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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #191649
Title: CHARACTERIZATION OF CONE INDEX TO DEFINE COMPACTION MANAGEMENT PARAMETERS

Author
item CHUNG, S.O. - NIAE, RDA, S KOREA
item Sudduth, Kenneth - Ken
item LEE, K.S. - SUNGKYUNKWAN U, S KOREA
item MOTAVALLI, P.P. - U OF MO

Submitted to: International Soil Tillage Research Organization Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/14/2006
Publication Date: 8/28/2006
Citation: Chung, S., Sudduth, K.A., Lee, K., Motavalli, P. 2006. Characterization of cone index to define compaction management parameters. In. Proceedings of the International Soil Tillage Research Organization 17th Triennial Conference, August 28-September 3, 2006,Kiel, Germany. 2006 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil compaction is a concern in crop production and environmental protection. Compaction is most often quantified, albeit indirectly, using cone penetrometer measurements of soil strength, reported as cone index (CI). In this research, CI data collected under different soil conditions (e.g., texture and water content) were analyzed to detect variations in soil compaction and to define parameters useful for compaction management (e.g., location of and depth to compacted zones). CI profiles were collected on a 20- to 30-m grid spacing from two fields with variations in soil texture, bulk density, and water content. Auxiliary data collected were bulk density, water content, and apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) as a surrogate for soil texture. Results indicated that the effects of ECa, bulk density, and soil water content on CI were different for different sites, depths, and ECa ranges (or clay content). Maps of CI showed spatial and vertical variability, indicating that the locations of and depths to layers restricting crop growth were not uniform over entire fields. When 2 MPa was used as a threshold CI value to delineate compacted areas, the portion of each field needing management to reduce compaction was 21% and 36%. This indicated that site-specific and depth-specific field management (e.g., tillage) could be more efficient in terms of energy and labor than conventional uniform field management.