Short-term Tillage and Soil Nutrient Management on Soil Water Movement in a Lixisol in a Tropical Climate

Aims: The study was conducted to assess the effects of different soil tillage practices and soil amendments on soil hydraulic characteristics.

Study Design: The study was a 3 × 4 split-plot experiment arranged in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications.

Methodology: The treatments comprised 12 main plots, namely no till (NT), plough-plant (PP) and plough-harrow-plant (PHP) and 36 sub-plots, namely no amendment (NA), NPK 60:40:40 (100% NPK), 4 tons/ha poultry manure (100% PM) and 2 tons/ha PM + NPK 30:20:20 [½(NPK + PM)]. Soil bulk density (BD), volumetric moisture content (VMC), total porosity (TP), aggregate stability (ASt), and infiltration parameters were measured under the different treatments.

Results: Among the different tillage operations, the NT plot had the lowest BD, but highest TP, VMC and ASt. With regard to the soil amendments, TP was highest under the ½(NPK + PM) treatment. The cumulative infiltration amount (F) and infiltration capacity (K0) were highest in the NT plots. However, sorptivity (S) was highest and lowest in the PP and NT plots, respectively. The infiltration parameters were highest in the ½(NPK + PM) plots. Further, the combined application of NT + ½(NPK + PM) resulted in the highest F, S and K0.

Conclusion: The, NT, ½(NPK + PM) and NT + ½(NPK + PM) improved the soil hydro-physical properties.