Behavior of a dusky Red Latosol Dystrophic (Oxisol) compacted by tractor's wheels during sowing: Yields op three crops

Abstract

In a Dusky Red Latosol dystrophic, a field experiment in which the soil had been tilled in three different systems, measurements were made to compare the effect of the soil surface compaction caused by tractor's wheels after planting on bulk density, water retention, air capacity, infiltration and on yields of wheat, soybeans and oil raddish. In all tillage systems the bulk density and the water retention were found to be higher in the areas compacted by tractor wheels. However, the air capacity and infiltration were decreased in comparison to the non-compacted soil areas. The yields of wheat, soybeans and oil raddish were increased significantly in the compacted areas compared to the non-compacted areas, mainly in the conventional and chisel-plough tillage systems.