Surface crusting as a constraint to sustainable management on a tropical Alfisol: I. Soil physical properties

Bajracharya, R M and Cogle , A L and Lal, R and Rao, K P C and Smith, G D and Yule, D F (1996) Surface crusting as a constraint to sustainable management on a tropical Alfisol: I. Soil physical properties. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 8 (4). pp. 25-44. ISSN 1044-0046

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Abstract

Physical properties related to crust formation were assessed on a clayey-skeletal, mixed, isohyperthermic Udic Rhodustalf in India. A critical proportion (30 to 40%) of fine-textured fractions, particularly silt, appeared to be important in structural crust formation due to aggregate breakdown, rainfall compaction, and particle rearrangement of the surface soil. Significantly higher water dispersible clay percentage (7.1%) and dispersion ratio (0.34) at 60 days after planting (DAP) indicated diminished structural stability and increased slaking tendency of surface aggregates. Infiltration rates decreased by 40 to 60% in tilled bare systems from 0 to 60 DAP. Termite activity appeared to increase cumulative infiltration and steady state infiltration rate although additional research is required to determine the precise nature of its influence on porosity and pore continuity. Soil cover and biological components may be manageable factors to improve soil structure and stability, as well as to reduce crusting and its associated adverse effects in the semiarid tropics

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	Others > Soil Science
Depositing User:	Mr B K Murthy
Date Deposited:	13 Jun 2014 11:02
Last Modified:	13 Jun 2014 11:02
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/8126
Official URL:
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Google Scholar

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