engleski

Tractor impacts on soil compaction in a vineyard located in Croatia

Vineyards management in Croatia is normally done with machinery, approximately 12 – 16 times a year, depending on climate. The main objective of this work is to study the spatial and temporal changes of soil compaction on a Stagnosols at different depths. The research was conducted in the experimental station of Jazbina in northwest Croatia. During 2014 in May, August and October soil core samples (0 - 10 ; 10 – 20 and 20 – 30 cm) were collected from a row position between vine (ROW), tilled interrow position (IRT) and interrow position covered by grass covered (IRGC). At each sampling date, 108 undisturbed soil samples were collected, 324 in total. The variables measured were bulk density (BD) and gravimetric water content (GWC). During the same dates penetration resistance (PR) was determined with 177 measurements at each sampling date, 531 in total. In comparison to May, in October PR at IRT increased at 0 – 10 cm, 10 – 20 cm and 20 – 30 cm for 117%, 126% and 62%, respectively. Likewise, at same layers in October at IRGC position PR was high for 74%, 100% and 67%, compared to May. BD mean values showed the same behaviour: from 1.52 to 1.51 g cm-3 at the beginning of the season to 1.57 – 1.59 g cm-3 at the end after intensive traffic. In the subsoil (20 – 30 cm) PR was higher than 2.0 MPa, reducing root growth. No significant differences were found in BD between IRT and IRGC, while ROW showed significantly lower BD values. In October, topsoil PR was significantly lower in IRT than to IRGC, while in subsoil there were no differences. Therefore, annual soil loosening by subsoiling should be applied to break soil compaction at the end of season, while roto harrowing operation, every second interrow is a questionable practice for Croatian soil management.

soil water content ; soil compaction ; bulk density ; penetrometer resistance ; Stagnosols

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