Abstract
The study was conducted during 2010 at Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan, to screen soil
additives with improved water retention. Different soil additives i.e. Qemisoyl, gypsum, compost and farm yard manure
(FYM) were evaluated to quantify plant available water under controlled conditions. The samples of clay loam soil were
subjected to various pressure levels (33 to 1500 kpa) to develop soil moisture characteristic curves. The results revealed that
highest soil moisture content at field capacity (0.284 m3 m-3), permanent wilting point (0.146 m3 m-3) and plant available
water content (0.138 m3 m-3) was recorded with the application of Qemisoyl @ 15 kg ha-1 as compared to control (0.251,
0.128 and 0.123 m3 m-3
, respectively). Generally, the combined use of various soil additives was equivalent to their sole
applications. The results indicated that soil moisture retention can be enhanced with the application of soil additives
especially Qemisoyl @ 15 kg ha-1 that gave about 12% higher moisture retention than control to achieve higher levels of crop
production in drought-hit areas to ensure food security. Further comprehensive field studies based on results of present
laboratory study may help develop useful water harvesting/capturing interventions at the farm scale.
