J. agric. Engng Res.

(1978) 23, 217-220

RESEARCH NOTE

The Persistence of the Effects of Simulated

Tractor Wheeling on Sandy Loam Subsoil
F. POLLARD* ; R. WEBSTER~

Severe tractor wheeling had been simulated by heavily rolling the soil, of sandy loam texture,
and then growing barley using normal cultivation for six years. The soil originally compacted
has developed a platy structure, and remains more dense, more resistant to penetration and has
a smaller water holding capacity than the uncompacted soil. It shows little sign of ameliorating.

1. Introduction
In an experiment Pollard and Elliott’ simulated severe tractorwheeling by heavily rolling subsoil
while the topsoil was temporarily removed, and then grew barley on the land. They measured
the effects on the soil of this treatment, and compared crop yields with those on soil treated
normally. The soil, of sandy loam texture to approximately 50 cm, was compacted in the layer
10 cm to roughly 25 cm below the surface. Its bulk density was increased from I.4 to 1.8 g/cm3
and resistance to penetration by a 30” cone of 129 mm2 cross-section increased from about 160 to
> 2000 kN/m2 at 10 cm. Full details are given in the paper by Pollard and Elliott.’ The experi-
ment showed that the compaction remained through the two year life of the experiment, which
was ended in 1973. All plots were cultivated in March 1974 with a fixed tine cultivator to a depth
of 25 cm from the original surface level to the tine points. Five tines were placed 38 cm apart on
the cultivator and the plots were cultivated twice in each direction. The lateral arrangement of
the tines was then changed by moving them 19 cm to the side and two further passes were made
in each direction along the length of the plots. The net result was that 13 tine marks 19 cm apart
were made along each plot. Further cultivations to 15 cm were made before drilling barley in
April. In subsequent years, plots were either direct drilled or tine cultivated before drilling.
In October 1977 excavation of part of the area for another purpose revealed well developed
platy structure in the soil that had been compacted whereas the uncompacted soil showed no sign
of platyness. The compacted soil was also firmer to handle. Some effect of “wheeling” in 1972
evidently persisted through the 6 cropping seasons, despite deep tine cultivation in the last
4 years. These effects have therefore been recorded, and the bulk density and strength of the soil
measured afresh on what remained of the experimental area. This short paper records the fresh
evidence of the deleterious effects of the compaction treatment.

2. Results
Fig. 2 shows the soil in profile from the surface to 52 cm under the two treatments. The soil in
Fig. Z(a) represents the control that was cultivated normally but not compacted. It is fairly
uniformly structured throughout. Fig. Z(b) shows the compacted soil. The most striking feature
is the horizontal crack at 16 cm. This marks the lower limit of cultivation since the experiment
was begun, though the upper limit of the layer originally compacted was some 8 cm higher in the
profile. The crack separates what might be termed “normal top-soil” from the compact layer
beneath. Immediately beneath the crack, and extending for some 5 cm the soil structure is coarse
platy. Some of the structural aggregates can be seen in Fig. 1. Below that the soil is massive and
compact for a further 8 cm.
*Agricultural Research Council, Weed Research Organization, Yarnton, Oxford, U.K.
t Soil Survey of England & Wales, Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Huts. U.K.
Received 3 January 1978; accepted in revised form 30 January 1978

217
0071-%34/78/0601-0217 $01.00/0 0 The British Society for Research in Agricultural Engineering
 Depth
(cm)

IO

20

30

Fig. 1. The soil profile from the surface to 52 cm (a) under the control treatment and (b) una?er simulated severe wheeling
F. POLLARD; R. WEBSTER 219

Soil resistance la cone penetration (kN/m?

1000 2cm 3000 S E.

rK------“-
w
5-
W

IO-
l--l

15 - F-4

-
3 20-

f W

e
a 25-
l-4

30 W
t
W

P-4

Fig. 2. Resistance to penetration of 30”, 129 mm9 cross-sectional area cone under control and compacted soil

Table I describes in standard terms the structure and handling characteristics (consistence) of
the soil.
Bulk density and water content were measured as follows. Eight places were chosen randomly
on the remaining 7 plots, 4 from the compacted treatment and 4 from the control. Duplicate cores
12.5 cm diameter were taken 10 cm apart from the soil at 20-30 cm and 30-40 cm depths. The
soil was weighed fresh, dried and reweighed, so giving the water content of the soil approximately
at field capacity. Table II gives the results. The compacted soil is distinctly denser in the 20-
30 cm layer than the uncompacted soil, and contains less water.

TABLE I

Description of soil structure and consisknce

Depth Depth
Uncompacted (control) Compacted
(cm) km)

O-16 Weakly developed fine and medium sub-angular blocky; moderately weak, moist; O-16
medium packing density.

Strongly developed coarse platy, 16-21

aggregates well separated by more or
less horizontal fissures; moderately
firm, moist.
16-50 Weakly developed sub-angular
blocky; firm, moist; medium packing Massive; very firm, moist ; high packing 21-29
density. density.

Weakly developed sub-angular blocky; 29-50

firm, moist ; medium packing density.
220 SIMULATED TRACTOR WHEELING

The strength of the soil was measured using a Farnell penetrometer fitted with a 30” cone of
129 mm2 cross-sectional area at 38 mm intervals from the soil surface down to 45 cm. Measure-
ments were made by making 7 penetrations several centimetres apart at 9 randomly chosen places
on each treatment. A mean value was computed for each depth at each place where a complete
set of 7 values was obtained. Where sets were incomplete because the soil was too hard to give a
reading on the scale the mean was estimated by the median value. Treatment means were then
computed for each depth, and the results, expressed in kN/m2, are shown in Fig. 2. The standard
error (S.E.) of a treatment mean at the surface is 54 kN/m2 and the average SE. for the deeper
soil 171 kN/m2. The differences in the strength of the soil between 16 and 30 cm are very sub-
stantial and highly significant in the statistical sense.

TABLE II
Mean balk density and water content of soil

Mean
Depth Stamford error of
(cm) treatment mean
Uncompacted Compacted

Bulk density (g/cm”) 20-30 1.51 1.66* 0.035

30-40 1.59 1.63 0.038

Water content (%) 20-30 14.7 13.2t 0.47

30-40 13.9 13.7 0.76

??Difference significant at PC 0.05

t Probability of null hypothesis approximately 046

3. Conclusion
The soil compacted experimentally is still compact despite 6 years of cropping and cultivation
and shows little sign of ameliorating. It seems likely that subsoil of this kind, when once com-
pacted by tractor wheeling is likely to remain so for a very long time under either minimum
tillage or a normal cultivation regime.

REFERENCE
’ Pollard, F.; Elliott, J. G. The effect of soil compaction and method of fertilizer placement on the growth
of barley using a concrete track technique. J. agric. Engng Res., 1978 23 203-216