Irrigation timing on barley in the cerrado region for potential yield

Abstract

The response of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) to six levels of soil-water tension was studied in a Clayey Dark-Red Latosol of the Brazilian savannah region. The crop was irrigated when the soil-water tension measured with tensiometers and/or gypsum blocks reached values of 37, 56, 68, 196, 570 and 1.012 kPa at a depth of 10 cm. The water was applied to the crop by using a plastic hose connected to a PVC perforated tube to assure uniform water distribution on the experimental plots. The amount of water applied in each irrigation was calculated to bring the soil profile I m depth to the field capacity (6 kPa). It was verified that barley yield was the same for the soil-water tension ranged from 37 to 570 kPa. Significant reduction in yield was verified for the higher level of soil-water tension due to reduction in the number of spikes per m² and number of grain per spike. Among the high yield treatments, irrigation at 570 kPa resulted in lower water application for the same yield.