Effect of Adding Sugarcane Bagasse and Filter Cake and Wetting and Drying Cycles on Pre-Compaction Stress of Soil

Abstract

Introduction The compaction of soil by agricultural equipment has become a matter of increasing concern because compaction of arable lands may reduce crop growth and yield, and it also has environmental impacts. In nature, soils could be compacted due to its own weights, external loads and internal forces as a result of wetting and drying processes. Soil compaction in sugarcane fields usually occurs due to mechanized harvesting operations by using heavy machinery in wet soils. Adding plant residues to the soil can improve soil structure. To improve soil physical quality of sugarcane fields, it might be suggested to add the bagasse and filter cake, which are the by-products of the sugar industry, to the soils. When a soil has been compacted by field traffic or has settled owing to natural forces, a threshold stress is believed to exist such that loadings inducing lower than the threshold cause little additional compaction, whilst loadings inducing greater stresses than the threshold cause much additional compaction. This threshold is called pre-compaction stress (σpc). The σpc is considered as an index of soil compactibility, the maximum pressure a soil has experienced in the past (i.e. soil management history), and the maximum major principal stress a soil can resist without major plastic deformation and compaction. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of wetting and drying cycles, soil water content, residues type and percent on stress at compaction threshold (σpc). Materials and Methods In this research, the effect of adding sugarcane residues (i.e., bagasse and filter cake) with two different rates (1 and 2%) on pre-compaction stress (σpc) in a silty clay loam soil which was prepared at two relative water contents of 0.9PL (PL= plastic limit, moist) and 1.1PL (wet) with or without wetting and drying cycles. This study was conducted using a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications. A composite disturbed sample of topsoil (0–200 mm deep) of a silty clay loam soil was collected from Isfahan province (32 31.530 N; 51 49.40E) in center of Iran. The mean annual precipitation and temperature of the region are about 160 mm and 16 C, respectively. Sugarcane residues (bagasse and filter cake) were obtained from the sugarcane fields in Ahvaz, Khuzestan province (Iran). The samples were air-dried and passed through a 2-mm sieve. Soil treated by bagasse and filter cake in different rates was poured and knocked lightly into cylinders with diameter and height of 25 and 8 cm, respectively. Large air-dry disturbed soil samples were prepared and some of them were exposed to five wetting and drying cycles. Finally, the soil surface was covered by a plastic sheet and was left overnight in the laboratory (for 24 hours) to enable the moisture to equilibrate. The loading tests were performed the next day. The pre-compaction stress was determined by plate sinkage test (PST). The loading test for PST was performed using CBR apparatus. The compression for PST was continuous at the same constant displacement rate of the CBR (i.e. 1 mm min-1). Determination of the σpc was done using Casagrande’s graphical estimation procedure (Casagrande, 1936) in a program written in MatLab software. Results and Discussion The results showed that σpc was significantly decreased by adding residues to the soil at both water contents, and with/without wetting and drying process. For untreated treatments (control), the σpc decreased with increasing water content. Although σpc decreased with adding the residues to the soil, however, the effect of residue types and percentages and soil water content on σpc was not significant for the soil samples treated with residues. Conclusions In order to prevent re-compaction of the soil and improve its structure, it is suggested that traffic control system with permanent routes for the movement of machinery to be used in sugar cane plantations and the residues (after desalination) to be added into strips that are placed under cultivation.

Keywords

• compressive strength
• plant residues
• plate sinkage test
• pre-compaction stress
• wetting and drying