Impact Of Various Tillage Systems On Temporal Distribution Of Soil Physical Properties

ABSTRACT

This research work focus on the impact of various tillage systems on temporal distribution of soil physical properties in Umudike, Nigeria. Field experiments were conducted using four different tillage methods and evaluation of the it’s impact and the temporal effect on the soil physical properties were carried out. The four tillage treatments were no-tillage (NT), plough alone (PA), harrow alone (HA), plough and then harrow (PH), while the soil physical properties analysed were moisture content, bulk density, particle density, porosity, penetration resistance. Results showed significant changes at (P<0.5),in soil moisture content, bulk density, porosity and penetration resistance on the time of measurement, while there was no significant different in particle density measurement overtime. The results also showed that moisture content and bulk density values were influenced by the type of tillage treatment and soil depth. Thus, our study shows that all the physical properties evaluated varied temporarily irrespective of the tillage method except particle density.