supersoil in aricuture

SuperSoil in Agriculture

Soil compaction problems are significant in agriculture because in most cases they lead to reduced crop yields. Soil compaction has several causes: heavy clay or clay/silt soils, tractor pressure during cultivation and planting, flooded ground, naturally high sodium levels, or high sodium levels caused by sodium in the irrigation source.

Until now, there have been two methods of compaction relief. One is mechanical – discing, plowing or chiseling. That process can still create a hardpan soil situation below the plowing line and the benefits usually go away after the first big rain. Also available are commercial mechanical aerators that have spikes or plates that push or twist through the soil, bringing dirt up to the top, usually creating more compaction than it relieves.

The other method is the application of gypsum. Gypsum works, although with varying and inconsistent results. Basically, gypsum can not only relieve compaction, but also remove the sodium from the picture so that plants can readily use essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphate, potash, iron and zinc – nutrients that were tied up by the sodium. For a complete picture on what gypsum does, read soil biologist
Rajan prasad singh
pgdm-3rdsem
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