Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer ISSN:0367-6315(Print) 2288-2162(Online) 한국토양비료학회 학회지

The Korean government has performed the international cooperation project to develop rice cultivation methods under desert climate and alkaline sandy soils with the UAE government. Rice can be cultivated in alkaline sandy soil with paddy condition while it demands too much water. Four treatments were tested under protected plastic house: paddy cultivation with an impermeable layer (PP), furrow cultivation (F), furrow cultivation with an impermeable layer (FP), and furrow cultivation with clay dressing (FB). The impermeable layer prohibited percolation. Furrow cultivation reduced evaporation by irrigation only in the furrow. Clay dressing extend flooding periods to decline infiltration rates. Daily water consumption rates were 5.4 to 5.5 mm in furrow cultivation accounting for 57% of that in PP. The number of tiller was 16.0 in PP flooding all the time while they ranged from 4.4 to 6.8 in furrow cultivation treatments. The productivity in FP and FB were 84.1% and 78.9% out of that in PP. The water use efficiency in FP and FB, therefore, leached 1.4 to 1.5 times of that in PP. Based on the water use efficiency, FP and FB were proposed the applicable practices for reasonable productivity and water consumption. Furthermore, FP and FB have potential to raise productivity by increasing seeding rates considering low tillering rates.

Changes in limited infiltration rate (I_l) with clay contents: the soil consisted of synthesized very fine sand and bentonite as clay.