Estimating Water Supply Requirement on Pahang Soil Series to Achieve a Minimal Water Consumption for Resource Efficiency in Agroecology

Abstract

Agroecology has ten elements that can be implement in the agricultural activities and food systems to achieve a more sustainable future in producing and consuming foods. Water saving is one of the important attributes of agroecological practices. In this study, we are investigating soil series information provided by the Department of Agriculture, Malaysia. There are 34 soil series identified in Pahang state. The existing information provided with the soil series do not guide the implementation of irrigation management in terms of water consumption requirement for plantation land management. The current study converts soil series information into soil textures. There are seven soil textures determined in Pahang states. They were Clay, Silty Clay, Clay Loam, Silty Clay Loam, Sandy Clay Loam, Loam, and Sand. Soil textures were used to estimate soil hydraulic properties to represent the soil series. Soil field capacity, permanent wilting point, and plant available water were determined. Water infiltration simulation was carried out on all soil textures, and it was found silty clay loam (Gugut Series, Setol Series) was one of the best soil textures in terms of water infiltration time, and water retention in the soil. The information derived from the current study can be used for land management planning to estimate the irrigation water supply needed, which will be useful for cost estimation and water resource management.