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TILLAGE INDUCED MODIFICATIONS IN STABILITY OF SOIL
AGGREGATES
1, 2, Mert Acar1*,Nurullah Acir3, Zeliha Bereket Barut4
1
icelik@cu.edu.tr, *macar@cu.edu.tr
2 riculture, Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Tokat, Turkey
hikmetgunal@gmail.com
3
nurullah.acir@ahievran.edu.tr
4 of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Machinery and Technologies Engineering,
Adana, Turkey zbbarut@cu.edu.tr
Aggregation is binding of mineral particles through organic and inorganic components of soils and stability of aggregates is often considered an important indicator of soil quality. This study aims to determine the effects of long term tillage systems on aggregate stability along with some physical properties affecting soil quality. The research was carried out in an experimental site with a high clay content established in 2006. Six tillage systems compared were composed of two conventional (CT-1 and CT-2), three reduced tillage (RT-1, RT-2 and RT-3) and no tillage (NT). In this paper, soil samples from 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm depths collected following the corn harvest of 2015 were evaluated. Soil samples were characterized for aggregate stability (AS) and mean weight diameter (MWD) and penetration resistance (PR) was also measured during soil sampling in each treatment plot. Soil tillage systems had significant (p<0.01) effects on AS, MWD and PR at three depths, and AS value increased with decrease of soil tillage intensity. AS values were ranged from 31.84 (CT-2) and% 54.96 (NT) at depth of 0-10 cm, from 35.27% (CT-2) to 51.90% (NT) at 10-20 cm and 35.01% (CT-2) ad 49.85% (NT) at 20-30 cm depths. In all three depths, the lowest AS values were obtained in the CT-2 application where the harvest residues were burned and the moldboard plow that turns 30-33 cm of soil surface over was used in tillage. The highest AS values were found in the NT treatment where the soil tillage was not performed at all. The MWD was also similarly responded to tillage treatments as in AS. The results indicated that nine years of continues use of conservational tillage significantly improved the stability of aggregates that contributed to the sustainability of crop production.
Keywords: Aggregate stability, Conventional, No-till, Penetration, Reduced (*) This study was supported by TUBITAK (TOVAG 115O353)
