What is Soil Compaction and How to Reverse it?
Reversing Soil Compaction: Sustainable Practices for Healthier Soil and Improved Crop Growth
The overuse of heavy equipment (e.g., tractors) and the lack of following best practices regarding water and soil management (often tillage, deep harrowing and plowing, and over-irrigation) can negatively affect soil structure, leading to soil compaction. Compacted soils have smaller pores, lower water holding capacity, less air, and can form unbreakable pans or top crust, leading to a decrease (or complete failure) of seed sprouting and emergence as well as limited root growth and spread.
How to reverse soil compaction
In highly compacted soils where a farmer applies no-tillage practices, he/she can rotate the cash crop with cool-season cover crops with strong root systems (e.g., daikon or tillage radish) to break up plow pans. Additionally, earthworms that are favored by the presence of cover crops can further help loosen up the soil and improve its structure.
Further reading
The Importance of Mulching in Vegetable Production
Uncover the Benefits of Weeds: Enhancing Soil Health and Biodiversity
Salt-Tolerant Plants: 10 options for gardens near the sea
The Significance of Soil Health in Sustainable Agriculture
Causes and Effects of Soil Erosion and rapid Water Run-off
Soil salinization and how farmers can overcome it
The Importance of Soil Health for Maximum and Sustainable Crop Yields
