Modification of sandy soil hydrophysical environment through bagasse additive under laboratory experiment

Until now sandy soils can be considered as one roup having common hydrophysical problems. Therefore, a labo-ratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of bagasse as an amendment to improve hydrophysical properties of sandy soil, through the determination of bulk density, aggregate-size distribution, total porosity, hydraulic conductivity, pore-space structure and water retention. To fulfil this objective, sandy soils were amended with bagasse at the rate of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4% on the dry weight basis. The study results demonstrated that the addition of bagasse to sandy soils in between 3 to 4% on the dry weight basis led to a significant decrease in bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, and rapid-drainable pores, and increase in the total porosity, water-holding pores, fine capillary pores, water retained at field capacity, wilting point, and soil available water as compared with the control treatment.