Impact of soil compaction on the productivity of Onattukara soils

Abstract

An investigation was carried out at Rice Research station, Kayamkulam to study the effect of soil compaction with organic manure and amendments on soil physical properties, nutrient availability, rooting pattern, yield and quality of crops like rice, sesamum, green gram and cowpea under rice based cropping system of Onattukara tract of Kerala. The compaction treatment with four passes of a 400 kg roller significantly improved the soil physical properties, nutrient availability and yield of all the crops. The available water content, microporosity, available N, P and K, root volume and root density significantly increased in compacted treatments for all the crops. Application of coirpith and kayaJ silt improved the field moisture content in kharif rice. The hydraulic conductivity and infiltration rates decreased in compacted plots. The compacted plots recorded less number of days for 50 percent flowering of sesamum, green gram and cowpea. The rabi crop of rice, sesamum and cowpea recorded the highest grain yields of 2.72 t ha-I, 529.79 kg ha-I and 594.78 kg ha-I in the compacted treatment along with coirpith and farm yard manure (@2.5 tha-I) combination, where as the kharif crop of rice recorded the highest grain yield of 3.15 t ha-1 in the compacted and coir pith treatments along with 5 t ha-1 farm yard manure. The seed yield of green gram was highest in compacted and 5 t ha-l farm yard manure treated plots with no amendments.

Thus it can be concluded that compaction of coarse textured soils along with the application of 2.5 t ha-1 farm yard manure and 5 t ha-l coir pith significantly improved the soil physical properties, nutrient availability and inturn the yeild of different crops under rice based cropping system of Onattukara.