Soil survey versus crop production as a measure of soil productivity: Soil-strength effects on row-crop yields. Final report

The objective of the study was to examine the use of a recording cone penetrometer as a predictor of crop yield for constructed soils. State-of-the-art reclaimed land in Illinois is capable of producing good corn and soybean yields. Previous research has examined observable features of constructed soils ranging from those which are highly drought sensitive to those which are highly productive for causes of the observed crop performance differences. The studies have made it increasingly evident that poor soil physical condition is the major factor limiting row crop productivity following surface mining in Illinois. Efforts to build significant yield prediction models based on penetrometer data were successful. Too much yield variation remained unaccounted for to use these models alone to predict productivity of reclaimed land for reclamation law enforcement.