TILLAGE EFFECTS ON PHYSICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF A TYPIC ARGIAQUOLL IN CENTRAL OHIO

Abstract

No-till management is generally preferred over conventional tillage, especially in fine-textured soils where tillage can increase soil compaction, disrupt the natural structure formation process, and have long lasting effects on soil quality. The objective of this project was to quantify the interactive and residual effects of different tillage systems on the water transmission and structural properties of Kokomo silty clay loam (fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiaquoll). Soil physical properties were assessed at the Don Scott experimental farm of the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 9 years after initiating the study and 20 months after the last tillage operation. Three tillage treatments were replicated four times: moldboard plow (MB), chisel plow (CP), and no-till (NT). Tillage operations took place during the fall of each year between 1993 and 2000, and soil samples for physical property assessment were obtained during summer 2002 for 0–10- and 10–20-cm depths. The water infiltration tests conducted on each of the 12 experimental plot showed that the highest cumulative infiltration (I, 90 cm) and steady state infiltration (ic, 27 cm h−1) were for the NT treatment and varied in the order NT > CP ∼ MB. Soil bulk density (ρb) varied in the order MB > NT ∼ CP, available water capacity (AWC) and air filled porosity (fa) NT > MB ∼ CP. The water stable aggregation (WSA) (943 g kg−1) and the volume of transmission (TrP) (0.10 cm3cm−3) and storage pores (StP) (0.31 cm3cm−3) were the highest for the NT plots for 0–10-cm depth. For the 10–20-cm depth, the WSA and MWD were in the order NT > MB ∼ CP; AWC-NT (2.00 cm) ∼ CP (1.71 cm) > MB (1.36 cm). Tillage effects on soil properties between MB and CP seemed to diminish at the end of the growing season, and the infiltration rate after 5 min, ic, I, WSA, and soil ρb values were similar. Canonical correlation analysis indicated strong association between volumes of StP and I, ic and soil ρb, and SOC and soil ρb.