The determination of the available water to plants is essential to right irrigation management and definition regarding the use in agricultural soils. The main factors that exert influence on retention and availability of water to plants are texture and soil structure. The aim of this study was to quantify the influence of the texture on water retention in the condition of permanent wilting point (PWP) of plants (-1,5MPa) using a WP4-T Dewpoint Potentia Meter. The texture of 100 soil sample and soil moisture at PWP was determined. Results indicated that, in potentials higher than -1,0MPa, WP4-T seemed not very precise, therefore its use is not recommended in this condition. PWP increased from 0,059 to 0,29g g-1, while the clay content increased from 120 to 779g kg-1. It was obtained a good adjustment of the results of water content at PWP based on clay content of soil, being that 91% of variation in water content at PWP could be attributed to variation in clay content. It was concluded that WP4-T is an equipment that can be used to determine PWP and the equation PWP (g g-1)=0,0003 * Clay(g kg-1)+0,0118 can be used to estimate PWP.
soil water retention; clay content; soil water potential
