Temporal stability of soil moisture in banana cropping area in the Brazilian semiarid region

ABSTRACT Soil moisture is essential for agricultural production. Knowledge on its spatial-temporal variability is indispensable to support agriculture, and it is strongly influenced by cultural practices, soil cover conditions and irrigation methods. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the temporal stability and spatial distribution of soil moisture as a function of the use of banana leaves as soil cover in a plot under conventional sprinkler irrigation and cultivated with banana in the Brazilian semiarid region. The study area was divided in two sectors, with and without covering using banana leaves. Soil moisture was monitored before and after irrigation, at 16 times, using FALKER HidroFarm sensors installed on a transect with 11 units spaced by 8 m, in each sector. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, temporal stability and Spearman correlation test. The morphology of the banana leaves and the irrigation system used contributed to lower soil moisture in the covered sector at all monitoring times. Variations in the physical-hydraulic properties of the soil promoted variations in soil moisture with the position of the sensors in the ground. The temporal stability technique allowed the identification of points that represent the mean behavior of soil moisture throughout the area. The use of banana leaf residues caused less soil wetting using sprinkler irrigation, indicating the need to pre-grind the material or use localized irrigation systems, practices that are not very accessible to small farmers.