A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). If you require further information, regarding this report, call the Elora Resource Centre at 519-846-0941. Office hours: 8:30am to 4:30pm.
For technical information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or visit the OMAFRA website: www.ontario.ca/omafra.
HEAVY EQUIPMENT AND SOIL COMPACTION
Can large tires and low inflation pressures solve all your problems?
Producers view soil compaction as a prevalent problem – a problem to be avoided, if possible. There are several main theories on how to avoid or manage soil compaction.
– confine traffic to permanent lanes within the field in order to provide traffic-free zones for crop production;
– avoid wheel traffic on wet soils which are susceptible to compaction, use equipment with lower axle weights;
– increase the size of the “foot print” by employing radial tires, larger tires, more tires, or tracks; and
– reduce tire inflation pressures.
Considerable effort has been taken on the part of equipment manufacturers to do two of these, by increasing tire size and reducing inflation pressures. This lowers ground contact pressures so there is less soil rutting and compaction.
In well publicized compaction studies done at Ohio State University, the four wheel drive tractor operating at inflation pressures of six and seven PSI resulted in less soil compaction than two belted track tractors. However, when this same tractor was operated at inflation pressures of 24 PSI, it caused the worst compaction in the experiment. Certainly the use of larger foot print tires, with inflation pressure adjusted correctly for axle load, has been an important tool in reducing compaction risks.
Total Axle Weight
What might get lost in this discussion is that soil compaction, particularly at depths a few centimeters below the surface, is also a function of total axle weight. Large tires with low inflation pressures cannot eliminate the potential for very heavy axle loads to cause compaction. Rutting or smearing may indeed be reduced by this type of running gear, but pressure distribution under these large tires can still negatively affect soil structure.
Soil compaction can be a yield limiting, expensive problem. Efforts should be made to avoid causing it in the first place. Proper tires with correctly adjusted inflation pressures can significantly reduce surface compaction. They are at least part of the solution for subsoil compaction threats as axle loads continue to climb.
To read full article or for more information, please visit website – http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/field/News/croptalk/2013/ct-1113a1.htm or call 1-877-424-1300.
GARLIC MUSTARD
by John C. Benham, Weed Inspector, Wellington County
Garlic Mustard is becoming very invasive. In fact if you have one plant going to seed this year, you will have a patch next year. From then on you will have difficulty keeping up to it. It is a kind of mustard where seeds in the ground will likely be viable for many years.
It is an annual but sometimes biennial, reproducing only by seed. It grows about 3 feet tall with small, white four-petal flowers in May and June. In the spring you may notice a rosette of kidney shaped leaves that are rounded but soon it bolts into a plant with narrow pointed leaves and a typical mustard appearance. One of the distinguishing features of this plant is the garlic odour of the leaves when crushed or chewed.
It is of special concern in forests and tree plantations. When established it forms such a dense cover that the desirable tree seedlings and forest plants such as trillium, are smothered out.
Although it is not on the Noxious Weed list, this is another one of the invasive plants that must be controlled as individuals, before they become a problem. If it is a small patch, pulling maybe the best solution for this year but there will be many seeds in the ground waiting for future opportunities. Don’t let it go to seed.
