St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
April 23, 2015
A well-structured soil includes tiny pore spaces where roots can penetrate and air and water can pass. It is the ideal state for supporting the many forms of biological life in soils, including the plant itself.
However, certain farming practices like tillage can create or the loss of these pore spaces. This situation, commonly called soil compaction, results in a denser soil profile and less-fertile soil.
In the latest ‘Focus on Corn’ presentation, titled “Soil Structure and Compaction,” Dr. Paul Jasa, Extension Engineer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, helps users in the Corn Belt and High Plains to improve their soil structure and decrease compaction.
This two-part presentation covers tillage, farm machinery, implements, high traffic levels and the other major culprits of soil compaction. It also offers stunning examples of the effects these practices have on soil compaction and on crops.
This hour-long, two-part presentation is open access through June 30, 2015.
These and other ‘Focus on Corn’ presentations can be viewed at www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/foc.
Webcasts on a variety of other crops can be found in PMN’s Education Center.
‘Focus on Corn’ is a publication of the Plant Management Network. To get the most out of the Plant Management Network’s full line of resources, please sign up for PMN’s free electronic newsletter, PMN Update.
The Plant Management Network (www.plantmanagementnetwork.org) is a nonprofit online publisher whose mission is to enhance the health, management, and production of agricultural and horticultural crops. It achieves this mission through applied, science-based resources, like ‘Focus on Corn.’
To help achieve its nonprofit publishing mission, PMN partners with more than 80 organizations, which include universities, nonprofits, and agribusinesses.
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