Soil compaction and sugar beet root growth and distribution
1996
Guerif, J. | Richard, G. | Durr, C. | Boizard, H. | Duval, Y. (INRA, Laon (France). Unite d'Agronomie)
The risk of soil compaction in the ploughed layer is high during the sugar beet crop cycle, because of wet conditions when seeding and lifting. Two methods of quantifying soil structure are described: soil porosity analysis and morphological analysis of the vertical face of a soil profile. The effects of cropping systems, including sugar beet, on the structure of the ploughed soil layer are analysed. The decrease in structural porosity and the appearance of compacted areas with a massive structure are mainly linked to soil moisture at seedbed preparation and lifting, and to tyre inflation pressure. The percentages of branched tap roots increases in the highly compacted zones under wheel tracks. Root yield is more or less decreased, the extent depending on soil density and climatic conditions. Fibrous root development and changes in soil water and nitrogen dynamics are often used to explain compaction effects, but more results are needed for a better understanding of soil compaction effects.
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