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The effect of soil strength on the yield of wheat

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Abstract

Although it is well-known that high soil strength is a constraint to root and shoot growth, it is not clear to what extent soil strength is the main physical stress that limits crop growth and yield. This is partly because it is difficult to separate the effects of soil drying and high soil strength, which tend to occur together. The aim of this paper is to test the hypothesis that for two different soil types, yield is closely related to soil strength irrespective of difference in soil water status and soil structure. Winter (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Hereward) and spring wheat (cv. Paragon) were grown in the field on two soils, which had very different physical characteristics. One was loamy sand and the other sandy clay loam; compaction and loosening treatments were applied in a fully factorial design to both. Crop growth and yield, carbon isotope discrimination, soil strength, water status, soil structure and hydraulic properties were measured. The results showed that irrespective of differences in soil type, structure and water status, soil strength gave a good prediction of crop yield. Comparison with previous data led to the conclusion that, irrespective of whether it was due to drying or compaction (poor soil management), soil strength appeared to be an important stress that limits crop productivity.

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Acknowledgements

Rothamsted Research is grant-aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. We thank Mr R. P. White for statistical advice, and Mr C. P. Webster, Mr A. Hunt and Mr R. E. Cope for help with the field experimentation. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cross-Institute Programme for Sustainable Soil Function, Soil Science Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK

    W. Richard Whalley, Chris W. Watts, Andrew S. Gregory, Lawrence J. Clark & Andrew P. Whitmore

  2. Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Sacha J. Mooney

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  1. W. Richard Whalley
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  2. Chris W. Watts
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  3. Andrew S. Gregory
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  4. Sacha J. Mooney
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  5. Lawrence J. Clark
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  6. Andrew P. Whitmore
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Correspondence to W. Richard Whalley.

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Responsible Editor: Len Wade.

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Whalley, W.R., Watts, C.W., Gregory, A.S. et al. The effect of soil strength on the yield of wheat. Plant Soil 306, 237–247 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9577-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9577-5

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