Product Manual

Page 4 - www.turf-tec.com
WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS OF A SOIL COMPACTION
PROBLEM?
Farming
1. Compacted soil is much harder to work. This will cause you to use more power and take longer to
till, wasting fuel, time and money.
2. You may already be aware of soil compaction but not have the tools to determine if it is a
problem. For example, unnecessarily trying to correct soil compaction by tilling to a deeper depth
can be a waste of time and money.
3. Your crop yield can be reduced by as much as 50% because of poor root and plant development.
4. Compacted soil can prevent water from penetrating deeper into the soil. This can reduce plant
development and yield especially during dry periods with no rain. Compaction can also lead to
surface water retention making the field more difficult to work in the spring and fall seasons.
5. In compacted soil, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides can more easily be washed away and not
absorbed or even become more concentrated causing plant damage. This can result in reduced
crop yield.
Turfgrass
1. Compacted soil make it much more difficult to grow grass.
2. You may already be aware of soil compaction but not have the tools to determine if it is a
problem.
3. Your turfgrass quality can be reduced by as much as 50% because of poor root and turf
development.
4. Compacted soil can prevent water from infiltrating deeper into the soil. This can reduce turf
development especially during dry periods with no rain. Compaction can also lead to surface
water retention.
5. In compacted soil, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides can more easily be washed away and not
absorbed or even become more concentrated causing turfgrass damage.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT A SOIL COMPACTION PROBLEM?
Farming
If you have determined that you have a soil compaction problem and at what depth the compaction
exists, your solution could be as easy as one of the following:
• Reducing traffic in the affected areas of the field.
• Seeding cover crops that will improve water management.
• Choosing a tillage tool that will penetrate the compacted area of the field.
Your local agricultural extension office is a good source of information to help you determine what can
be done to help correct and prevent soil compaction problems.
Turfgrass
If you have determined that you have a soil compaction problem and at what depth the compaction
exists, your solution could be as easy as one of the following:
• Reducing traffic in the affected areas.
•Deep Aerification at depths deeper then where compaction is highest.
• infiltration rates should also be monitored with an Infiltrometer if compaction is present to determine
if high compaction levels is also decreasing water infiltration.