Wheel Traffic is Costly

A4-year study was conducted to determine the effects of eliminating wheel traffic from normal furrow placement for irrigated row crops, with no wheels allowed within 75 cm of the plants as measured from the edge of the tire to the plant row. Water infiltration, the volume of soil available for root exploration and root density were increased; tillage energy was reduced; pathogenic fungus populations were altered, and yields were increased in 2 of the 4 years. There was no indication that measured soil characters changed appreciably after the first year