soil cultivation

 

Soil cultivation:

Soils are cultivated for a number of reasons are following

ü  To kill weeds.

ü  To remedy damage done by previous traffic or cultivation.

ü  To increase the permeability to water of the surface soil or subsoil.

ü  To incorporate crop residues and manures.

ü  To provide a hospitable medium for root growth.

  The Essential requirements of a good seed bed:

Ø  The tilth should be produced by surface cultivation (usually with a rake) should be sufficiently fine and firm to allow the seeds to be placed at uniform depth.

Ø  The soil immediately around the seeds must have sufficient pore space to maintain good aeration.

Ø  While the soil above and below the seed must be sufficiently loose to allow the shoots to emerge into the air and the roots to elongate. Weeds should be absent, so that there is no competition for water and nutrients.

Ø  Weeds should be absent, so that there is no competition for water and nutrients.

Ø  One function of cultivation is to create transmission pores, or to loosen the soil sufficiently to allow the roots to elongate and create such pores.

Ø  To break up the compacted layers.

Important key notes:

Digging almost always destroys soil structure, and should rarely be done on clayey soils, where the frost in winter and drying in summer will regenerate the structure naturally.

On sandy and silty soils some digging may be beneficial but, except for vegetable production, a light cultivation with a fork, hoe or rake will often suffice.