Corn crop performance in an Ultisol compacted by tractor traffic

The objective of this work was to determine whether compaction by tractor traffic in areas managed under controlled traffic can be limiting to corn crop, under different tillage systems, in a Typic Paleudult of medium texture. Two experiments were carried out, one in the field over two crop seasons and another in a greenhouse. The treatments consisted of minimum tillage with chiselling; no-tillage subjected to one, three, or six passes of a tractor weighing 3.8 Mg; and an area without traffic. Evaluations were performed for soil physico-hydraulic parameters (soil bulk density, penetration resistance, and water retention curve), root and shoot growth, and grain yield. The agricultural traffic increased bulk density, soil penetration resistance, and water content at field capacity. The highest values for soil penetration resistance (1,600 kPa) and bulk density (1.67 g cm^-3) in the trafficked soil were not limiting to corn development and increased grain yield for both crop seasons. Tractor traffic of up to six passes is beneficial to corn cultivation, and it increases water availability and corn grain yield.

Index terms:
Zea mays; grain yield; no-tillage; root growth; soil compaction

Authorship

Moacir Tuzzin de Moraes

Universidade de São Paulo, Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Avenida Centenário, no 303, São Dimas, CEP 13416-000 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. E-mail: moacir.tuzzin@gmail.comUniversidade de São PauloBrazilPiracicaba, SP, BrazilUniversidade de São Paulo, Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Avenida Centenário, no 303, São Dimas, CEP 13416-000 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. E-mail: moacir.tuzzin@gmail.com

Renato Levien

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Faculdade de Agronomia, Departamento de Solos, Avenida Bento Gonçalves, no 7.712, CEP 91540-000 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. E-mail: renatole@gmail.com, trein@ufrgs.brUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulBrazilPorto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Faculdade de Agronomia, Departamento de Solos, Avenida Bento Gonçalves, no 7.712, CEP 91540-000 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. E-mail: renatole@gmail.com, trein@ufrgs.br

Carlos Ricardo Trein

João de Andrade Bonetti

Instituto Federal do Paraná, Campus Palmas, Avenida Bento Munhoz da Rocha Neto s/n, PRT-280 Trevo Codapar, CEP 8555-000 Palmas, PR, Brazil. E-mail: agro.bonetti@gmail.comInstituto Federal do ParanáBrazilPalmas, PR, BrazilInstituto Federal do Paraná, Campus Palmas, Avenida Bento Munhoz da Rocha Neto s/n, PRT-280 Trevo Codapar, CEP 8555-000 Palmas, PR, Brazil. E-mail: agro.bonetti@gmail.com

Henrique Debiasi

Embrapa Soja, Rodovia Carlos João Strass, Distrito de Warta, CEP 86001-970 Londrina, PR, Brazil. E-mail: henrique.debiasi@embrapa.brEmbrapa SojaBrazilLondrina, PR, BrazilEmbrapa Soja, Rodovia Carlos João Strass, Distrito de Warta, CEP 86001-970 Londrina, PR, Brazil. E-mail: henrique.debiasi@embrapa.br

SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Figures | Tables

Figures (6)
Tables (1)

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Figure 1.
Soil bulk density (A-D), microporosity (E-H), macroporosity (I-L), and volumetric moisture at field capacity (M-P) as a function of the simple effect of traffic intensity and tillage system, in the 2013/2014 (A, B, E, F, I, J, M, and N) and 2014/2015 (C, D, G, H, K, L, O, and P) crop seasons, for five layers (0-25 cm) of a Typic Paleudult. C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system. nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability. Means followed by equal letters for each soil layer do not differ from each other by the Tukey’s test, at 5% probability.

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Figure 2.
Soil penetration resistance as a function of the number of passes (traffic) and soil depth for minimum tillage with soil chiselling (A), and no-tillage system (B), in a Typic Paleudult in the 2013/2014 crop season. C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. W, soil-water content on a dry weight basis (g g-1). Means followed by equal letters in each soil layer do not differ from each other by the Tukey’s test, at 5% probability. nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability.

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Figure 3.
Soil-water retention curve (A and C) and pore size distribution and frequency (B and D), as a function of compaction level (A and B) and tillage system (C and D), at 5-10 cm soil depth of a Typic Paleudult, in the 2014/2015 crop season. C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system.

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Figure 4.
Relationship between the morphological parameters of corn (Zea mays) - plant height (A), shoot dry mass (B), stem diameter (C), root fresh mass (D), root dry mass (E), root diameter (F), root length (G), root surface area (H), and root volume (I) ¬- with soil bulk density at 0-25 cm soil depth of a Typic Paleudult under controlled traffic. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system. nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability.

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Figure 5.
Relationship between the morphological parameters of corn (Zea mays) - plant height (A), shoot dry mass (B), stem diameter (C), root fresh mass (D), root dry mass (E), root diameter (F), root length (G), root surface area (H), and root volume (I) - with soil penetration resistance at 0-25-cm soil depth of a Typic Paleudult under controlled traffic. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system. nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability.

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Figura 6.
Corn (Zea mays) grain yield as a function of traffic intensity and tillage system on a Typic Paleudult, in the 2013/2014 (A) and 2014/2015 (B) crop seasons. C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system. *Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean. Means followed by equal letters, uppercase between preparation systems and lowercase between traffic intensities, do not differ by the Tukey’s test, at 5% probability.

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Table 1.
Parameters for the development of the root system and shoot of corn (Zea mays), at 32 days after sowing, cultivated in undisturbed samples in a greenhouse, in comparison to soil preparation systems and traffic intensity in a Typic Paleudult.

Figure 1. Soil bulk density (A-D), microporosity (E-H), macroporosity (I-L), and volumetric moisture at field capacity (M-P) as a function of the simple effect of traffic intensity and tillage system, in the 2013/2014 (A, B, E, F, I, J, M, and N) and 2014/2015 (C, D, G, H, K, L, O, and P) crop seasons, for five layers (0-25 cm) of a Typic Paleudult. C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system. nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability. Means followed by equal letters for each soil layer do not differ from each other by the Tukey’s test, at 5% probability.

Figure 2. Soil penetration resistance as a function of the number of passes (traffic) and soil depth for minimum tillage with soil chiselling (A), and no-tillage system (B), in a Typic Paleudult in the 2013/2014 crop season. C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. W, soil-water content on a dry weight basis (g g-1). Means followed by equal letters in each soil layer do not differ from each other by the Tukey’s test, at 5% probability. nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability.

Figure 3. Soil-water retention curve (A and C) and pore size distribution and frequency (B and D), as a function of compaction level (A and B) and tillage system (C and D), at 5-10 cm soil depth of a Typic Paleudult, in the 2014/2015 crop season. C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system.

Figure 4. Relationship between the morphological parameters of corn (Zea mays) - plant height (A), shoot dry mass (B), stem diameter (C), root fresh mass (D), root dry mass (E), root diameter (F), root length (G), root surface area (H), and root volume (I) ¬- with soil bulk density at 0-25 cm soil depth of a Typic Paleudult under controlled traffic. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system. nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability.

Figure 5. Relationship between the morphological parameters of corn (Zea mays) - plant height (A), shoot dry mass (B), stem diameter (C), root fresh mass (D), root dry mass (E), root diameter (F), root length (G), root surface area (H), and root volume (I) - with soil penetration resistance at 0-25-cm soil depth of a Typic Paleudult under controlled traffic. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system. nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability.

Figura 6. Corn (Zea mays) grain yield as a function of traffic intensity and tillage system on a Typic Paleudult, in the 2013/2014 (A) and 2014/2015 (B) crop seasons. C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; and NT, no-tillage system. *Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean. Means followed by equal letters, uppercase between preparation systems and lowercase between traffic intensities, do not differ by the Tukey’s test, at 5% probability.

Table 1. Parameters for the development of the root system and shoot of corn (Zea mays), at 32 days after sowing, cultivated in undisturbed samples in a greenhouse, in comparison to soil preparation systems and traffic intensity in a Typic Paleudult.

Treatment⁽¹⁾		Stem diameter (cm)	Plant height (cm)	Shoot dry mass (g)	Root fresh mass (g)	Root dry mass (g)	Root volume (dm³cm^-3)	Root surface area (cm² cm³)	Root diameter (cm)	Root length density (cm cm^-3)
Tillage system
	MTC	18.2±0.7^ns	45.7±2.6^ns	16.1±3.9^ns	49.9±10.1^ns	3.32±0.8^ns	0.05±0.02^ns	1.51±0.50^ns	0.75±0.04^ns	0.54±0.17^ns
	NT	17.2±1.7	44.8±2.3	15.1±3.6	42.2±5.8	2.86±0.5	0.04±0.01	1.30±0.37	0.77±0.05	0.47±0.15
Traffic intensity
	C0	17.6±2.5^ns	44.3±2.3^ns	16.2±3.9^ns	52.1±8.1^ns	3.36±0.6^ns	0.06±0.01^ns	1.75±0.43^ns	0.76±0.03^ns	0.62±0.16^ns
	C1	17.8±0.8	45.5±2.5	15.5±4.5	47.7±9.1	3.35±1.1	0.06±0.01	1.76±0.30	0.76±0.02	0.62±0.09
	C3	18.0±1.0	46.2±2.7	15.8±3.9	42.1±11.5	2.59±0.7	0.04±0.01	1.17±0.35	0.77±0.05	0.43±0.14
	C6	17.6±1.0	45.1±2.5	15.1±3.6	44.9±6.2	3.25±0.4	0.04±0.01	1.10±0.31	0.75±0.06	0.41±0.13

⁽¹⁾
MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; NT, no-tillage system; C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. ^nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability.

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Corn crop performance in an Ultisol compacted by tractor traffic

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[TFN1] ⁽¹⁾
MTC, minimum tillage system with soil chiselling; NT, no-tillage system; C0, no traffic; C1, one tractor pass; C3, three tractor passes; and C6, six tractor passes. ^nsNonsignificant by the F-test, at 5% probability.