Question

Hygroscopic water is the
a) Water which ponds up on the soil

surface

b) Water which is available to drain

through the due to gravity

c) Water held as tight film around soil

particles

d) Water which represent the majority

available for plant uptake​

Answer 1

Hygroscopic water is the water held as a tight film around the soil particles (option c).

• The dry soil particles can absorb water molecules from the atmosphere.
• This water is then retained securely by soil particles, forming a film around them. It's known as hygroscopic water.
• Because this water is in such small quantities, it has an extremely low or negative water potential. As a result, it cannot be uptaken by plants.
• Hygroscopic water is called thus because water forms a thin film surrounding soil particles.