ABSTRACT
Supplemental irrigation and mulching are management practices commonly used in agriculture. This study aimed to quantify soil temperatures in bare and covered soils with and without irrigation. The evaluations were carried out in Southern Brazil (Santa Maria–RS). The experimental area was divided into six treatments consisting of bare soil with irrigation, bare soil without irrigation, and soil-covered areas using transparent plastic mulch (100 μm), black opaque plastic mulch (110 μm), white opaque plastic mulch (150 μm) and straw at a rate of 5 t ha-1. Soil temperature readings were taken once daily at 5 cm depth at 3 pm (18 UTC) from October 10, 2011 to May 31, 2012. Moreover, hourly measurements were also made during four sunny days (cloudless sky) in October, November, January and March. Daytime soil temperature decreased as the following sequence: transparent plastic (42.4 °C), black opaque plastic (37.8 °C), bare soil without irrigation (33.4 °C), bare soil with irrigation (29.2 °C), straw covering (27.0 °C) and white opaque plastic (24.6 °C). Soil solarization is a potential mulching method to increase soil temperature in Santa Maria–RS, Brazil.
thermal properties; mulching; supplemental irrigation
