Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

Vol 26, Issue 4, 2020; Page No.(1520-1526)

ANALYSIS OF SOIL MOISTURE STORAGE BY USING VARIOUS RAINWATER HARVESTING METHODS AT PEOPLE’S COFFEE PLANTATION

Sugeng Prijono and Iwan Parlindungan Sidauruk

Abstract

Water deficit was able to decrease the coffee productivity. To reduce the risk of water deficit, moisture storage in the soil had to be increased by using rainwater harvesting. This study aimed to analyze the effect of various rainwater harvesting methods on moisture storage and profile moisture content in the soil. This research was conducted from April to June 2019 in coffee plantation of Argotirto Village, Sumbermanjingwetan, Malang, East Java. Three types of rainwater harvesting methods applied were Lshape silt pit, parallel silt pit and Biopore. The observation parameters were moisture content in the soil measured in four observation periods as well as soil texture, bulk density, particle density, porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, pF curve, pore distribution and c-organic. The results showed that rainwater harvesting treatments were able to increase the soil moisture storage. L-shape silt pit was able to increase water storage by 3.05 %, parallel silt pit was able to increase water storage by 2.32 %, and biopore was able to increase water storage by 1.54 % compared to the control. Distribution of profile moisture content between the treatments and control had a similar distibution, in which deeper soil layer had higher water content.