Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Crop Yield Response To Precision Deep Tillage, Larry G. Wells, Timothy S. Stombaugh, Scott A. Shearer

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Experimental precision deep tillage was applied at three sites in central Kentucky with relatively well-drained silt loam soils in no-till crop production. Fields were divided into 0.4 ha (1 ac) grid cells using DGPS mapping. Assessment of soil compaction by machinery traffic was made using multiple soil cone penetrometer measurements and expressed as cone index (CI). Corn, wheat, and soybean yields were depressed in grid cells with CI_avg ≥ 1.5 MPa (218 psi) prior to application of tillage treatments at sites 1 and 3, whereas at site 2, where most of the highest average CI values ranged from 1.44 …