Solonetzic soil properties and yields of wheat, oats and barley as affected by deep plowing and ripping

Abstract Deep tillage using two new implements, a three moldboard topsoil saving plow and a soil ripper was compared with classical single moldboard deep plowing and with shallow tilled check areas on four sites on Solonetzic soils in the Brown soil zone of the Province of Alberta, Canada. The study included the determination of several physical and chemical soil properties, crop yields in the field, two greenhouse experiments, and some plant analysis. Each field treatment was applied at two different locations. The single deep plowing gave, in general, more desirable results in soil changes and crop yields than the topsoil saving plow. The ripper was beneficial at one site and detrimental at the other. It was concluded that the resulting Ca:Na ratio was the main factor determining the success of deep plowing; that the topsoil saving plow did not function properly; and that soil deterioration and crop yield reduction after ripping at one site was probably caused by the relatively greater depth of the Bnt horizon, the high clay content and a very narrow Ca:Na ratio.