Use of Volumetric Soil Crushing Coefficient for Evaluation of Mechanical Action

Abstract

Abstract The soil hardness is one of the most important indicators, which makes it possible to estimate the soil layer as the root germination medium and choose one or another method of tillage or the depth of tillage. Due to its informative value, the hardness is used to obtain information about the quality of the performance of cultural-technical and agricultural operations. The main difficulties hindering the objective quantification and comparison of results is a strong influence on the measurement results of the plunger immersion velocity, as well as its shape and cross section. Therefore, the hardness values in the form in which they are currently used represent difficult to compare data, which strongly depend on the human factor and require the elimination of a number of significant flaws. The objectivity of soil impact assessment is significantly increased when using the volumetric soil crushing coefficient instead of the hardness, which in most cases is devoid of the listed drawbacks. The volumetric soil crushing coefficient is quickly and easily measured by hardness diagrams. The assessment of the impact from the machinery on soil compaction according to the volumetric soil crushing coefficient was carried out on light gray forest, dark gray forest and derno-podzolic soils of the Kanash District of the Chuvash Republic.