Home › Properties › Soil Compaction › Taxonomy term

Penetrometer

A diagnostic tool to measure the extent and depth of subsurface compaction is a penetrometer, or soil compaction tester.

Examples of Soil Improvement at EPRIDA

Submitted by Tom Miles on April 6, 2007 - 4:05pm
Last updated March 10, 2009
in

Examples of Soil Improvement at EPRIDA
Doug Clayton, April 2007

IMG_7237IMG_7237

Click on photo for full view

I took the pictures when I visited Danny Day at Eprida last month.

The first shot is of the red Georgia clay before and after charcoal had been tilled in two years prior. The second shows some "structure" as a result of the charcoal treatment. The untreated had become very hard (compacted).

Three and four illustrate how tilth was improved. In both shots Danny
is pushing the device (penetrometer??) with a force of 300#/ sq. in.
and it is obvious how much looser the soil in the fourth image is!

Douglas Clayton
50 Bullard Rd
Jaffrey, NH 03452
work: 603-532-1120
home: 603-532-7321
fax: 603-532-4581

Note: Root penetration decreases linearly with penetration resistance, until almost no roots penetrate into soil with a penetration resistance of 300 psi. See: Measuring Soil Using a Penetrometer Pennsylvania State University

Measuring soil compaction using a penetrometer

Submitted by Tom Miles on April 6, 2007 - 6:52pm
Last updated April 06, 2007
in

Measuring soil compaction using a penetrometer (soil compaction tester)
Pennsylvania State University,Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Agronomy Facts 63, 2002

Soil compaction can easily reduce crop yields by 10 percent, and can lead to water and soil quality degradation due to increased runoff and soil structure destruction.

Penetrometer: A diagnostic tool to measure the extent and depth of subsurface compaction is a penetrometer, or soil compaction tester.

Syndicate content