Occasionally, soil scientists develop tools and guidelines that canbe used by others to help assess situations and conditions in the field. Not too long ago Extension Specialist Alice Jones put together a littlequiz to help farmers and field technicians assess the potential level ofcompaction in a field. The quiz, adapted from work by T. Beckman and J.Vogel, leads farmers through a series of questions, the answers to whichcan be readily related to possible compaction problems.
Compaction comes about as a result of several conditions and situations.
Generally, the most common cause of compaction is excessive traffic whenthe soil is wet. Both soil strength and soil compressibility are directlyrelated to water content of the soil. As water content increases, soilstrength decreases and compressibility increases. When a farmer uses hisfour-wheel drive tractor to get into the field a little sooner, which isusually the time when the soil has not been allowed to dry out, eitherafter a rain or early in the spring, the soil is most susceptible to compaction. Zones of compaction in the soil typically reduce the volume of soiltapped by the root system of the crop, making the crop stunted and lessbranched.