Soil physical quality is essential to global sustainability of agroecosystems, once it is related to processes that are essential to agricultural crop development. This study aimed to evaluate physical attributes of a Yellow Latossol under different management systems in the savanna area in the state of Piaui. This study was developed in Uruçuí southwest of the state of Piauí. Three systems of soil management were studied: an area under conventional tillage (CT) with disk plowi and heavy harrow and soybean […]

The system of no-till sowing stands out as being a technology that suits the objectives of more rational use of the soil and greater protection against the erosion. However, through till, any of it, occurs modifications of the soil’s structure. This current work aims to study the influence of the energy state of the water and of the organic matter on the mechanism of compaction of Red Oxisol under no-till management system. Humid and non-deformed sample were collected in horizon […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different mechanical loads on soil physical properties of a Eutric Cambisol with loam sandy texture. The soil load distribution (kPa) was measured in situ by sensors placed in different soil layers. The soil physical properties evaluated were the bulk density (Ds) and the soil penetration resistance (RP) on sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) row and interrow down to 0.30 m depth. The treatments were: without extra pressure exerted by the […]

The impact of wood loads on bulk density and preconsolidation pressure and of harvester and forwarder traffic on rut depth, bulk density and preconsolidation pressure of two Ultisols were examined in this study. Our objective was to quantify the threshold beyond which significant soil compaction and rutting would occur. This study was carried out in the county of Eunápolis, state of Bahia, Brazil, (16 º 23 ‘ 17 ” S and 39 º 10 ‘ 06 ” W; altitude 80 […]

One of the most effective practices in preventing soil compaction is to apply stresses below the bearing capacity of the soil, often estimated by the pre-compression stress (σp). To evaluate the effects of cover crops and tractor traffic on σp and compression index (CI), a field experiment was initiated in 2002 on sandy clay loam Paleudult, in Southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul State). Treatments under no-tillage involved winter fallow and two winter cover crops (black oats and black oats […]

Soil penetration resistance exercises major influence on crop development, root growth and crop productivity, which is inversely proportional to that soil attribute. In this way, the analysis of spatial variability of soil penetration resistance and crop yield based on geostatistics can indicate alternative management practices, not only to reduce the effects of soil variability on crop yield, but also to improve the estimated crop response under certain management practices. This study aimed to correlate soil penetration resistance (RP) and spatial […]

Compaction is one of the main causes of yield decreases in agricultural soils. Mechanical chiseling has been suggested to reduce soil compaction in long-term no-tillage systems. Another option to alleviate soil compaction is the use of cover crops, such as forage radish, with a well-developed tap root system and the capacity of growing into soil compacted layers, forming stable biopores and improving the soil physical properties. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of a mechanical (chisel plow) and biological […]

The organic carbon accumulation observed in soils under no-till system can increase the soil elasticity, resulting in a higher resistance to soil compaction. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of water content and soil organic carbon (SOC) enrichment on soil elasticity. Samples of a Hapludalf and a Typic Hapludox in southern Brazil, both with a significant variation in SOC content, were equilibrated at four different water tensions, and then loaded and unloaded on a uniaxial apparatus. The […]

Maize root growth is negatively affected by compacted layers in the surface (e.g. agricultural traffic) and subsoil layers (e.g. claypans). Both kinds of soil mechanical impedances often coexist in maize fields, but the combined effects on root growth have seldom been studied. Soil physical properties and maize root abundance were determined in three different soils of the Rolling Pampa of Argentina, in conventionally-tilled (CT) and zero-tilled (ZT) fields cultivated with maize. In the soil with a light Bt horizon (loamy […]

Monitoring the state of soil compaction periodically by assessing soil penetration resistance is a practical way of evaluating the effects of different management systems on the soil structure and crop root development. This study aimed to evaluate the variation of soil penetration resistance in response to the number of replications (sample population) of different field sampling forms of an Oxisol under three management types: non-tillage (PD), perennial crop (CP) and conventional tillage (PC). The experiment was carried out in the […]