Irrigated agricultural fields usually show variable crop water demand. If water application is done to match this spatially variable demand, the water use efficiency can be substantially improved. Soil water management by irrigation has been one of the most important factors to increase crop yield. To look for the economic viability of the process, the use of several inputs, particularly water, should be done with high efficiency levels. Historically, irrigation uniformity has been evaluated above the soil surface, in which applied water was the only factor to be taken into account. However, the crop will respond to soil water content uniformity, which can differ from the uniformity of water application. To evaluate temporal stability of spatial pattern of soil water storage (SWS), this work was done on a Brazilian clayed soil. Volumetric water content from soil surface to 0,30m depth, was measured by TDR in 80 points regularly spaced (3 x 3 m) on an experimental area cultivated with bean crop, irrigated by conventional sprinkling. The evaluations were done immediately before and after a water application by irrigation. Experimental semivariograms made from values obtained in the field showed that SWS distribution was spatially structured and strongly stable in time, being regulated mainly by intrinsic factors of the soil. In addition, obtained results showed that water application uniformity did not influence the spatial distribution pattern of SWS in these soil conditions.
irrigation; geostatistics; soil water uniformity; TDR
