RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SOIL WATER CONTENT AND ROOT PENETRATION RESISTANCE OF A DYSTROCOHESIVE YELLOW ARGISSOL

Soil resistance to root penetration is the main parameter to express the soil compaction degree and the facilities that it offers to root penetration. The purpose of this study was to characterize the ratio of the soil water content and root penetration resistance of a DystrocohesiveYellow Argissol in the Reconcauo Baiano (Bahia, Brazil). The study was carried out in a commercial citrus orchard with 'Pera' sweet orange (Citrus sinensis Osb.) grafted on 'Rangpur' lime (Citrus limonia Osbeck) with a green cover of jack beans (Canavalia ensiformes, L.) in Governador Mangabeira county. The soil resistance to root penetration was determined using the impact penetrometer at depths of 0.0-0.20 m; 0.20-0.40 m, in between the planting lines of citrus, from June to December 2008. To characterize the relationship between the soil water content and the soil resistance to root penetration a descriptive statistical evaluation was performed by fitting four models; two potential and two exponential. Results showed that the distribution of the root penetration resistance of the Distrocohesive Yellow Argissol was non-normal and the coefficient of variation was high. The models tested fitted well and are adequate to describe the relationship between the soil water content and soil resistance to root penetration; the fitting of the exponential model to the data was better than that observed for the potential model.