Soil compaction induced by small tractor traffic in Northeast China

With the introduction of the small four-wheel tractors (ST), agricultural mechanization has developed rapidly in China. In this study, we investigated the impact of these relatively small tractors on soil compaction of a silty clay loam (fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiboroll) in nor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Soil Science Society of America journal Vol. 70; no. 2; pp. 613 - 619
Main Authors:	Zhang, X.Y, Cruse, R.M, Sui, Y.Y, Jhao, Z
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Madison Soil Science Society 01-03-2006 Soil Science Society of America American Society of Agronomy
Subjects:	Agricultural equipment Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions Biological and medical sciences bulk density Clay loam clay loam soils corn Crop yield Farm machinery Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology grain crops grain yield mass Mechanization Moisture content plow pans Soil compaction soil density soil depth Soil erosion, conservation, land management and development soil penetration resistance Soil science Soil sciences Soil water soil water content Soils Spring wheat subsoil Subsoils Technology Tillage Topsoil tractors Triticum aestivum Water content wheat yield losses Zea mays China Asia Far east China, People's Rep Silty clay loam soil Monocotyledones Cultivated soil Soil deterioration Soil quality Compaction Temperate zone Cereal crop Tractor Soil conservation Mechanical factor Gramineae Angiospermae Soil science Field traffic Anthropogenic factor Bulk density Small Zea mays Mechanical properties Property of soil Mollisols Physical properties Soil management Geographical division Penetration Spermatophyta Mechanization Yield Triticum aestivum Northeast
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Summary:	With the introduction of the small four-wheel tractors (ST), agricultural mechanization has developed rapidly in China. In this study, we investigated the impact of these relatively small tractors on soil compaction of a silty clay loam (fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiboroll) in northeast China using soil penetration resistance (PR) and bulk density as soil compaction indicators. The relationship between soil water content and PR, the comparison of soil compaction induced by ST and the medium power tractor (MT), the effect of tractor mass on compaction, the effect of number of tractor passes and tillage on PR, and the effect of compaction on crop yield were studied. Compared with MT-powered tillage, the ST-powered tillage system created a more compacted plow layer due to increased passes required with this system. Small four-wheeled tractors had a statistically significant higher PR than MT in the topsoil and subsoil. The PR had a significant negative correlation (r = - 0.640, P < 0.01) with soil water content at time of PR measurement. After trafficking in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) field, the highest PR values were found in the 5- to 14-cm depth interval. Crop yield decreased with increasing numbers of tractor passes. There were different yield-loss responses to compaction for spring wheat and corn (Zea mays L.). With the development of mechanical tillage in China, the problem of soil compaction may be significantly increased, causing potential yield reductions.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	0361-5995 1435-0661
DOI:	10.2136/sssaj2005.0121