Influence of soil compaction on productivity and root growth of peanut

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil compaction on the physical attributes of a Haplustox soil and associate them with peanut root growth and productivity. A completely random design was used with split plots (five compaction levels and two depths) and four replications. Intact soil samples were collected at the soil depths of 0.02-0.05, 0.08-0., and 0.5-0.8 m for the determination of resistance to penetration (RP), soil density and porosity. For root density, surface, diameter and dry mass determinations the samples were collected at 0-0.0 and 0.0-0.20 m. Tractor traffic on soil near to field capacity (0.6 kg kg^-), resulted in an increase in compaction levels at the shallower depths and consequently larger root diameters and smaller root densities. At the average RP levels of 2.45 and 2.55 MPa there was a reduction in root dry mass and surface, respectively. Resistance to penetration levels ranging from .6 to 3.77 MPa promoted root growth alterations. The peanut yield was linearly reduced at RP level of .6 MPa.Additional keywords: resistance to penetration: bulk density; Arachis hypogaea L.