Effects of Soil Compaction on Soil Physical Properties.

A 15x51m² field was manually cleared with cutlass and divided into three blocks of four plots each. The soil was compacted using a 35.5KN wheel tractor. The treatment consisted of 0, 1, 5, and 10 passes (wheel to wheel) of the tractor and were replicated three times. Soil physical properties were analyzed from core samples taken from each plot. This experiment was conducted on the Owerri soil precisely Uratta. This was done between the months of May and June 2018. Soil physical properties analyzed are the grain size analysis, cone index, dry bulk density, moisture content, soil porosity, water holding capacity, hydraulic conductivity and soil air. The results got showed that compaction affects the soil physical properties in so many ways. It results in poor nutrient and water uptake by plants and soil structure degradation which are reflected in the changes in soil physical properties. It also lowers the production potentials of the soil by exposing the soil to physio-chemical damages with a resultant poor nutrient uptake and poor growth and crop yield.