Soil Characteristics of the No-Till Systems in Kentucky
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Agronomy
2nd Student Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
2nd Student Major
Agronomy
3rd Student Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
3rd Student Major
Agronomy
4th Student Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Faculty/Staff
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Iin Handayani
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
Soil Characteristics of the No-Till Systems in Kentucky
Chase Ragland, Jacob Foote and Seth Spacek
Mentor: Dr. lin Handayani
Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University
Previous research shows no-till farming has improved soil characteristics by preventing soil erosion and adding soil organic matter. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the impact of no-till systems at different durations on soil properties, such as soil water retention, bulk density, porosity, soil organic matter and the level of acidity. Soil samples were collected from a 5 yrs, 10 yrs, 15 yrs, and 20 yrs of no-till systems in Calloway and Graves counties of western Kentucky. All of these fields were under a corn and soybean crop rotation. As a reference, a wood ecosystem of 50 years was used to see the changes of soil characteristics between undisturbed ecosystem (forest) and fields. There were 15 undisturbed and 15 composited disturbed soil samples from topsoil used for the analysis. The detailed data will be explained in the poster. The finding of this research will not only show the value of no-till systems, but also provides the importance of short-term (1-5 years) and long-term (more than 5 years) continued no-till practices.
Key Words: Acidity, Bulk Density, Kentucky, Porosity, Soil Organic Matter
Fall Scholars Week 2019 Event
Earth and Environmental Sciences Poster Session
Soil Characteristics of the No-Till Systems in Kentucky
Soil Characteristics of the No-Till Systems in Kentucky
Chase Ragland, Jacob Foote and Seth Spacek
Mentor: Dr. lin Handayani
Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University
Previous research shows no-till farming has improved soil characteristics by preventing soil erosion and adding soil organic matter. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the impact of no-till systems at different durations on soil properties, such as soil water retention, bulk density, porosity, soil organic matter and the level of acidity. Soil samples were collected from a 5 yrs, 10 yrs, 15 yrs, and 20 yrs of no-till systems in Calloway and Graves counties of western Kentucky. All of these fields were under a corn and soybean crop rotation. As a reference, a wood ecosystem of 50 years was used to see the changes of soil characteristics between undisturbed ecosystem (forest) and fields. There were 15 undisturbed and 15 composited disturbed soil samples from topsoil used for the analysis. The detailed data will be explained in the poster. The finding of this research will not only show the value of no-till systems, but also provides the importance of short-term (1-5 years) and long-term (more than 5 years) continued no-till practices.
Key Words: Acidity, Bulk Density, Kentucky, Porosity, Soil Organic Matter