Predictability of Crop Production in a Clay Soil Based on a Comprehensive, Post-land-leveling Soil Property Evaluation

Abstract

Land leveling is a common, yet severe, soil disturbance in the rice (Oryza sativa L.)-producing regions of the mid-southern United States. Land leveling is a soiland crop-management practice that can disrupt the theoretically predictable soil-plant relationship that exists in undisturbed conditions. The objective of this study was to determine whether crop growth and production were predictable with some degree of confidence based on a comprehensive soil-property characterization following land leveling of a clay soil at the Northeast Research and Extension Center in Mississippi County, Ark. Significant correlations between soil properties and crop responses were generally weak (r < 0.4) and inconsistent across crops and growing seasons. Results indicate that soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and rice growth and response in the first three growing seasons following land leveling cannot be reliably predicted based on a suite of 25 immediate post-leveling soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. Based on the results of this and a previous study, it appears that the negative effects of land leveling on soil properties may be less in clay than in silt-loam soils. Though land leveling may facilitate the uniform distribution of irrigation waters, the resulting increased spatial variability and distributions of soil properties and crop response will likely make long-term, post-leveling management challenging.