Soil characteristics of soybean fields as effected by compaction, irrigation and fertilization

Abstract

Soil physical characteristics (penetration resistance, bulk density, temperature, moisture content) and nutrient contents (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) were investigated for soybean grown in Turkey under three different compaction levels (control, low compaction, high compaction), two different irrigation management systems (conventional and alternate furrow irrigation) and three different nitrogen levels (60, 90, 120 kg ha-1Penetration resistances exhibited distinctive increase in high-compaction case of conventional and alternate furrow irrigation systems. Effects of all treatments on bulk density were found to be significant. Only the nitrogen doses had significant effects on leaf P and K contents at p<0.05 level. Soil compaction had significant effects on soil nutrient contents of all depths except 0-30 cm layer (p<0.01). Effects of compaction on soil temperature were insignificant at 10 cm but were significant at 30 cm. Results indicated that negative impacts of soil compaction could be eliminated with proper irrigation and fertilization implementations.