Oxygation of clayey soils by adding hydrogen peroxide to the irrigation solution: Lysimetric experiments

Poorly drained, clayey soils are frequently characterized with oxygen deficiency. One of the methods proposed for improving soil aeration is application of H2O2. The effects of adding hydrogen peroxide to irrigation water on the concentration of oxygen in a clayey soil and on pepper growth parameters were studied in two successive lysimeter (barrel) experiments. This study examined the effects of on-surface and subsurface irrigation with an 800-ppm hydrogen peroxide solution and subsurface irrigation with a 600-ppm hydrogen peroxide solution on oxygen concentrations in a clayey soil and the yield of pepper plants grown in barrels. The main findings were that the use of an 800-ppm H2O2 solution effectively increased the soil-air oxygen concentration, especially when irrigation was applied through on-surface drippers. However, the addition of H2O2 did not increase pepper yield or the rate of stem elongation, possibly due to a dual effect of improved oxygen availability, on the one hand, and physiological damage caused by an oxidative stress (and/or hormonal effect) on the other. Irrigation with a 600-ppm H2O2 solution did not affect the soil-air oxygen concentration; but did slightly decrease the soil volumetric water content and delay the flowering of the pepper plants.