The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of the water used for rice irrigation, considering different periods of the plants growth, using the pre-germinated seeds planting technique. Irrigation and drainage water were analyzed during the process of tillage. Three sites of sampling located around the City of Gaspar SC, Brazil were chosen. All three sites presented similar techniques of tillage. The water used for the irrigation was collected from a watercourse and returned after it passed through the tillage. In this system there are no external or intermediary pollutant conductors. To evaluate the quality of water it was used the Quality of Water Index from Bascarán (IQAb). The results demonstrate that the water used for irrigation, enters in the tillage area with an improper quality (IQAb 40-50). Drainage water was classified as disagreable (IQAb 30-40). The parameters that influenced the decrease of IQAb in drainage water were the turbidity, phosphates and QOD. The decrease of drainage water quality was influenced by the vegetative period. This study determined that the major degradation of the quality of the water is due to the preparation of the soil.
rice growing; irrigation; quality of water; index of Bascarán
