Zemljište i biljka (Jan 2019)
The effects of summer crops grown after winter cover crops on soil compaction
Abstract
The aim of the paper was to determine the influence of cover crops (CC) and cultivated crops in the subsequent sowing period (maize, soybean and sudan grass) on the physical properties of the soil, and above all on the soil compaction.Research was carried out at the Rimski Šančevi experimental station. Type of soil - chernozem. The winter CC consisted of the combined intercrops: winter pea (Pisum sativum ssp. Arvense L.) + triticale ((×Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus) (PT) and single-species CC winter pea (P)and control (without CC). Plowing of CC and control plots was carried out in the last week of May 2018, and the sowing of maize, soybean and sudan grass was carried out in early June. Soil compaction was analyzed on the basis of collected data on the resistance of cone penetration into the soil and the immediate moisture content of the soil. The penetration resistance of the cone into the soil was determined using an electric penetrologger Eijkelkamp Penetrologger. Measurement of the resistance was carried out to a depth of 80 cm and expressed in MPa. Based on the conducted research, the smallest percentage content of soil moisture at depths of up to 20 cm was determined for maize varieties (PT) of 10.5% vol.and the highest on the control plot (without CC) (25.7% vol.), as a consequence of the absence of the CC, but also the dense structure of Sudan grass and reduced evaporation from the production area. The lowest Cone index (CI) was measured on a plot also with sudan grass, on the soil preceded by the cultivation of the winter pea as cover crop ( 2,3), while the highest index (3,6) was measured in the soybean crop on variants (PT). The specific resistance to penetration of the cone was varied both on varieties of inter CC (PT), single CC (P) and control, as well as in different cultivated species in the subsequent sowing period. The highest value of the specific resistance in the depth 0-20 cm was found in soybean (PT) 2.76 MPa, and also increased compation in the same crop in the layer (20-40 cm). On the basis of the obtained values it can be concluded that maize least affects soil compaction, unlike soybean, while in relation to the cover crops it is determined that the winter pea has the least impact on soil compaction.
