Reducing Soil Compaction at Harvest
Rainfall has been an off and on thing this year - more on than off for
some areas of the province. Many soils are quite moist as we head into
apple harvest for 2009. As we saw a few years ago, even apple orchards
can have some severe soil compaction. Let's take a look at how we can
avoid or at least reduce the impact of compaction.
- Stay off wet fields - great in principle but often difficult in reality.
However, consider soil conditions during harvest - give land a chance
to drain after a heavy rain, even a few hours can make a difference
in soil strength and its ability to carry a load. Target lighter soils
for harvest under wet conditions - if possible of course based on variety
and field arrangement.
- Keep tractor and load weight as low as possible but the trade-off
here is the number of trips down a row. See #3.
- 3. Reduce the number of trips down a row - we have seen soil failure
in the past and a large amount of rutting where there are numerous trips
in the same row.
- If you haven't switched to radial tires do so - reducing tire pressure
will reduce the force on the surface of the soil. This will only be
effective with radial tires, and with large enough tires to carry the
equipment at the reduced pressures. Check with the manufacturer to ensure
that the tires are rated to operate at low pressures.
Take a good look this fall at how water moves and drains in your orchard.
Tile, catch basins and graded surfaces for laneways may be able to help
manage water better in the future. Happy Harvesting!
