Abstract
Soil degradation by artificial compaction is recognized by the European Union as a major environmental and agricultural problem. Artificial compaction has worsened with the intensification of mechanized agriculture where heavier machinery is used, often moving on soils with high moisture. Experimental research was designed to determine the influence of five wheel loads and tire inflation pressures, on the contact area, the shape of footprint and the contact pressure, under the wheel of a machine for high accuracy application of phytosanitary treatments in orchards. It was found that the only situation when compaction does not occur is when the tank is empty (2.45 kN wheel load), at lowest tire inflation pressure of 100 kPa. Subsoil compaction (at 0.3-0.4 m) occurs when the sprayer machine’s tank is filled with different amounts of liquid. With empty tank, the sprayer only causes topsoil compaction.
Highlights
Artificial compaction is a large scale, negative phenomenon that raises serious concerns over the sustainability of soils
Compaction develops as a consequence of using larger agricultural machines, increased number of soil works, short rotations and intensive pasturing of livestock [1]
Results were analysed with the I-Scan software, which records the pressure distribution in the footprint, the individual values and the graphical variation over time of the contact area, the contact pressure, maximum pressure recorded, force on the soil, etc
Summary
Artificial compaction is a large scale, negative phenomenon that raises serious concerns over the sustainability of soils. Compaction develops as a consequence of using larger agricultural machines, increased number of soil works, short rotations and intensive pasturing of livestock [1]. From the preparation of the soil for crop establishment until its harvest, is involved in increasing the degree of artificial compaction of the agricultural soil [2]. Consequences of the artificial compaction on soil properties and especially on soil fertility are strongly negative. Some agronomic consequences of soil compaction are: reduced plant capacity to assimilate the nutrients and water, restricted root penetration into the subsoil, decline in crop yields, and last but not least, high resistance to soil processing and high fuel consumption [2,3,4,5]
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