USING SITE-SPECIFIC SUBSOILING TO MINIMIZE DRAFT AND OPTIMIZE CORN YIELDS

Subsoiling is often required to alleviate soil compaction; however, deep tillage can be expensive and time-consuming. If this tillage operation is conducted deeper than the compacted soil layer, energy is wasted. However, if this tillage operation is conducted shallower than the compacted soil layer, energy is again wasted, and plant roots may be prevented from penetrating the compacted layer. Technologies are now available that allow subsoiling to be conducted at the specific depth of the compacted layer, which would conserve natural resources without sacrificing crop yields. An experiment was conducted over four years in a field located in southern Alabama to evaluate whether the concept of site-specific subsoiling (tilling just deep enough to eliminate the hardpan layer) would reduce tillage draft and energy requirements and/or reduce crop yields. Average corn (Zea mays L.) yields over this four-year period showed that site-specific subsoiling produced yields equivalent to those produced by the uniform deep subsoiling treatment while reducing draft forces, drawbar power, and fuel use.