Soil Compaction Study Due to 4 Wheel Tractor Track in PTPN II Kulmpang Sugar Cane Plantation

Soil compaction can occur due to repeated tractor trajectories in the tillage process. Changes in soil physical and mechanical properties that occur can be seen with changes in soil bulk density, soil porosity, ground pressure and soil penetration resistance. Soil compaction can cause disruption of plant root growth that will reduce crop production. The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in soil physical and mechanical properties due to soil compaction caused by repeated tractor trajectories. The study was carried out at 20.05% moisture content, bulk density 1.06 gr / cm3 porosity 53.9% and an average penetration resistance of 1.32 kgf/cm2 (0.13 MPa) with an average tractor ground pressure value of 0.88 kg/cm2 crossing the ground as much as 1-8 times the track. The results showed that the number of tractor trajectories affected the value of bulk density, soil porosity and soil penetration resistance. The increasing number of trajectories, causing an increase in the level of soil density which can be seen by increasing the bulk density value by 1.31gr / cm3, decreasing porosity value by 26.63% while the average penetration resistance increases by 6.88 kgf/cm2 (0.67 MPa).