Soil compaction in the form of a hardpan layer restricts root growth and reduces crop yield throughout the Southeastern United States. However, the depth of this compacted soil layer varies significantly over landscapes. A sampling procedure was developed and evaluated to determine the depth of the hardpan layer in upland soils of Grenada silt loam soil type in this region. Cone index profiles ...

In arable cropping systems, reduced or conservation tillage practices are linked with improved soil quality, C retention and higher microbial biomass, but most long-term studies rarely focus on depths greater than 15 cm nor allow comparison of microbial community responses to agricultural practices. We investigated microbial community structure in a long-term field trial (12-years, Lincoln, New...

Efforts have increased to measure nitrate losses from farmland under different management practices due to environmental and public concerns over levels of nitratenitrogen (NO3-N) in surface and ground waters. This study evaluated the effect of conventional tillage (CT) and strip tillage (ST) practices and three N application rates on NO3-N concentrations in soil water at a 76 cm depth under ir...

A series of field experiments was conducted at BARI central farm to observe the changes in soil densities, moisture retentive properties, and crop productivity as influenced by different tillage depths and cropping patterns. The tillage depth showed significant effect on wheat yield. Grain yield of wheat significantly increased from 2.86 t/ha (minimum tillage depth) to 5.33 t/ha (tillage depth ...

Lack of sufficient information on conservation tillage systems leads to the dominating use of conventional tillage practice in most parts of Iran. Testing other management practices may help in decision making regarding the types of tillage systems that reduce soil deterioration. A three- years field experiment was conducted to study the effects of conventional (CT), reduced (RT) and no-till (N...