Soil Compaction and Deep Tillage – A Review

Soil compaction of agricultural land is an important form of physical land degradation. The continuous use of implements for years together develops a hard pan underneath which hinders the movement of water and inhibits growth and yield of crops. Hard pan prevent roots of many upland crops from penetrating into the deeper soil layer. Hence to break the soil compaction and hard pan deep tillage plays a vital role. To sustain the crop production soil compaction should be broken down. In deep tillage operation main factor is the soil type. Deep tillage will be beneficial if soil compaction is diagnosed. Deep tillage breaks the hard pan and helps in sinking down of the rainwater in the lower layer of soil from where it is not easily lost by evaporation and aids to deeper rooting, which helps in better exploitation of stored soil moisture and applied nutrients from the profile.