A informação básica para o manejo racional de água e solo na cultura de café ainda é insuficiente, sobretudo em condições de cultura irrigada. A distribuição radicular e os coeficientes de cultura para evapotranspiração são de grande importância para a estimativa da necessidade de água na cultura café. Este estudo compara a extração radicular de água de plantas de café, variedade "Catuaí Vermelho" (IAC-44), cultivado em Piracicaba, SP, Brasil, de 3 a 5 anos de idade, com medidas diretas de material seca de raiz, mostrando boa relação entre as metodologias e confirmando que a maioria do sistema radicular está distribuída na camada superficial de solo (0-0,3 m) e que menos de 10% do sistema radicular atingem profundidades maiores que 1,0 m. Os coeficientes de cultura medidos estão de acordo com aqueles encontrados na literatura, com média de 1,1, independentemente da matéria seca, altura de planta e índice de área foliar.

Basic information for a rational soil-water management of the coffee crop is still insufficient, particularly under irrigated conditions. Of great importance for the estimation of water requirements of coffee crops are their root distribuition and evapotranspiration crop coefficients. This study compares soil water extraction by roots of coffee plants of the variety "Catuaí Vermelho" (IAC-44), grown in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil, 3 to 5 years old, with direct measurements of root dry matter, showing a good agreement between both approaches, and confirming that most of the root system is distributed in the top soil layer (0-0.3 m) and that less than 10% of the root system reaches depths greater than 1.0 m. Calculated evapotranspiration crop coefficients are in agreement with those found in the literature, with an average of 1.1, independent of shoot dry matter, plant height and leaf area index.

Compaction processes can influence soil physical properties such as soil density, porosity, pore size distribution, and processes like soil water and nutrient movements, root system distribution, and others. Soil porosity modification has important consequences like alterations in results of soil water retention curves. These alterations may cause differences in soil water storage calculations and matric potential values, which are utilized in irrigation management systems. Because of this, soil-sampling techniques should avoid alterations of sample structure. In this work soil sample compaction caused by core sampling devices was investigated using the gamma ray computed tomography technique. A first generation tomograph with fixed source-detector arrangement and translation/rotational movements of the sample was utilized to obtain the images. The radioactive source is 241Am, with an activity of 3.7 GBq, and the detector consists of a 3 in. x 3in. NaI(Tl) scintillation crystal coupled to a photomultiplier tube. Soil samples were taken from an experimental field utilizing cylinders 4.0 cm high and 2.6 cm in diameter. Based on image analyses it was possible to detect compacted regions in all samples next to the cylinder wall due to the sampling system. Tomographic unit profiles of the sample permitted to identify higher values of soil density for deeper regions of the sample, and it was possible to determine the average densities and thickness of these layers. Tomographic analyses showed to be a very useful tool for soil compaction characterization and presented many advantages in relation to traditional methods.

A quantificação e as análises qualitativas das metodologias para estimar os componentes do balanço hídrico em um solo submetido a diferentes práticas de manejo, foram estudadas em uma área experimental de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum officinarum L.) utilizando-se blocos distribuídos ao acaso, com quatro repetições e três tratamentos: solo nu, solo com resíduos de palhiço e ponteiros, deixados na superfície do solo após a colheita e solos com resíduos da queima. O solo foi classificado como um Rhodic Kandiudalf chamado, localmente, de 'Terra Roxa Estruturada', tendo a área experimental uma inclinação de 7,4%. O escoamento superficial, os fluxos de água nos limites inferiores do volume do solo e as mudanças do armazenamento da água do solo, não foram afetadas pelas diferentes práticas de manejo. Além disso, encontrou-se que o escoamento superficial e os fluxos da água do solo são fortemente afetados pela variabilidade espacial das propriedades físicas do solo.

The quantification of soil water balance components was conducted in a sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) field differently managed, as well as a qualitative analysis of the methodologies used for their estimation. The study was conducted in randomized block experiment with four replicates and three treatments: bare soil, mulched soil using trash left on the soil surface after harvest, and soil with burnt trash. The soil was classified as a Rhodic Kandiudalf, locally called 'Terra Roxa Estruturada', the experimental area having a slope of 7.4%. Run-off, soil water fluxes at the lower soil volume limit, and soil water storage changes were not affected by the different soil management practices. Furthermore, it was found that the evaluation of run-off and soil water fluxes is strongly affected by the spatial variability of physical properties