Abstract
The article examines the impact of sprinkler irrigation regimes on soil bulk density, based on experiments conducted between 2024 and 2026. The study investigated the effects of maintaining pre-irrigation soil moisture at levels of 70-70-60%, 75-75-70%, and 80-80-70% of the field water capacity (FWC), alongside the application of mineral fertilizers at rates of N180P100K80 and N210P125K100 kg/ha. Soil samples were taken from layers 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, and 60-70 cm at the beginning and end of the growing season, and the bulk density was determined. According to the research results, the soil bulk density increased to a certain extent in all variants during the growing season. However, during sprinkler irrigation, the bulk density of the soil was maintained at an optimal level compared to furrow irrigation. The best results were observed in the variants with a pre-irrigation soil moisture content of 75-75-70% of FC. Increasing the mineral fertilizer rate to N180P100K80 and N210P125K100 had no significant positive or negative effect on the soil bulk density.