Soil Compaction: A Problem and Its

Remedies
Soil compaction is an emerging problem in agriculture. In days, when the entire agriculture was
dependent on draft animals, compaction of soil
was very low because of low soil pressure caused
due to feet of draft animals. Moreover, as the area
of soil to be compacted by animals is very low,
therefore instead of compaction, some tilling of
soil occurs. But today, due to increased use of
heavy farm machinery and poor farming
practices, soil compaction is emerging as a
serious problem. Soil compaction occurs when
soil particles are pressed together thereby
reducing pore space between them. It is more
common in fine-textured soils, but it can also occur in coarse-textured soils. Soil compaction
impacts can be felt after years and can result into as much as 10 to 20 percent of yield if not
corrected timely. The major concerns of soil compaction are:

Impair water infiltration into soil,

Higher energy requirement for soil tillage
Poor crop emergence,
Shallow root penetration and
Low crop nutrient and water uptake, all of which result in depressed crop yield.

Causes of soil compaction:

Tillage operations: Continuous mouldboard plowing or disking at the same depth will cause
serious hard soil pans just below the depth of tillage in some soils. Heavy weight of field
implements also results into compacted soil.
Wheel traffic: With increasing farm size, the window of time in which to get these operations
done in a timely manner is often limited. The weight of tractors has increased from less than
3 tons in the 1940s to approximately 20 tons today for the big four-wheel-drive units.
Minimal Crop Rotation: Limiting different rooting systems and their beneficial effects on
breaking subsoil compaction, and increased potential for compaction early in the cropping
season are due to more tillage activity and field traffic.
Poorly engineered farm machinery: The rear tires of tractors are designed for a safe
maximum specific load. As tractors are most abundant traction machine available in fields,
farmers modify it for earth movement purpose such as front loader to save money, at their
 own level without increasing tires sizes for increased load. This in turn, increase the load on
the same rear tires which results into higher soil compaction.

Identifying soil compaction:

Visible wheel track patterns: Heavy machinery such as tractors, combines, trolleys, manure
spreaders leaves tracks behind them. It is easy to identify soil compaction with tracks. The
bottom of the track can be examined for possible compaction of soil. Density of soil profile
at various depths gives a clue of hard pan of soil that has been just formed. To check if a soil
is compacted or not, an easy practical method is to take a shovel and try to penetrate it into
soil. In moist soil, the shovel will move through the soil profile until it reaches the
compaction layer of soil. The position of this layer is in accordance with per unit pressure
developed by farm machinery and depth of a tillage operation.
Malformed plant roots: The plant growth is stunted in a soil with low volume of pore space
due to poor circulation of gases. The degree of soil compaction can be assessed with roots of
plants. The roots in compacted soil grow more sideways instead of downward and may grow
in twisted paths. The branching roots may be reduced in the compacted layer. Moreover,
there may be water stress for crops due to low water holding capacity of compacted soil
which in turn may results into pinched grain in grain crops.

Stagnant water in field: Compaction causes poor drainage of water which results into the
stagnant water spots in the fields indicating that a hard soil pan is forming. Inadequate pore
space due to compaction may results into waterlogging condition in the field. Poor air
circulation causes a loss of nitrogen through denitrification. This condition is more worsen by
the fact that wet soils compact easily and travel of farm machinery on the wet area simply
compact the soil even more. Moreover, tracks laid by tractors drain poorly after a rain, so soil
compaction increases more during the next trip over the same tracks in the field.

Greater power required for tillage: Compacted soil field requires more power to carry out
tillage operations. According to an estimate, compacted soil caused a 10-16 times increase at
low speeds and a 4-8 times increase at high speeds in power needed for preparation of a
seedbed to a given fineness. In an experiment it is fund that the draft of a narrow pointed
chisel increased from 70 pounds in non-compacted soil to 350 pounds in compacted soil
considering a particular soil and field conditions.
Practices to minimize and avoid soil compaction:

Managing field operations: Limiting vehicle load and ensuring proper weighting in tillage
operations results in even spread of pressure in soil which in turn compacts soil less.
Maintaining crop residue on soil also reduces soil compaction.
Avoid performing field operations on wet soil: Wet soil is most susceptible to compaction.
Soil tilling operations should be performed on optimum moisture level to minimize
compaction.
Address drainage problem: Organic material help in addressing drainage problem to a greater
extent. These materials not only increase fertility of soil but also enhance its water
 infiltration. The lower density and poor adhesive property of organic material keeps the soil
loose.
Crop rotation should be done as regular practice with tap rooted crop to create channels
which also leads to low soil compaction except increasing soil fertility. These channels in the
soil can also be used by subsequent crop for better growth.
Equipment maintenance and management: Oversized equipment should be avoided as much
as possible. These implements not only increase compaction of soil but also lower the
mileage of the tractor. Tillage depth should be changed from year to year to avoid hard pan
formation beneath top layer of soil. All tillage equipment must be in peak operating
condition. Lighter equipment should be used and remove ballast when not needed. Reducing
tire inflation pressure lessens the pressure per unit of the soil surface and thus reduces
compaction to an extent. Tandem tires spread the load over more axles and reduce soil
pressure without increasing the compacted area.
Control-traffic farming: Use of different traffic lanes for different machinery year after year
lower compaction of soil. Tandem or single tires should be used instead of duals if possible.
Driving should be avoided on the same areas repeatedly.