Soil Compaction’s Adverse Effect On Crops – Ag Matters

If your farm ground is compacted it can have an adverse effect on your crops.  On the surface it can cause water run off and deeper in the ground it can cause root problems and overall health of the plants.  Cornell Cooperative Extension can help with those problems.

Soil compaction at the surface can increase water runoff and potential pollution of surface  water. Water that runs off the surface is not available for plant use. Seeds that are planted sometimes have a difficult time  penetrating a compacted surface layer, dying in the process, reducing plant populations and yield.

Sub surface compaction caused predominantly by tillage (tillage pans) can limit the depth that root systems explore reducing access to needed nutrients and water.

Cornell Cooperative Extension has a soil penetrometer that you can borrow and use to identify if you have compaction in your fields and at what depth they occur. This information can be used to identify how deep to set rippers. If you have surface compaction you can consider crop rotation, cover cropping and reducing surface tillage. If you are interested in borrowing the soil penetrometer call Jeff Miller at 736-3394 ext 120.