Soil Physical Properties as Influenced by Cropping and Residue Management
1986
Skidmore, E. L. (Edward Lyman) | Layton, J. B. | Armbrust, D. V. | Hooker, M. L.
Alternate methods of residue management for reduced tillage under irrigation and in double cropping systems are constantly being sought. One method that is becoming increasingly popular is residue burning. Knowing how to best manage crop residues to maintain desirable soil physical properties for decreasing erosion and increasing crop yields in these cropping systems is a problem. This study was conducted to determining the influence of several methods of residue management for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] on physical properties of Richfield silty clay loam (fine, montmorillonitic, mesic Aridic Argiustolls). Residue management treatments were: residue removed by burning, residue removed by baling and hauling, incorporation of the residue produced during the immediate past cropping season, and incorporation of twice the amount of residue produced by the crop. Most of the soil physical properties measured were not influenced by either grain sorghum or wheat residue management treatments; however, they differed between crops. The soil aggregates from the sorghum plots were smaller, more fragile, less dense, less stable dry, and more stable wet than the aggregates from the wheat plots. The pore size distribution of the soil from the Ap horizon of the sorghum plots was more conducive to water infiltration. The saturated hydraulic conductivity was several times greater in the soil cores obtained from the sorghum plots than those obtained fro the wheat plots.
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