ARS | Publication request: CORRECTING SOIL STRENGTH FOR WATER CONTENT DIFFERENCES

Submitted to: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 2, 1997
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: We measure soil strength to evaluate reduced tillage effectiveness. Yet, strength varies across a field with soil water content that can mask tillage-induced differences. Correction of data to a single water content could alleviate this problem. We used equations developed in TableCurve software and in the literature to correct strengths for water content differences. Data came from two field experiments: cotton grown with conventional and conservation tillage without irrigation and beans grown with conventional tillage using irrigation. Equations explained 55 to 92% of the soil strength variability with water content corrections. Corrections reduced cone index dependence on water content. The best fits came when we developed separate parameters for different treatments. In this case, differences may be real or may be a manifestation of the correction differences. Here, correction may not be feasible unless future work can coordinate equations and assure uniformity.