1. Subodh Kulkarni Extension Engineer (Bio. & Ag. Engineering) Leo Espinoza Associate Professor (Crop & Soil Science) M. Isminov Program Technician ( Crop & Soil Science) Terry Griffin Assistant Professor (Ag Economics) Soil Compaction Patterns by Conventional Module Building and On Board Module Building Systems: Preliminary Observations

2. Acknowledgements  Cotton Incorporated  Mr. Herb Willcutt, Mississippi State Univ.  John Deere Inc.  Case IH Inc.  Special thanks for Cotton Producers Cooperation  Dr. Kris Brye 2

3. Outline  Introduction  Objectives  Materials and Methods  Results  Summary and Conclusions 3

4. Why Care Soil-Compaction?  Wheel traffic – soil compaction (Wood et al., 1991)  Studies at Auburn University indicated that in heavy textured soil cotton yield was reduced because of compacted surface (Burmester et al., 1993)  Compaction decreased yields by 7% in cotton at the 3 rd year of compaction treatment (Ishaq et al., 2003) 4

5. Conventional plots Chiseled & Compacted plots Control plots Severely Compacted plots Some observations July 5, 2005 from a test in Fayetteville, AR (Reproduced with permission of Dr. Bajwa) Plant Height Root Growth 5 SCALERULESCALERULE

6. Objectives  Investigate if the soil exhibits any compaction patterns when cotton is picked with On Board Module Building (OBMB) systems (Module Express 625, JD-7760) and Conventional JD- 9996  In case of compaction, determine levels of compaction  Compare the compaction patterns by OBMB technology with conventional picking systems 6

7. Material and Methods  Field - Near Senath, Dunklin Co., MO ~ 41 acres - Dubbs Silt Loam  Data collected only after harvest - Soil Moisture Content - Bulk Density - Cone Penetrometer Data (Cone Index) * Profile upto 18 inchs. 7

8. Data Collected Cone Penetrometer Data (Compaction Profiles) Bulk Density Soil Moisture Content At the Same Spot 8

9. Scheme of Experiment 36 rows plots ~ 0.37mi (2000 ft) 18 Row Border 6 Row skip Case IH – Module Express 625 JD 7760 – Round Bale Picker JD 9996 Conventional Picker Case IH – Module Express 625 JD 7760 – Round Bale Picker JD 9996 Conventional Picker N 9

10. Scheme of Data Collection (Cone Penetrometer, Soil Moisture) at each of the 40 points 33 m (100 ft) Machine Direction Soil Samples For Bulk Density Foot Prints of Left Inside Wheels were Followed 10 Wheels

11. Investigation We were interested in knowing for each of the system,  Intensity: how compacted the soil is ?  Extent: across the path, from beginning?  Depth: at what depth the highest compaction?  Thickness: how thick was the compacted layer?  Time: when and how if at all does the compaction occur? 11

12. Results : Comparison 12 ?

13. Comparison cont… 13

14. Comparison cont… 14

15. Comparison cont… 15

16. Comparison cont… 16

17. Results  Bulk Density  Moisture Content SystemAverage Bulk Density Start of Picking (3 obs.) g/cc Average Bulk Density End of Picking (3 obs.) g/cc Conventional1.601.57 JD 77601.551.62 ME 6251.541.63 SystemSoil Moisture Content (g/cc) Avg. of 3 Obs. At Start of Picking Soil Moisture Content (g/cc) Avg. of 3 Obs. At End of Picking Conventional0.1120.061 JD 77600.0810.098 ME 6250.1140.092 17

18.  Conventional picker (JD 9996) actually exhibited higher compaction and started at 2 inches from ground surface.  Without the boll buggy, there could be hypothetical situations where the new systems actually mean less field traffic  Bulk density was higher at the end of the pass of cotton picking, does agree with compaction profile data Summary and Conclusions 18

19. Future Plan  Presented study was a seed concept, more data would be collected for the three systems at multi-sites and multi- locations in coming seasons to accommodate various soil classes  Yield and soil electrical conductivity for each system would measured  Tillage treatments practiced last Fall/Spring would be noted  Economics related to yield and tillage would be worked out  Spatial technology would be applied and images would be acquired to investigate visual wheel traffic and yield patterns 19

20. Questions? 20