Effects of subsoiling tillage on structure, permeability, and crop yields on compacted Solonetzic and Chernozemic dryland soils in Western Canada

[摘要] Compaction induced by field wheel traffic and dense layersin the subsoil may adversely alter soil structure, impede soilaeration, restrict water infiltration and nutrient uptake, andinhibit plant root development, negatively affecting plantyields. Reclaiming compacted Chernozemic and Solonetzicsoils with hardpan B horizons may be possible throughsubsoiling operations to loosen the soil to depth, e.g. ~0.30m. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect ofsubsoiling on soil physical properties and plant yield inwheel traffic compacted and non-compacted Chernozemicand Solonetzic soils in southern Saskatchewan Canada.Subsoiling increased air permeability in the compactedChernozemic soil from 4.5x10-7 m sec-1 to 2.9x10-6 m sec-1.In the compacted Solonetzic soil, subsoiling significantlydecreased soil cone index to 1579 kPa compared to 2376kPa in the non-subsoiled treatment. Crop yields (hard redspring wheat, dry peas) in the two years following thetreatment were similar among tillage and compactiontreatments in the Chernozemic soil. However, subsoiling ofthe compacted Solonetzic soil resulted in a seed yieldincrease of canola of ~ 1000 kg ha-1 in the first year of studyand no treatment effect in the second year when wheat wasgrown. Overall, subsoiling of the compacted soils tended toimprove soil physical properties, especially in theSolonetzic soils.

[学科分类] 农业科学（综合）

[关键词] Subsoiling;tillage;compaction;permeability;solonetzic;chernozemic