ABSTRACT
INFLUENCE OF A FLUCTUATING WATER TABLE ON SOIL AERATION AND ON YIELD OF A RYEGRASS CROP (Lolium sp.)

Jorge Tondreau A.1
 

A water table mound was established in the field by introducing water into three closely spaced parallel drain lines. A sprinkler system was usedf for irrigation to establish a ryegrass crop. The amount and diffusion rate of oxygen, the soil water tension, the redox potencial and the chemical compasition of the soil water were measured below, above and at the water table. Crop yields were related with water table depth and diffusion rate was correlated with water tension.

Keywords:
1Ing. Agr., M. S. Programa de Riego, Estación Experimental La Platina, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), Casilla 5427, Santiago, Chile.