Tag Archives: Soil compaction is one of the most important factors responsible for physical

329-334 J. Kuht, E. Reintam, L. Edesi and E. Nugis
Influence of subsoil compaction on soil physical properties and on growing conditions of barley
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Influence of subsoil compaction on soil physical properties and on growing conditions of barley

J. Kuht¹*, E. Reintam¹, L. Edesi² and E. Nugis²

¹Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, EE51014 Tartu, Estonia; 2Estonian Research Institute of Agriculture, Teaduse 13, 75501 Saku, Estonia *Correspondence: jaan.kuht@emu.ee Abstract. In 1997, 1998 and 1999 field experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of soil compaction on the soil properties and on the composition of phytocoenosis in barley fields. The field trials were completed on sandy clay Haplic Stagnosol (by WRB 2006) which is quite characteristic for Estonia, and sensitive to compaction. The results of the investigations at Eerika (near Tartu, Estonia) demonstrated a strongly negative effect of subsoil compaction on soil characteristics and were associated with the number of compaction events carried out. Furthermore, the amount of aggregates of the 0.25–7 mm decreased by 14.4%. The penetration resistance in subsoil was 1.7–2.6 times higher compared with the non-compacted area. The results indicated that adaptability of weeds on the soil degraded by excessive compaction was remarkably strong, thus increasing their competitiveness in association with barley, especially under conditions unfavourable to the plants. Key words: soil compaction, penetration resistance, water content, barley, weeds

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INTRODUCTION

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