poster - International Conference of Agricultural Engineering

EFFECT OF MACHINE TRAFFIC ON SOIL COMPACTION DURING
THE SEMI-MECHANIZED PLANTING PROCESS OF SUGAR CANE
Adriano C. Bastos 1,2* , Henrique L. Silveira 1 , Francelino R. Junior 1 , Marcelo J. Silva 1 ,
Paulo S. G. Magalhães 1,2 .
1 College of Agricultural Engineering (FEAGRI / UNICAMP), Candido Rondon Avenue 501
Campinas-SP, Brazil
2 Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory, Giuseppe Máximo Scolfaro Street
10000 Campinas-SP, Brazil
*Corresponding author. E-mail: adriano.bastos@bioetanol.org.br
Abstract
In past few years significant changes in sugar cane semi-mechanized planting system had
occurred in Brazil with significant increase machinery traffic, due mainly by law restrictions in
order to improve workers safety. This planting system, characterized by traffic-intensive,
cause soil compaction with negative consequences on its structure and sustainability,
reducing the porosity, gas exchange, infiltration and retention of water. These factors directly
reflect the crop, reducing yield and field longevity, increasing the production cost and
subsequent increasing the expenditure of land renovation operations. In this method of
planting after preparing the whole area by subsoiling and harrowing, the field is divided in two
zones, one called "planting zone" (PZ) consist of six rows each (9 m wide) where the
mechanized operation of furrowing/fertilization, manual distribution of “seedcanes” and
mechanized operation of closing of the furrow are done with only two pass of the tractor in
alternated rows. The second zone called "Truck path for seedcane distribution" (TPSD)
consist of four rows (6 m wide) used prior to planting for truck and machinery traffic which
supply fertilizers and “seedcane” to the area. After finishing planting the TPSD zones are
prepared in the same way as PZ zone. The objective of this study was to verify the influence
of machinery traffic, in semi-mechanized planting process of sugar cane, on soil compaction,
using data of soil resistance to penetration at different depths in a commercial field. Data
were collected from mechanical soil penetrometer with electric power and control speed for
constant penetration rate. The penetration resistance values were measured up to a depth of
600mm. Two treatments were performed: after planting in the PZ zone and TPSD zone. The
results showed that the additional traffic in and out of control in the TPSD zone reflected
directly in the soil compaction, unlike PZ zone, where the traffic of tractors with implements
were on parallel lines, especially in the operation of furrow opening, performed by the
autopilot system. In the depths of 110-200 and 210-300 mm values penetration resistance
TPSD zone were significantly higher than in PZ zones. It can be concluded that the semimechanized
planting of sugar cane in the model currently used in Brazil causes soil
compaction, especially in the TPSD zone which there is an intense and uncontrolled traffic of
machines and agricultural implements in the cultivation area, which may reflect directly on
the productivity and longevity of sugar plantation.
Key words: soil compaction, sugar cane planting, cone index
1. Introduction
One of the current problems that affect directly the agriculture productivity is the soil
compaction, that occurs because of the soil particles rearrangement when it receive external
pressures over the support capacity, making the soil denser and with less porosity. Many
studies show that the mainly reason of that compaction is the machines traffic in the
agricultural field, in addiction of the mechanical vibration effects of the equipment during the