Soil Health Indicator Responses to Different Crop Production Systems

Various crop production systems have affected soil health by changing soil physical, chemical and biological properties. In general, differences in crop production management systems include crop rotations, tillage and crop types. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the changes of soil organic carbon (SOC), soil water holding capacity (SWHC), bulk density (BD) and total porosity (TP) following various crop production management practices in Western Kentucky. The study was conducted in Calloway and McLean counties and were performed in a 90m x 90m area. These fields consisted of row crops (CRP, Bean Field, Woods Field, Corn Field, Conventional Tillage Field, Wheat Field) and specialty crops (Squash Field, Berry Field). Each of the sites were used to take three undisturbed and three disturbed soil samples, with total of 24 undisturbed and 24 disturbed samples. In this study, the field with the highest SOC was field “CRP” at 3.35% and the lowest was “Squash Field” at 2.21%. Field “Corn Field” held the highest BD, 1.39g/cm3 and “Wheat Field” had the lowest BD at 1.15g/cm3. The highest SWHC was 40.62% in “CRP field” and the lowest was in “Corn Field” at 34.14%. In TP, the highest level was 56.62 g/cm3 in field “Wheat Field” and the lowest was 47.63g/cm3 in “Corn Field” The data from this evaluation can help farmers and growers understand the dynamics of their soil health. This will allow them to make better crop production system choices. Keywords: Soil Organic Carbon, Soil Water Holding Capacity, Bulk Density, Total Porosity, Soil Health