Dynamics of soil moisture in plots of medicinal plants grown under conventional and organic production systems in 2012

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of soil moisture dynamics in the 2012 growing season at the experiment field of the Department for Organic Farming and Biodiversity, Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops. Soil moisture dynamics was monitored in plots under medicinal plants (marigold, mint and basil) grown by two production systems: conventional and organic. In the summer months (June, July and August), i.e., in the critical period for plant growth, high air temperatures, low air humidity, rainfall deficit, and frequent hot winds caused dry spells that varied in intensity. The rainfall during these months was insufficient to meet the total water requirements of the cultivated plants. The rainfall was significantly lower than the annual average (lower by 24.6% in June, by 93.2% in August). The combined effect of weather conditions increased the soil evapotranspiration. Consequently, in both growing systems, the readily available soil moisture was on the verge of accessibility in June and early July, while the level fell under the permanent wilting point in the second half July and in August.

U radu je izvršena analiza dinamike trenutne vlažnosti zemljišta u vegetacionom periodu 2012. godine na oglednom polju Odeljenja za organsku proizvodnju i biodiverzitet, Instituta za ratarstvo i povrtarstvo. Analiza dinamike vlažnosti zemljišta izvršena je u usevima lekovitih biljnih vrsta (neven, menta i bosiljak) gajenih u dva načina proizvodnje: konvencionalni i organski. Tokom letnjih meseci (jun, jul i avgust) 2012. godine u kritičnom periodu vegetacije visoke temperature, deficit padavina, niska relativna vlažnost i česti, topli vetrovi doveli su do pojave suše različitog intenziteta. Padavine tokom ovih meseci bile su nedovoljne da zadovolje ukupne potrebe biljaka za vodom. Ukupne letnje količine padavina bile su značajno manje (jun za 24,6%; avgust za 93,2%) u odnosu na višegodišnji prosek. Kompleksno delovanje vremenskih uslova povećalo je evapotranspiraciju, te su tokom juna i početkom jula meseca kod oba načina gajenja rezerve lakopristupačne vlage u zemljištu bile na granici teže pristupačne vode, dok su se u drugoj i trećoj dekadi jula i tokom avgusta meseca spustile do nivoa trajnog venjenja.