Estimación de las relaciones espaciales entre la conductividad hidráulica y las propiedades físicas del suelo en el cultivo de banano

Abstract

Hydraulic conductivity is considered one of the most relevant water properties in agriculture, a value that depends mainly on the structure, texture, content of organic matter, field capacity and moisture content of the soil. It is of utmost importance to predict the behavior of water flows through the soil, whether saturated or unsaturated, most of the soils that are saturated are fundamental for the study of groundwater and drainage design. Regarding unsaturated soils, it can be said that they will depend on the friction of the water with the pore walls, so it will have a lower value than in water flow in saturated soils. The research work aims to estimate the spatial relationships between hydraulic conductivity and the physical properties of the soil in banana cultivation. The study was carried out in the “La Flor” farm, located in the “La Peaña” parish belonging to the Pasaje canton, El Oro province; where soil samples were taken at fifteen strategic points from which they were obtained through a 75m x 75m grid that were made on the farm plans through AutoCAD software, these were collected in 15-centimeter PVC tubes high with an internal diameter of 7.2 centimeters at different depths, to then take them to the laboratory and apply the FINIELTZ method that allows calculating the hydraulic conductivity that exists in soils. In addition, conductivity was determined in situ using the Auger Hole inverted well method, also called PORCHET. Descriptive statistical data was performed with all the variables analyzed, thus obtaining the results of the mean, median, standard deviation (S), variance (S2), coefficient of variation (%), skewness, kurtosis, minimum and maximum values. A correlation analysis was also performed between the two methods studied with the physical properties of the soil such as: Field capacity, Bulk density, real density, percentage of porosity, texture (% clay, % silt, % sand). The Arcgis program was used to create maps of hydraulic conductivity and the physical properties of the soil. The two methods applied to determine the hydraulic conductivity were determined to be reliable, thus allowing good results. According to the maps studied, these present a hydraulic conductivity that ranges from 1,330 cm / h to 5,275 cm / h, that is, the movement of water infiltration into the soil will go from a very slow to moderate range. This will be according to the texture that is present in the soil profile. In areas that contain a high percentage of sand, bulk density, and porosity, the hydraulic conductivity will be higher, thus causing water to infiltrate more quickly. The percentage of sand in the soil must be taken into account since it will not have a good water retention and the banana plant will suffer from a water deficit.