What is in this article?:
- How To Avoid Soil Compaction: True, False Q&A
- 2. Topsoil and subsoil compaction have different effects on yield.
- 3. Freeze-thaw cycles alleviate soil compaction caused by machinery.
- 4. Clay soils are more easily compacted than coarser soils.
- 5. No-till soils resist compaction better than tilled soils.
- 6. Limiting axle loads is the key to avoiding subsoil compaction.
- 7. Tracks are better than tires for reducing soil compaction.
- 8. Deep tillage corrects the harmful effects of compaction.
- 9. You need ‘steel’ to alleviate compaction.
- 10. Lowering tire inflation pressure reduces surface compaction.
- QUIZ: Assess your soil compaction risk
Soil compaction is invisible, but its effects are clear to see: cloddy soil, delayed crop emergence, restricted root growth, stunted plants, low water infiltration, poor nutrient uptake and lost yield.
And reduced production isn’t the only penalty. Soil compaction also harms the environment, leading to more runoff and soil erosion.
The threat of soil compaction is far greater today than in the past because of the increasing size and weight of farm equipment. Although the risk of new compaction is low when the soil is very dry – as it is in much of the Corn Belt – existing compaction makes crops more vulnerable to damage by drought.
9. You need ‘steel’ to alleviate compaction.
Answer: False. “There are biological solutions to compaction,” Reeder says. Cover crops, for example, can break up compacted soil. Plants like oilseed radish grow more than 2 ft. deep, creating channels and fissures for crop roots to follow the next season. Cereal rye is another deep-rooted cover crop that can penetrate compacted layers.
Growers in central Illinois are evaluating cover crops for several reasons, including the benefits of breaking up the compaction caused by wet seasons a couple of years ago, says Kelli Bassett, Pioneer field agronomist in Greenville, Ill. In fact, cover crop “seed availability this year was limited because of increased interest.”
Drainage improvements can help manage compaction, too, Reeder says, especially in low spots within fields that often get worked wet. So can more diverse crop rotations, which let growers “spread out field activities so there’s more opportunity to do field operations at the proper soil moisture,” Duiker says. “Tillage should be used sparingly to alleviate compaction when no other means can be used.”