Soil Basics: Soil Moisture

This video is part of a Soil Basics series and features information on soil moisture.
For more information on Soil Basics visit: purdue.ag/soil...
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[@Ohh_Is_That_Sooo...]

I didn't realize until 2 minutes and 30 seconds that you are not Bill Nye The Science Guy 😅

[@snapslingpeavine1371]

To be honest, I watched this to see if water I put into my worm composter would be able to spread throughout the substrate (coco peat) naturally. It kind of answered my question, but I still want to know.

[@Pohantoon123]

Nice explanation. thanks sir

[@catalystmadeeasy]

Amazing 😍

[@swrtsolutionsinc.1092]

irrigation+rainfall = evaporation + transpiration + runoff + leaching Which one of these processes do Farmers really have control over during the growing season? If you have the ability to irrigate your sandy soils and water is cheap and plentiful, then you are fortunate and have some control on the left side of the equation. If you do not have irrigation, you must look at the factors on the right side of the equation to see what can be controlled or minimized to benefit your crop. Evaporation from the soil surface can be reduced with mulch or leaving crop residue on the soil surface. Transpiration is a function of the plant leaf surface area and the weather. Runoff is or should be minimal in sandy textured soils with high percolation rates. This leaves the leaching of water out of the root zone as the #1 controllable loss of moisture to your crop. Interrupting the downward movement of moisture in your soil by installing a "smart" barrier can greatly reduce the leaching of water and nutrients. SWRT subsurface membranes detain/retain up to 90% of irrigation or rainfall in the root zone for crop use by disrupting the gravitational movement of water in the soil while still allowing excess water to percolate and do not create anaerobic soil conditions.

[@rosiestares2520]

´ Are there any relationships between vegetation of different types? pH? Soil moisture content?

[@FedericoScheinerkor]

i feel like waiting 1 or 2 days for check F.C, depends on climate conditions and if the test is done (in a pot for example) with or without a plant (evaporation / evapotranspiration) so i was wondering if there's a more specific way to check if a substrate is at F.C to then start weighing the moisture %? does it even has to be accurate or 1-2 is just good enough? Thanks so much for the explanative video

[@daniellem.jimeno7488]

Does that mean that in determining the field capacity in percent basis, the difference between the moist soil (2-3 days after saturation) and ovendry divided by oven dry will corresponds to field capacity? Thank you

[@PurdueExtension]

Hi Danielle - Yes, an estimate of field capacity would be the soil moisture at 1-2 days after saturation. So yes, take the difference in weight between the moist soil and oven dry soil, and divide by oven dry soil weight, and multiply by 100 to get percent moisture at field capacity.

[@talentsearcher1665]

Please how can i learn this things , can we contact

[@s.nfilms6888]

what happen to soil subgrade if moisture content high?

[@realchristopher4334]

Hello Purdue University people! This is an amazing clip, I must say! I have an issue, however. How is it possible that you get it in percentage from weight without multiplying it with 100%? Let us say: (100g wet soil - 50g oven dry soil) / 50g oven dry soil = 1 1 is equivalent to 100% or 1% available water? Could you provide me/us with some actual examples?

[@nicholaswhiteley3599]

That would seem to be 100% soil moisture by weight. Which would be saturation. Once the excess drains away through gravity, what you would have is field capacity. I understand that amount to be dynamic in range depending on the structure of the soil. For example, if the soil was sand you could get 100% saturation, but the field capacity would be 6%.

[@realchristopher4334]

@@nicholaswhiteley3599 I am trying to digest what you mentioned. Hahahaha!

[@shreyasingh4758]

What is soil moisture tension

[@PurdueExtension]

Hi Shreya - Soil moisture tension is how tightly the soil holds onto the water. A low “tension” means the water can move easily in the soil, either moving downward or being taken up by plant roots. A high “tension” means the soil holds the remaining water tightly and does not release it very easily to plants or to downward flow of water. It’s related to the energy status of the water in the soil.