CONTROLLED TRAFFIC RESEARCH IN ISRAEL*

Author:	A. Hadas
Keywords:	excessive soil compaction, root elongation, limiting soil conditions to root development, crop stand density
Abstract: Tillage and machinery traffic-induced compaction of agricultural soils has become a world problem. Soil compaction reduces air porosity, water retention, conductance, root proliferation, and root activity. These mechanization-enforced deleterious changes in soil properties and crop performance are especially observed in soils of semi-arid subtropical regions. These soils, being low in organic material, exhibit low structural stability and tend to compact under rather small traffic loads. Experimental field data gathered in Israel from experimental as well as commercial fields suggest that: - traffic should be controlled or at least be minimized, - cropped fields should be zoned into cropping non-trafficked, tilled strips and special permanent traffic lanes, and - that traffic reduction, or even elimination, reduces soil compaction while increased yields are to be expected.
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