Effect of Agri-SC as a soil conditioner on runoff, soil loss and crust strengths

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the effect of Agri-SC as a soil conditioner at different doses (0, 18.50, 37.00, 55.50 and 74.00 l ha^-1) on water erosion and crust strengths under laboratory conditions with three replicates. The Agri-SC solutions were sprayed and two consecutive simulated rainfalls (60 mm h^-1) were applied on a loamy soil sample into the erosion plots. Erosion plots were waited under a platform including four infrared lamps (250 Watt) at 16 h between two consecutive simulated rainfalls. Results showed that the Agri-SC treatments decreased runoff, soil loss and crust strengths significantly (p ≤ 0.01) in each of the two simulated rainfalls compared with controls in the experiment.

Key words: Agri-SC, crust strength, rain simulator, runoff, soil loss, soil stabilizers.