5.1.1 |
Overhead Vs Below Ground Watering
Heavy surface watering is generally bad irrigation. Above ground watering (&
flood irrigation) has a tendency to encourage shallow root systems, which in
turn, are quickly affected by hot temperatures and dry winds, which leach
water from the top centimetres of soil. Heavy surface watering also can force
the finer soil particles in the soil to migrate downwards, reducing surface soil
density and forming a denser layer that slows down the movement of air and
water from the surface (panning).
One of the most telling arguments is that water penetration from above ground
is a lot slower than the below ground capillary action. Even in ideal soils,
water penetrates at the rate of 1cm per hour. So the effects of 2 hours of
above ground watering in the evening can be sucked from the soil by hot
winds the following day.
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