Effect of olive oil cake on water holding capacity of sandy soils in Libya

The effect of adding olive oil cake to two sandy soils on their abilities to retain water was investigated under controlled conditions. Olive oil cake was applied to the soils in pots and rates equivalent to 0, 5, 10, and 20% by weigh of the air-dried soil. Pots were incubated for 3 weeks at controlled conditions. The results show that the addition of oil cake significantly increased (P 0•05) the ability of the two sandy soils studied to retain water under all applied tensions. However, treatments with highest percentage of oil cake applied, had significantly higher water retention compared to those which had less. In terms of available water, which was calculated as the difference in volumetric water content between field capacity (-33 KPa) and wilting point (1•5 MPa), the highest olive oil cake applied doubled this difference in comparison to the control. An effect of soil texture was also noted. Generally, the influence of olive oil cake on the available moisture percentage was more pronounced in sand than the sandy loam.