Study of Agricultural Soil Infiltration under the Movement of Machinery

A key problem for horticulture is compaction of the soil during the work, the aim of this article is to assess the state of water infiltration, under different water conditions at different depths of sandy soil. This experimental test showed that the decrease of the infiltration according to the increase the mass of the machine and the tractors number pass. In this case, the soil is more compressible and the infiltration of water in the plot studied decreases during the passage of tractors. However, the number of passes (2 successive passes) reduces the infiltration rate between 70% and 75% compared to the infiltration of tilled soils. Also, the results showed that the infiltration rate was directly linked to the depth, the number of passes, time and indirectly to the work of the soil and the weight of the machine. The findings indicate that tilled soils have the capacity to absorb water at a quicker pace than non-tilled soils. As a result, a significant evaluation of soil infiltration (R2=0.92) showed the observable reduction in infiltration following a number of passes and as a function of depth.