Sustainable Water Management in Arid Lands: Enhancing Soil Moisture Retention Using Date Palm Waste

Arid and semi-arid regions increasingly face severe challenges due to limited water availability, high evaporation rates, and the impacts of climate change. Soil moisture retention is a critical concern for maintaining agricultural productivity in these fragile ecosystems. This study investigates the use of date palm waste on maintaining soil moisture. The research was carried out in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 3 repetitions at the Saravan Higher Education Complex research farm. The study tested four treatments to maintain soil moisture: straw and stubble obtained from beating palm leaf waste, mats woven from palm leaf branches, dried palm leaf branches, and a treatment without cover as a control. The experiment was conducted on 12 plots with dimensions of 2x1 and irrigated with water. After 48 hours, the treatments were applied to the plots. Soil moisture percentage was measured in each plot using a digital hygrometer. Measurements were taken daily at two depths of 10 and 30 cm. The results indicate that maintaining soil moisture at the studied depths was significant throughout the entire study period, from the beginning to the end. Moisture retention between straw and stubble treatment was significantly different from other treatments at all measured times. Moisture retention was significantly different between straw and stubble, mat and foliage treatments, and the control treatment at all measurement times and in both evaluated depths.