Injection of chemical amendments into compacted subsoils: Growth and nutrient uptake by wheat

Abstract

Abstract Some form of deep tillage is required in the coarse‐textured sandy soils of the Southeast in order to attain maximum yield of wheat. ‘Slit‐till’ is a tillage system that modifies plowpans and permits root penetration and proliferation into subsoil horizons. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the effects of calcium nitrate, calcium phosphate, ammonium phosphate, ammonium nitrate, and dolomitic limestone slurry on wheat (Triticum aestivum sp.) root development through the slit of a compacted acid subsoil, and the effects of injection of chemical amendments on the soil chemical properties of acid subsoil. Soil cylinders were prepared using A and B horizons of Marvyn loamy sand (fine‐loamy, siliceous, thermic, Typic Hapludults) soil by placing 56‐cm of subsoil and 10‐cm of topsoil in PVC tubing. A 6‐cm‐thick hardpan was created at the top of the subsoil. Leaf and root concentrations of P were increased by chemical injections in the slit. All amendments increased plant height, but tillering was not affected by chemical amendments. Gypsum blocks placed at 10, 20, and 45 cm indicated a decrease in soil water at the 20‐cm depth 25 days after plant emergence with all amendments except ammonium phosphate. Soil pH was increased and KCl‐extractable aluminum was decreased by dolomitic limestone up to 3.0 cm from zone of injection.