The effect of tractor wheeling on the soil properties and root growth of smooth brome

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of tractor wheeling with a light tractor on the root growth and soil properties of smooth brome in South Estonia. Field experiment was conducted on sandy loam Haplic Luvisol in 2007. Data were collected during September 2008 in both an uncompacted and compacted area. Because of the compaction, the precompression stress increased in the upper soil layer (0−10 cm) by 12.6% and 15.2% at a depth of 10−20 cm. Compaction had only a minor effect on the bulk density, values increased 4.7% in the upper soil layer and 1.8% in the deeper layer. Differences in the saturated hydraulic conductivity (k s ) were not significant; however, the decrease in the k s was 26.6% in the upper level and 12.5% in the deeper (10−20 cm) layer. At a depth of 0 to 30 cm compaction decreased the root length by 44.7% and the root mass by 60.5% compared with the uncompacted soil. Altogether, this study confirms the unfavourable effect of wheeling on grasslands even when the wheeling is performed with a light tractor on dry soil.

How does grassland management affect physical and biochemical properties of temperate grassland soils? A review study

“…In this context, organic soils with a fine pore structure are more vulnerable to compaction under mowing in comparison with sandy soils (Schrama, Cordlandwehr, et al, 2013). Soil compaction increases soil bulk density, and pre-compression stress, decreases soil air capacity, the percentage soil porosity, air conductivity, soil water content, root distribution, and hydraulic conductivity (Batey, 2009;Krebstein et al, 2013Krebstein et al, , 2014Schrama, Cordlandwehr, et al, 2013). Moreover a high range of soil pores in compacted soils would fill with water thus the potential of soil redox and the oxygen diffusion in soil pore space would be decreased (Schrama, Cordlandwehr, et al, 2013).…”

Estimating Soil Loss for Sustainable Crop Production in the Semi-deciduous Forest Zone of Ghana

“…Soil is likely to be affected by the disturbance of the soil surface that affects soil aggregates especially during tillage; the soil is easily pulverized by the plow. The use of tractors for land preparation and other farm practices affect the structure and hydraulic properties of the soil (Krebstein et al, 2014;García-Tomillo et al, 2018;Novara et al, 2021), and thus, periodic subsoiling to reduce the compaction of the lower depths could be helpful. The soil with low clay and low organic matter contents lends its particles easily to detachment when pulverized, and they are splashed and carried away by runoff (Krebstein et al, 2014;García-Tomillo et al, 2018).…”

Factors Influencing Smallholder Farmers Mechanization Decisions in Nigeria: The Case of Tractor Use in the Fourth Industrial Revolution ERA

“…Tractorization aids farm product transportation, such as the transporting of farm inputs, fetching of wood, taking the product to market, and powering of farm implements such as the disc ridge, farrow, plough, planter and bucket (Naushad, Muhammad, Musawar, Akhtar, & Niaz, 2009;Takeshima et al, 2013). While there is criticism that the use of the tractor destroys soil properties during land preparation and displaces human labor (Emami, Almassi, & Bakhoda, 2018;Krebstein, Von Janowsky, Kuht, & Reintam, 2014), evidence has been adduced that tractorization does not lead to a reduction in human labor employment. On the contrary, tractor service stimulates an increase in area cultivated, thereby creating more on-farm employment opportunities (Roy & Blase, 1978).…”