Resistance to penetration and density of a soil submitted to different systems of tillage and cultivations

Inadequate handling leads to the degradation and the decrease in the yield of many crops. The objective of this work was to evaluate the alterations in the resistance to penetration and density of soil due to systems tillage, during and after the intensive cultivation and after five years of fallow in a Red Eutrophic Latosol (Eutrudox). Two tillage systems (tillage with harrow plow and reduced tillage with rotary tilling) and three sampling times comprising the agricultural years 1992/1993, 1993/1994 (under intense cultivation) and 1999/2000 (five years under fallow) were studied. For the evaluation of the systems of tillage at different times of samplings, the resistance to penetration and the density of soil were used as parameters. The systems of tillage affected significantly the resistance to penetration and density of soil in the studied depths. In soil submitted to long fallow period, the resistance to penetration increased significantly, compared to the soil under intense cultivation, independently of the system of tillage previously used. The system of tillage with harrow plow was responsible for the largest density of soil after long fallow period.