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Soil & Tillage Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/still

Short-term effects of tillage and manure on some soil physical properties and
maize root growth in a sandy loam soil in western Iran
M.R. Mosaddeghi *, A.A. Mahboubi, A. Safadoust
Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan 65174, Iran

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: Careful soil management is the key to sustainable agricultural production. Tillage practices are critical
Accepted 11 October 2008 components of soil management systems which significantly affect soil characteristics and plant
development. There is little information concerning the combined impacts of tillage systems and manure
Keywords: application on soils and root development in the western part of Iran. A study was conducted to
Bulk density investigate short-term changes of soil bulk density (BD), soil cone index (CI) and maize (Zea mays L.) root
Chisel plow
length density (RLD) under different management regimes. The study was carried out on a sandy loam
Cone index
soil (fine loamy, mixed, mesic Calcixerollic Xerochrepts, USDA). The effects of three tillage systems (no-
Maize
Manure
till, NT; chisel plow, CP; and moldboard plow, MP) at three composted cattle manure rates: 0 (M0), 30
Mechanical impedance (M30), and 60 Mg (dry weight) ha 1 (M60), were studied on BD, CI and RLD. The experiment was carried
Moldboard plow out in a split-plot design with tillage as the main plot and manure application as the sub-plot. Three
No-till replicates of the treatments were applied in a randomized block design. The soil and root samplings were
Root length density done when 100% of the tassels appeared. Tillage methods and manure applications had significant effects
on RLD in the upper soil layers. Tillage affected RLD in the order of MP > CP > NP and manure effects on
RLD were in the order of M60 > M30 > M0. The effects were not significant for the lower soil layers. The
MP system had higher values of RLD with lower values of both CI and BD. The NT system resulted in lower
RLD and higher CI and BD values. The increased BD and CI of the topsoil in the NT treatment restricted root
growth. The mean BD values (average of all soil layers and manure treatments) were 1.43, 1.37 and
1.26 Mg m 3 for NT, CP and MP, respectively. Adding manure to the soil significantly increased RLD in the
order: M60 > M30 > M0. There were also significant differences in CI and BD among manure treatments.
The mean CI values (average of all soil layers and tillage systems) were 1.43, 1.22 and 1.06 MPa for M0,
M30 and M60, respectively. The positive diminishing effects on CI and BD of manure applications may be
attributable to manure incorporation and improvement of the physical quality of the soil with low
organic carbon content. The significant overall relation between RLD and CI demonstrated the dominant
effect of soil mechanical impedance on root growth. The manure application seems to be able to
compensate to a significant degree for the increased mechanical impedance with no-till. The results
indicate short-term beneficial effects of manure application on maize root length density as well as on
soil physical properties when combined with the tillage systems.
ß 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction biological and chemical properties are affected by tillage systems

Soil is one of our most precious natural resources. Careful soil
management is the key to sustainable agricultural production.
Tillage practices are critical components of soil management
systems. Tillage is the mechanical manipulation of soil to control
weeds, break crusts to help infiltration and seedling emergence, to
dispose of pests or crop residues and to develop a desirable soil
tilth for seedbeds and crop establishment. Many soil physical,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 811 4223367; fax: +98 811 4227012.
E-mail address: mosaddeghi@basu.ac.ir (M.R. Mosaddeghi).
and these affect crop growth. Several studies have evaluated the
effect of tillage and soil amendments on root growth (Anderson,
1987; Barber, 1971). However, there is limited information on the
combined effects of tillage practices and organic manure applica-
tions. Organic amendments can reduce soil vulnerability to erosion
and compaction, decrease soil bulk density and mechanical
impedance and increase soil water storage.
Tillage operations such as plowing are known to influence root
growth. Lal et al. (1989) reported that elimination of tillage on
poorly drained soils adversely affected root growth of crops. In
another study on a sandy loam soil under rice–wheat rotation, no-
tillage in the absence of residue, restricted proliferation of wheat

0167-1987/$ – see front matter ß 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.still.2008.10.011

Please cite this article in press as: Mosaddeghi, M.R., et al., Short-term effects of tillage and manure on some soil physical properties and
maize root growth in a sandy loam soil in western Iran. Soil Tillage Res. (2008), doi:10.1016/j.still.2008.10.011
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2 M.R. Mosaddeghi et al. / Soil & Tillage Research xxx (2008) xxx–xxx
roots when compared with tillage to 100 mm depth (Gajri et al.,
1992). It is clear that in some soils, high mechanical impedance of
the surface soil can influence the distribution of roots in the profile.
It slows the downward progression of roots, and the root system is
restricted to the upper parts of the profile. On such soils, no-tillage
may be inappropriate because of restricted root development.
Increased soil strength not only restricted root growth but also
changed the morphology of the root system. Greater mechanical
impedance can restrict the elongation of the main root axes;
stimulate branching of lateral roots and thickening of the roots
(Russell and Goss, 1974). On a silt loam soil, maize roots grew more
extensively and deeper in 200 mm-tilled soil when compared with
the roots under no-tillage; the roots in tilled soil were also finer
and longer than in no-tilled soil (Barber, 1971). Thicker roots with
less absorbing surfaces were formed under no-till compared with
those formed under plow-till (Griffith et al., 1977).
In contrast to the above reports, Unger (1984) found that soil
conditions under a no-tillage conservation farming system were
better than those under conventional tillage systems. Intensive
cultivation of some soils can lead to a deterioration in soil structure
and other soil physical properties and consequently, to environ-
mental degradation. In arid and semi-arid environments on well-
drained soils, retention of crop residues with no-till practices can
promote favorable soil conditions such as high aggregate stability,
low crust strength, high infiltration rate, low runoff and increased
water storage. Merrill et al. (1996) observed that no-till in spring
wheat significantly increased early vegetative root axes and tiller
growth compared with plow-till. Also, there was a 30–100%
increase in root growth under no-till as opposed to plow-till. These
results were attributed to increased water conservation and a more
favorable soil thermal regime in the near surface zone of the soil. In
a study on a clay loam soil, Sow et al. (1997) showed that root
growth of sorghum was a function of moisture-mediated soil
strength. They found that management practices, such as furrow
diking of conventionally tilled and retention of residue on no-tilled
soils conserved water by reducing runoff and evaporation, reduced
soil strength and increased depth and density of rooting compared
with conventional tillage and no-tillage without residue. Mah-
boubi et al. (1993) showed beneficial effects on soil physical
properties from long-term conservation tillage systems including
chisel plowing and no-tillage compared with conventional tillage.
No-tillage system resulted in lower bulk density and higher
porosity and aggregation.
Incorporation of organic matter in soil can help to prevent soil
structural deterioration and degradation due to soil compaction,
erosion and runoff (Soane, 1990; Thomas et al., 1996; Mosaddeghi
et al., 2000). Lack of tillage operations in a 20-year-old pasture
resulted in a lower bulk density and a higher saturated hydraulic
conductivity compared with similar land under continuous
cultivation (Ellis, 1986 cited in Soane, 1990). This might be related
to the higher organic matter content and more soil structural
stability under the pasture.
There is limited documentation on the effects of tillage and
organic manures on soil conditions in Iran. Most soils of Iran are
vulnerable to compaction, crusting and erosion because of their
low organic matter status and unstable aggregates. The soils are
usually top-crusted and behave similar to hardsetting soils
(Mosaddeghi et al., 2003). The short- and mid-term effects of
tillage systems on soil conditions and plant development were not
significant in central Iran (Hajabbasi and Hemmat, 2000; Shirani
et al., 2002). The unstable structure of the soils due to low organic
carbon content might be the reason for their behavior concerning
the effect of tillage systems.
The soils in the west part of Iran are conventionally tilled by
moldboard plow and disk harrowing. There is little information
Please cite this article in press as: Mosaddeghi, M.R., et al., Short-term effects of tillage and manure on some soil physical properties and
maize root growth in a sandy loam soil in western Iran. Soil Tillage Res. (2008), doi:10.1016/j.still.2008.10.011
about the effects of tillage (especially conservation tillage systems)
and other management practices on soil properties and crop
growth in the region. Therefore, the objectives of this study were:
(i) to investigate the influence of tillage and manure application to
a coarse-textured soil on maize root length density and soil
physical properties, and (ii) to evaluate the effectiveness of soil
cone index and bulk density for predicting root system perfor-
mance under the treatments in western Iran.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. The study site and soil properties
This study was conducted in April 2003 at the Agriculture
Research Centre located 5 km outside the city of Hamadan, in
western Iran. The region has a semi-arid climate, with long-term
average annual precipitation of 328 mm. Most of the precipitation
occurs during the winter months. Monthly mean temperatures
range from a high of 24.5 8C observed in July to a low of 3 8C noted
in January. The soil is a fine loamy, mixed, mesic Calcixerollic
Xerochrepts according to USDA classification. From 1993 to 2003
(when this trial began), the site was conventionally tilled by
moldboard plow + disk harrowing for maize (Zea mays L.) grain
production, and the nutrients required were generally supplied as
urea, super phosphate and potassium sulphate fertilizers. The
typical rates of fertilizer application were N: 92–115 kg ha 1 and
K: 61.5 kg ha 1; the rate of P fertilizer depended on the soil test
results.
Pre-test samples of soil (0–300 mm) were obtained on 14 May
2003, air-dried and ground to pass a 2 mm sieve for the purposes of
physical and chemical property measurement. Particle size
distribution was determined using the hydrometer method for
silt and clay and screening through sieves for sand. Soil electrical
conductivity (ECe) and acidity (pHe) were determined by EC-meter
and pH-meter on the saturated paste. Carbonate content was
measured using the back-titration method. Organic carbon content
was determined using the wet-digestion method. The topsoil (0–
300 mm) contained 622 g kg 1 of sand, 260 g kg 1 of silt and
118 g kg 1 of clay, and had a sandy loam texture according to USDA
textural classification. The soil ECe, pHe, carbonate content and
organic carbon content were 0.33 dS m 1, 8.0, 65 and 3.4 g kg 1,
respectively. Mean weight diameter (MWD) of soil aggregates was
determined by the wet sieving method. Undisturbed soil cores
(diameter and height of 50 and 75 mm, respectively) were taken
from different soil layers for measuring bulk density (BD),
saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), total porosity (TP), macro-
porosity (Macro-P) and micro-porosity (Micro-P). The Ks was
measured by the constant-head procedure. Total porosity was
calculated from BD and particle density (assumed to be
2.65 Mg m 3). The relative volume of the pores with effective
diameter larger than 30 mm was defined as Macro-P. Micro-P was
determined by calculating the relative volume of pores with
effective diameter smaller than 30 mm. Macro- and micro-pore
volumes were determined from the water retention curve
determined with a pressure plate apparatus (Klute, 1986). Some
physical properties of the different soil layers prior to the initiation
of the experiment are given in Table 1.
2.2. Experimental procedure
Three tillage systems and three rates of manure were arranged
in a split-plot design with tillage treatments as main plots and
manure applications as sub-plots. Three replicates of the treat-
ments were applied in a randomized block design. Composted
cattle manure (which had been stored in an open place) was
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Table 1
Some physical properties of the soil measured at different depths prior to the initiation of the experimenta.
3 1
Depth (mm) BD (Mg m ) Ks (mm h ) MWD (mm)
0–75 1.42 (0.03) 21 (1.41) 1.2 (0.21)
75–150 1.45 (0.04) 19 (5.66) 1.1 (0.21)
150–225 1.50 (0.06) 18 (2.83) 1.0 (0.28)
225–300 1.55 (0.01) 16 (1.77) 0.9 (0.14)
a
BD = bulk density; Ks = saturated hydraulic conductivity; MWD = mean weight diameter of soil aggregates; TP = total porosity; Macro-P = macro-porosity; Micro-
P = micro-porosity; figures in the parentheses are the standard deviations.
applied manually on 8 June 2003 at three rates: 0 (M0), 30 (M30),
and 60 Mg (dry weight) ha 1 (M60), with a very uniform
distribution, before the tillage treatments were applied. The
30 Mg (dry weight) ha 1 was near the commercial rate used in the
region. Chemical fertilizer was also applied according to local
recommendations based on soil tests. The basal application
supplied 86.2 kg ha 1 of N, 35 kg ha 1 of P and 82 kg ha 1 of K;
the top dressing applied 43 days after sowing (DAS) supplied
86.2 kg ha 1 of N. The three tillage systems consisted of: (i) no-
tillage (NT) treatment, planting was manually accomplished
directly into an undisturbed soil without any tillage operations;
(ii) chisel plow (CP) treatment involved chisel plowing to a depth of
150 mm; and (iii) moldboard plow (MP) treatment involved
complete soil inversion and burial of crop residue to a depth of
300 mm. Secondary tillage operations were applied with land
levelers for seedbed preparation prior to sowing in the CP and MP
plots. Gravimetric soil water content at 0–300 mm depth varied in
the range of 16–18% at the time of tillage operations. Maize (Zea
mays L. cultivar 108) was planted by hand at 66,000 plants ha 1 in
750 mm rows. The planting operation was carried out on 10 June
2003. Plots were 10 m long and 5 m wide with the length
dimension being up and down a 1–1.5% slope. A sprinkler system
was used for weekly irrigation according to the local recommen-
dation. The total amount of water applied was 1099.1 m3 ha 1. The
water quantities used were 409.1, 363.6, 363.6 and 250 mm for
June, July, August and September, respectively, based on local
measurements of evapotranspiration demand.
Root sampling was done using the core method (Böhm, 1979)
on 20 September 2003 (112 DAS) when 100% of the tassels
appeared. The soil cores (diameter and length of 113 and 100 mm,
respectively) were taken to a depth of 500 mm using a hand-held
power sampler. The cores were taken as close as possible to the
stalk of the plants where the highest rooting density was presumed
to occur. Only non-wheel track inter-rows were sampled, because
wheel traffic affects the growth and distribution of roots (Kaspar
et al., 1991). Soil was rinsed from the soil–root core samples by
using 2 mm mesh screens under running tap water. The length of
fresh roots was determined and calculated by using the grid
intersection method of Newman (1966). The total root length per
sample, divided by the core volume was used as the root length
density, RLD (km roots per m3 of soil).
At the time of root sampling, soil physical properties were
measured. The cone index (CI) was measured by Rimik cone
penetrometer (Model CP20) at 3 random locations next to the
locations of root sampling in 20 mm increments to a depth of
300 mm. The cone tip angle and diameter were 308 and 12.8 mm,
respectively. An attempt was made to maintain a constant
standard inserting speed of 2 m min 1 (ASAE Standards, 1999).
Using PC-based software, the data was transferred to a personal
computer for further analysis. Gravimetric soil water content at 0–
300 mm depth varied in the range of 16–18% while the strength
measurements were performed. The three sub-sample values of
the soil strength were averaged for each plot. For the purpose of
statistical analysis, the soil strength values were also averaged for
Please cite this article in press as: Mosaddeghi, M.R., et al., Short-term effects of tillage and manure on some soil physical properties and
maize root growth in a sandy loam soil in western Iran. Soil Tillage Res. (2008), doi:10.1016/j.still.2008.10.011
3
TP (%, v/v) Macro-P (%, v/v) Micro-P (%, v/v)
35.4 (1.84) 12.0 (2.47) 23.4 (4.31)
33.6 (4.24) 10.5 (1.06) 23.1 (5.30)
24.4 (1.56) 10.1 (1.27) 14.3 (2.83)
24.0 (2.12) 9.2 (0.71) 14.8 (1.41)
100 mm soil increments. Soil bulk density was determined by the
core method using cores with diameter and length of 50 and
75 mm, respectively. The samples were taken from 0 to 75, 75–150
and 150–225 mm soil depths. The trends in RLD, CI and BD with
soil depth were drawn using Excel.
2.3. Statistical analysis
The analysis of variance for RLD, CI and BD was performed
independently for the different sampling depths using the
procedure of SAS (SAS Institute, 1990). Sources of variation
included tillage practices and levels of manure as well as their
interactions. Significant differences were separated by Fisher
protected LSD tests.
3. Results and discussion
The analyses of variance for maize root length density (RLD),
soil cone index (CI) and bulk density (BD) are shown in Table 2.
Tillage methods and manure applications had significant indivi-
dual effects on RLD for the upper soil layers. The effects were not
significant for the lower soil layers. This trend may be related to
maximum working depth among the tillage systems (i.e. 300 mm)
and the lower accumulation of manure in deeper layers. The
interaction effects were not significant for RLD. Tillage methods
and manure applications had very significant effects on CI and BD.
Since the CI and BD measurements were undertaken for the
shallower depths only, the individual treatment effects were
significant for all the soil increments. The interactions had
significant effects on CI and BD for the first two soil layers.
3.1. Root length density
An important indicator of root growth is root length density
(RLD). The significant differences in RLD among tillage and manure
levels are shown in Table 3. Generally, the differences between
treatments were significant. Overall, tillage affected RLD in the
order: MP > CP > NP. There was little difference between the MP
and CP treatments in the disturbed zone 0–100 mm, but below
disturbance depths, tillage effects were minimal, see differences in
400–500 mm zone. This suggests that roots did not proliferate as
well in the deeper layers of tilled soils as they did in the surface
layer. Fig. 1a shows the differences between tillage treatments,
averaged over the three manure applications, over all depths. The
very low RLD in the 200–300 mm layer for the CP treatment could
be due to the panning effect of the chisel plow. There is an
indication of some slight panning just below working depth in the
cone index readings and bulk density shown in Fig. 1b and c.
Manure effects on RLD were in the order: M60 > M30 > M0.
Again the main effect and differences between the manuring
treatments occurred within the top 150–200 mm of soil, see Fig. 2a
(RLD values averaged for the three tillage treatments). This pattern
suggests that manure increased root proliferation in the upper soil
layers, possibly through improved physical properties and
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Table 2
The F ratio of analysis of variance for maize root length density (RLD), soil cone index (CI) and bulk density (BD) under the tillage and manure treatments.

Property Source of variance d.f. Soil depth layers

0–100 mm 100–200 mm 200–300 mm 300–400 mm 400–500 mm

RLD Tillage (T) 2 44.10** 1.52 73.01** 20.75** 0.58

Manure (M) 2 27.37** 21.39** 6.34* 3.18 0.77
TM 4 2.21 2.00 0.26 0.58 0.95

CI Tillage (T) 2 43.2** 288.6** 222.1**

Manure (M) 2 14.3** 170.3** 69.0**
TM 4 3.6* 28.3** 1.5

Property Source of variance d.f. Soil depth layers

0–75 mm 75–150 mm 150–225 mm

BD Tillage (T) 2 123.5** 86.4** 143.8**

Manure (M) 2 57.1** 37.6** 7.1**
TM 4 3.6* 3.5* 0.8

Note: * and ** indicate significant effects at 0.05 and 0.01 levels of probability, respectively.

increased nutrient and water availability. No real effect was The highest RLD was observed for the combination of MP and
identified at deeper depths. Manure obviously played an important M60, possibly due to the lower mechanical impedance and
part in improving the RLD, the improvement increasing with better growing conditions in the complete loosened and
increases in the amount of manure applied. Incorporation amended soil encouraging root elongation. This is consistent
produced a greater improvement than the manure remaining on with the lowest RLD being found on the NT-M0 combination in
the surface as in the NT treatment. which growing conditions would be expected to be less
favorable. These results are in agreement with Pietola (2005)
who reported a decrease in root numbers under conservation
Table 3 tillage due to higher mechanical impedance. High mechanical
3
Manure and tillage treatment effects on maize root length density (km m ) in resistance or poor aeration in dense zones reduces root length
different soil layers.
and root penetration by buckling and increases root diameter
Tillage (T) Rate of manure application (Mg ha 1
) X̄ and compensatory growth of laterals into looser zones (Unger
0 30 60
and Kaspar, 1994).
Summarizing the tillage effect, there were no substantial
0–100 mm soil layer differences in RLD between CP and MP in the disturbed zone (0–
No-tillage 3.03 (0.23)a 3.85 (0.69) 4.50 (0.57) 3.79
Chisel plow 3.88 (0.37) 5.83 (0.24) 6.81(0.45) 5.51
150 mm depth). The reduced RLD under CP when compared with
Moldboard plow 4.67 (0.29) 4.97 (0.09) 6.30 (0.61) 5.31 NT and MP in the 150–500 mm soil layer may be attributed to
X̄ 3.86 4.88 5.87 some panning effect beneath the working depth of the chisel plow.
Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM The favorable effects on RLD of M60 compared with M30 and M0
LSD (0.05) 0.56 0.59 1.02
(Fig. 2a) are attributed to manure incorporation improving soil
100–200 mm soil layer conditions and nutrient availability.
No-tillage 3.62 (0.35) 4.37 (0.23) 5.33 (0.53) 4.44
Chisel plow 4.64 (0.08) 5.47 (0.46) 5.49 (0.56) 5.20
3.2. Soil cone index
Moldboard plow 3.99 (0.40) 5.15 (0.39) 6.50 (1.04) 5.21
X̄ 4.08 5.00 5.77
Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM Researchers suggest that the most important limiting factor
LSD (0.05) 1.41 0.56 0.98 reducing root growth is soil strength (Taylor and Gardner, 1963).
200–300 mm soil layer Cone index (CI) was significantly lower in the loosened zones of MP
No-tillage 2.48 (0.76) 3.66 (0.88) 3.75 (0.39) 3.30 and CP than in NT, see Table 4 and Fig. 1b. Once below the loosened
Chisel plow 1.79 (0.13) 2.43 (0.47) 2.60 (0.15) 2.61 zone in CP (150 mm depth), there was little difference in cone
Moldboard plow 3.92 (0.05) 4.47 (0.26) 4.98 (0.35) 4.46
index values between CP and NT. Tillage, therefore, had little or no
X̄ 2.73 3.52 3.78
Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM
effect below working depth. This is clear also in the MP treatment,
LSD (0.05) 0.50 0.67 1.15 cone index rising rapidly below the plow depth.
Significant differences in CI also occurred among manure
300–400 mm soil layer
No-tillage 1.58 (0.40) 1.42 (0.20) 2.10 (0.80) 1.70 treatments. The mean CI values (average of all soil layers and
Chisel plow 1.10 (0.41) 1.26 (0.11) 1.37 (0.15) 1.24 tillage systems) were 1.43, 1.22 and 1.06 MPa for M0, M30 and
Moldboard plow 1.53 (0.21) 1.97 (0.31) 2.57 (0.36) 2.01 M60, respectively. The lower CI values of manure-amended plots in
X̄ 1.40 1.55 2.01 comparison with non-amended plots are attributable to beneficial
Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM
LSD (0.05) 0.34 0.55 0.95
effects of manure on soil physical properties aided by increased
root development. Organic manures can alter soil strength through
400–500 mm soil layer a dilution effect on the soil, by bonding particles, by increasing
No-tillage 0.79 (0.21) 0.81 (0.22) 0.59 (0.29) 0.86
Chisel plow 0.43 (0.19) 0.64 (0.20) 0.70 (0.11) 0.59
aggregation and by increasing soil elasticity (Soane, 1990;
Moldboard plow 0.59 (0.14) 0.73 (0.16) 0.65 (0.28) 0.66 Mosaddeghi et al., 2000). The CI values in the manure treatments,
X̄ 0.60 0.73 0.65 averaged for the tillage systems, were in the order:
Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM M0 > M30 > M60, see Fig. 2b. The lowest values of CI were
LSD (0.05) 0.37 0.21 0.37
observed in the MP–M60 combination. The highest values of soil
a
Figures in the parentheses are the standard deviations. strength were measured in the NT–M0 combinations, which in the

Please cite this article in press as: Mosaddeghi, M.R., et al., Short-term effects of tillage and manure on some soil physical properties and
maize root growth in a sandy loam soil in western Iran. Soil Tillage Res. (2008), doi:10.1016/j.still.2008.10.011
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M.R. Mosaddeghi et al. / Soil & Tillage Research xxx (2008) xxx–xxx 5

Fig. 1. Tillage system effects on maize root length density (a), soil cone index (b), Fig. 2. Manure treatment effects on maize root length density (a), soil cone index
and soil bulk density (c) at different soil depths. (b), and soil bulk density (c) at different soil depths.

deeper layers were approaching 2 MPa, the critical CI value for root
growth (Taylor and Burnett, 1964).
In summary the addition of manure reduced CI throughout the
top 300 mm of soil in all the treatments. The greater the manure
application rate the greater the reduction. The effects of the chisel
plow and moldboard plow in the disturbed zone were similar, both
reducing CI significantly. The CI on the NT plots increased
considerably with depth, a legacy of past soil management on
the experimental site. Increasing the manure application on these
plots did, however, reduce CI in the top 300 mm.
3.3. Soil bulk density
Bulk density followed a pattern similar to that of CI, BD
reduction being similar in the disturbed zone with CP and MP, see
Table 5. The mean BD values (average of all soil layers and manure
treatments) were 1.43, 1.37 and 1.26 Mg m 3 for NT, CP and MP,
respectively. These results are in contrast to the findings of Shirani
et al. (2002) who found tillage treatments had no significant effects
on physical properties in a structurally unstable silty clay loam soil
in central Iran. The differences in BD between MP and CP for the
first two soil layers were not significant. For the third soil layer,
however, the difference was significant due to the shallower
working depth of the chisel plow when compared with MP. The
results suggest that smearing of the chisel plow on the soil
beneath, caused some panning effect as evidenced by the highest
BD being found in the deepest layer (Table 5). From 0 to 300 mm
depth, the MP treatment showed a significantly reduced BD when
compared with NT (Fig. 1c).
There were also significant differences in BD among manure
treatments (Table 5). The mean BD values (average of all soil layers
and tillage treatments) were 1.30, 1.36 and 1.41 Mg m 3 for M60,

Please cite this article in press as: Mosaddeghi, M.R., et al., Short-term effects of tillage and manure on some soil physical properties and
maize root growth in a sandy loam soil in western Iran. Soil Tillage Res. (2008), doi:10.1016/j.still.2008.10.011
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Table 4 Table 5
3
The effect of manure and tillage treatments on cone index (MPa) in different soil The effect of manure and tillage treatments on bulk density (Mg m ) in different
layers. soil layers.
1 1
Tillage (T) Rate of manure application (Mg ha ) X̄ Tillage (T) Rate of manure application (Mg ha ) X̄

0 30 60 0 30 60

0–100 mm soil layer 0–75 mm soil layer

No-tillage 1.22 (0.48)a 1.15 (0.88) 0.79 (0.04) 1.05 No-tillage 1.44 (0.04)a 1.34 (0.04) 1.27 (0.01) 1.35
Chisel plow 0.67 (0.03) 0.59 (0.02) 0.55 (0.02) 0.60 Chisel plow 1.30 (0.02) 1.21 (0.01) 1.18 (0.02) 1.23
Moldboard plow 0.59 (0.01) 0.54 (0.01) 0.45 (0.02) 0.53 Moldboard plow 1.30 (0.03) 1.27 (0.01) 1.13 (0.03) 1.23
X̄ 0.83 0.76 0.60 X̄ 1.35 1.27 1.19
Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM
LSD (0.05) 0.17 0.10 0.50 LSD (0.05) 0.02 0.03 0.04

100–200 mm soil layer 75–150 mm soil layer

No-tillage 1.83 (0.11) 1.44 (0.04) 1.15 (1.17) 1.47 No-tillage 1.46 (0.02) 1.42 (0.07) 1.41 (0.01) 1.43
Chisel plow 1.41 (0.04) 1.18 (0.06) 1.08 (0.05) 1.22 Chisel plow 1.34 (0.01) 1.27 (0.01) 1.24 (0.02) 1.28
Moldboard plow 0.72 (0.02) 0.66 (0.02) 0.58 (0.04) 0.65 Moldboard plow 1.33 (0.02) 1.28 (0.01) 1.19 (0.03) 1.27
X̄ 1.32 1.09 0.94 X̄ 1.38 1.32 1.28
Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM
LSD (0.05) 0.10 0.05 0.08 LSD (0.05) 0.04 0.02 0.04

200–300 mm soil layer 150–225 mm soil layer

No-tillage 2.85 (0.10) 2.53 (0.15) 2.23 (0.05) 2.54 No-tillage 1.53 (0.05) 1.51 (0.07) 1.45 (0.03) 1.50
Chisel plow 2.21 (0.08) 1.94 (0.01) 1.80 (0.06) 1.98 Chisel plow 1.64 (0.04) 1.62 (0.02) 1.60 (0.06) 1.62
Moldboard plow 1.32 (0.18) 0.99 (0.12) 0.88 (0.09) 1.06 Moldboard plow 1.35 (0.03) 1.31 (0.01) 1.23 (0.02) 1.30
X̄ 2.13 1.82 1.64 X̄ 1.51 1.48 1.43
Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM Tillage (T) Manure (M) TM
LSD (0.05) 0.20 0.09 0.16 LSD (0.05) 0.05 0.04 0.08
a a
Figures in the parentheses are the standard deviations. Figures in the parentheses are the standard deviations.

M30 and M0, respectively, confirming a reduction in BD with
manure application, the reduction tending to increase with
increasing application. The dilution effect of organic manure on
BD was persistent with soil depth (Fig. 2c). The data in Tables 2 and
5 shows that BD was significantly affected by the interaction
effects. The lowest BD was observed for the MP–M60 combination
and the highest was for NT–M0 combination.
3.4. Root length density versus soil mechanical impedance
Soil strength or mechanical impedance is an important property
affecting root growth and development. As soil compaction
increases, roots are physically prevented from elongating into
the soil by lack of oxygen, by decreasing pore size and by increased
soil strength. The overall relationship between RLD and CI among
all the treatments was assessed. A significant power relation was
found between RLD and CI (Fig. 3). The graph shows the greater
effect of soil strength increase on root growth at lower values of CI
when compared with the higher values of CI. The suggested critical
CI value of 2 MPa for root growth corresponds to a major decrease
in RLD when compared with the lower and probable non-critical
values of CI (Fig. 3). Busscher and Bauer (2004) also found a
significant power relation between cotton root growth and soil
strength indicating root growth decreased while the cone index
increased. The close relation between RLD and CI implies that soil
mechanical impedance has a dominant effect on root growth.
There was no significant relationship, however, between RLD
and BD. This is due to the fact that cone index is a composite
property reflecting many aspects (e.g. bulk density, water content
and the soil pore system’s rigidity) (Taylor and Burnett, 1964),
whereas bulk density simply indicates a bulk property, soil mass
per unit volume. Since the sampling time was identical for all plots,
it seems that the combined influences of bulk density and soil
water content were represented by CI. Continuity of the
undisturbed capillary pores in NT probably depleted the profile
moisture and this might have an additional increasing effect on CI.
In addition, as manure was not incorporated over the plow depth in
NT plots, the loosening effect of manure on CI was minimal. Phillips
and Kirkham (1962) also argued that soil strength is a better
measure of root penetration than BD because soil strength, as
measured by a penetrometer, more accurately reflects the
resistance encountered by the root when entering the soil.
Nevertheless, Thompson et al. (1987) reported that both BD and
CI were good predictors of root growth in mine soils. Both
properties were linearly and negatively correlated with RLD. They
finally recommended, however, CI as a quick and easy collectable
property to predict root system performance.

4. Conclusions

The moldboard plow system had higher values of root length

density with lower values of both soil cone index and bulk density,
due to soil inversion and the mixing of residue, manure and
Fig. 3. Overall relationship between maize root length density (RLD) and soil cone nutrients into the plow depth. The no-tillage system resulted in
index (CI). lower root length density, and higher soil cone index and bulk

Please cite this article in press as: Mosaddeghi, M.R., et al., Short-term effects of tillage and manure on some soil physical properties and
maize root growth in a sandy loam soil in western Iran. Soil Tillage Res. (2008), doi:10.1016/j.still.2008.10.011
G Model
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M.R. Mosaddeghi et al. / Soil & Tillage Research xxx (2008) xxx–xxx
density as a result of less favorable soil physical and nutritional
properties. The chisel plow produced similar results to the
moldboard plow in the loosened zone (i.e. 150 mm depth). The
cone index results indicated that there may have been some local
panning at chisel plow working depth (i.e. 150 mm). The no-tillage
had the greatest percent increase in cone index over 300 mm soil
depth, a legacy of past soil management practices. The lowest cone
index was observed for MP–M60 combination due to complete soil
inversion/loosening and manure incorporation inducing soil
structural improvement. Bulk density followed a pattern similar
to that of cone index. Bulk density was significantly affected by
tillage, manure treatments and their interaction effects. A
significant relationship was found between root length density
and cone index, providing a measure of the effect of soil
mechanical impedance on root growth.
The findings indicate short-term beneficial effects of manure
application on maize root length density. The considerable effects
of manure on root length density, soil cone index and bulk density
may be attributed to the unstable structure of the soil. The unstable
structure was due to its previously low soil organic carbon content
and its history of conventional tillage. The combination of which
had destroyed soil biota. The short-term positive effects of
conservation tillage systems on the soil and maize root perfor-
mance were not significant. However, manure application seems
to be able to compensate to a significant degree for the increased
mechanical impedance with no-till.
The application of manure to no-till can assist in reducing the
deleterious effect of greater mechanical impedance. This could
enable all the other benefits of no-till to be achieved with less
reduction of root growth due to mechanical impedance. Potential
longer term improvements from no-tillage could then develop
faster. It is worth continuing the experiments to identify the
possible mid- and long-terms effects of tillage and manure
combinations on crop root characteristics and soil physical
properties. This is because the full beneficial effects of conservation
tillage regimes might not appear only after long-term application
of the treatments.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Bu-Ali Sina University for the
financial support of the study. We are thankful to Agriculture
Research Centre of Hamadan for using their farm for the field trial.
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