• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.109-115
• /
• 2006

Understanding characteristics of claypan soils has long been an issue for researchers and farmers because the high-clay subsoil has a pronounced effect on grain crop productivity. The claypan restricts water infiltration and storage within the crop root zone, but these effects are not uniform within fields. Conventional techniques of identifying claypan soil characteristics require manual probing and analysis which can be quite expensive; an expense most farmers are unwilling to pay. On the other hand, farmers would be very interested if this information could be obtained with easy-to-use field sensors. Two examples of sensors that show promise for helping in claypan soil characterization are soil profile strength sensing and bulk soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). Little has been reported on claypan soils relating the combined information from these two sensors with grain crop yield. The objective of this research was to identify the relationships of sensed profile soil strength and soil EC with nine years of crop yield (maize and soybean) from a claypan soil field in central Missouri. A multiple-probe (five probes on 19-cm spacing) cone penetrometer was used to measure soil strength and an electromagnetic induction sensor was used to measure soil EC at 55 grid site locations within a 4-ha research field. Crop yields were obtained using a combine equipped with a yield monitoring system. Soil strength at the 15 to 45 cm soil depth were significantly correlated to crop yield and ECa. Estimated crop yields from apparent electrical conductivity and soil strength were validated with an independent data set. Using measurements from these two sensors, standard error rates for estimating yield ranged from 9 to 16%. In conclusion, these results showed that the sensed profile soil strength and soil EC could be used as a measure of the soil productivity for grain crop production.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2006.04a
• /
• pp.232-233
• /
• 2006

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.45-51
• /
• 1975

The morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics of planosols in Korea were studied in an effort to establish the suitabilition of the planosols for agricultural development. The Yeongog series which are planosols were established in Korea. Results from the Yeongog series are briefly as follows : 1. Morphologically, the surface soils are brown to dark brown friable loam and subsoils are of varied colors but mainly are dark brown, black and pale brown mottles. The texture of these horizons are silty clay loam with moderate to strong platy structure and clay cutans are on the ped faces. The consistences of these horizons are extremely compact and hard when moist and sticky, plastic when wet. The substrata show varied soil colors and loam to clay loam. 2. Physically, the clay content of the Yeongog soils is highest in the subsoils and gradually decreases below the subsoils. Water holding capacity and bulk desity is higher than in other mineral soils. 3. Chemically, the organic matter content is low and soil reaction ranges from very strongly to strongly acid. The cation exchange capacity is medium and base saturation a high. Active iron, easily reducible manganese and available silicate are high compared with normal soils. 4. In chemical composition of clay fraction of the Yeongog series, sesquioxide ratio, $Fe_2O_3$, $K_2O$ and MgO are high. The cation exchange capacity of the clay fraction is also very high. 5. The clay minerals in Yeongog series are mainly kaoline, vermiculite with Al interlayers and illite. The quarts, primary minerals are in the Yeongog soils. 6. These soils are formed in a warm, humid climate under native grasses on the terraces and rolling or hilly footslopes. In soil classification, the Yeongog soils are classified planosols with claypan. According to 7th approximation system in U.S.A., the Yeongog series are classified as Fragiudalfs because they have an argillic horizon, a hard pan and a high base saturation which is more than 35 percent and classified as Eutric Planosols by FAO/UNESCO classification system.