the weighable lysimeter, water movement and water balance of the upland soil could be evaluated. Our study will contribute to the development of national factors in Korea for the estimation of the water management for upland crops with production and accumulation of several years data.