详细
The point of limited availability of water (PLAW) characterizes the lower boundary of the area of the most productive moisture for plants. The analysis of experimental methods for determining PLAW indicates their labor intensity and low productivity. The aim of the study was to develop a high-performance and accurate method for determining PLAW. 18 samples from various soils were used in the work. To determine the PLAW, a method was proposed in which soil samples were placed in a Schott funnel, moistened with excess water, and then the water was pumped out using a water jet pump. As the water was removed from the sample, the interval between drops falling from the funnel increased. A jump in the intervals between drops was considered an indicator of the end of the experiment. Experiments have shown that the soil moisture content obtained by vacuuming correlates with the values calculated for the lowest soil moisture capacity (according to Dolgov) by 87%. The values of the PLAW obtained by the secant method (according to Voronin) for some of the soil samples do not fall out of the obtained dependence. Using the method, it was shown that soil drying leads to a decrease in the value of the measured PLAW. An explanation of the results from the position of the presence of organomineral gels in soils is proposed.