Question: Which of the option is hygroscopic water
Options:
Water which represents the majority available for plant uptake
Water held tightly as film around individual soil particles and unavailable to plant
Water which ponds up on soil surface
Water which is available to drain through soil by gravity
• Classification of soil water:
• 1) Gravitational water:
-When water is added to the soil during irrigation, the soil content is raised to a saturation level, at this point, the pores are completely filled with water and the soil contains the maximum possible water content.
-Which thus, consists of the upper limit of gravitational water.
-It is the water that is not held by soil but drains out freely under the influence of gravity.
• 2) Capillary water:
-It is that water that is retained in the soil after the gravitational water has drained off from the soil.
-Capillary water is held in the soil by surface tension, as a continuous film around the soil particles and in the capillary pores between the soil particles.
-It is also known as available water.
3) Hygroscopic water:Â
-It is the water that is absorbed by the particles of dry soil from the atmosphere and is held as a very thin film on the surface of the soil due to adhesion or attraction between the surface of particle and water molecules.
-Below the permanent wilting point, the soil only contains hygroscopic water.
-In general, it is not available for the use of plants.