Water Use by Crops

These flashcards cover essential concepts related to water use in crops, including definitions and relationships between critical terms.

Water

An essential nutrient for plant growth that passes from the soil to the roots and evaporates from leaves through stomata.

Field Capacity

The amount of water that a soil can hold without losing water to gravitational pull.

Permanent Wilting Point

The point at which a plant cannot extract any more water from the soil.

Plant Available Water (PAW)

The amount of water held between field capacity and permanent wilting point.

Gravitational Water

Water that is lost from the soil due to gravitational pull.

Soil Texture

The size of the particles in the soil, which affects the porosity and water retention capacity.

Water Use Efficiency

The effectiveness with which plants utilize water for growth, which varies by soil zone and climatic conditions.

Crop Yield

The total production of a crop in a given area, influenced by moisture availability.

Hydroscopic Water

Water that is tightly bound to soil particles and is unavailable to plants.

Soil Moisture Conditions

The various states of soil moisture relative to field capacity and wilting point, affecting plant growth.