One of the factors critical to seed germination and plant development is good tilth. Unfortunately, tilth is often only subjectively evaluated, hence its adequacy depends on the experience of the evaluator rather than on a standard procedure. The TilthIndex is a quantitative value used to describe soil conditions that relate to plant growth and water movement, ranging from 0.0 for the worst soil to 1.0 for the best soil as related to crop production. Five parameters, i.e., soil particle uniformity,organic matter content, bulk density, plasticity and cone index, thought to be the most important in determining soil tilth, were evaluated for different tillage systems and their effects were combined to calculate the Tilth Index. The Tilth Index showspromise as a tool that could be used to optimize energy use for tillage by indicating when additional tillage may not be helpful. The results of this study also suggest that the index may assist in yield prediction by comparing measured soil conditions to known or projected optima for a location.
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