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Subsoiling in a Forest Tree Nursery

Numerous examples have been cited to show that if a tractor travels over the same area for a long period of time, the soil in that area will become compacted. The packing of soil and the formation of dense layers and plow soles by implements and traffic can result in poor growth of plants. To overcome these undesirable soil features in forest tree nurseries, most nurserymen have tried correcting such condition by subsoiling or surface tillage. Soil in the Auburn Nursery, operated by the Alabama Division of Forestry and located near Auburn, Alabama, has been subsoiled for the past three consecutive years. Feet of the subsoilers were mounted on eighteen inch centers. Effective depth of subsoiling was approximately 16 inches and averaged 3 inches into the subsoil proper. The first year the area was subsoiled twice; the second pass over the field was at right angles to the first. The second and third years the area was covered in a circular method. In all, the area has been subsoiled four times.


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Author(s): A. R. Gilmore

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Issue 31 (1958)