Use of time domain reflectometry (TDR) for monitoring xylem sap content in sugar cane

• Grant number: 14/20204-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2014
• End date: March 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Soil and Water Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Claudinei Fonseca Souza
• Grantee: Julia Rodrigues Simione
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Agrárias (CCA). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Araras , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Understanding the behavior of water in soil and plants is essential for proper irrigation management. The TDR technique can contribute for monitoring water, considered to be a precise method and have potential to monitor the xylem solution in plants. The objective of this study is to determine whether there is a correlation between the xylem sap content and water available in the soil for cane sugar cultivation using TDR technique. The study will be conducted in a greenhouse with eight containers, where three TDR probes are inserted in each container. The containers will be divided into two groups for use in different water application rates (1.6 and 3.4 L h-1) by subsurface irrigation. The probe is inserted in the middle of the cane sugar stem, totaling 12 TDR probes with three rods of 0.0016 m in diameter and 0.02 m in length for application rate. The water content will be monitored by TDR probes 36 with three rods 0.003 m diameter and 0.2 m in length inserted into soil containers. It is hoped that this project is to evaluate TDR technique measurements of the xylem content and contribute with basic information about water dynamics in sugar cane, allowing the rational use of water in agricultural processes quickly and accurately.