The effects of organic material applications on soil penetration resistance

One of the common applications to decrease the soil compaction is the addition of organic material. In this study, effects of the organic materials (biosolid and manure, 30 ton ha(-1)) were applied to the clay-loam (Typic Xerofluvent) soil in an apple orchard on penetration resistance and it was investigated. The organic materials were mixed with the soil during the applications of soil tillage in spring. After second soil tillage, the values of penetration resistance and gravimetric moisture content at 20 cm soil depth were determined at five different dates between days 52-61. For the control and organic material applications, model values at the same moisture levels were estimated with the help of the exponential relations between the moisture and penetration resistance. The statistical analysis on the model values showed that the effects of the applications on the penetration resistance were significantly different (P<0.01). The highest penetration resistance value was found in the control application and the lowest value was obtained in the manure application.