Controlled Traffic Farming: A Sustainable Solution to Soil Compaction

Rashmi Bangale*

Senior Research Fellow (AICRP on Farm Implements and Machinery), ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural engineering, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

*Corresponding Author: Rashmi Bangale, Senior Research Fellow (AICRP on Farm Implements and Machinery), ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural engineering, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Received: November 17, 2022; Published: January 09, 2023

Abstract

Sustainable agricultural production aims to feed and fuel for increasing population. The use of advanced heavy farm machinery has enhanced the efficiency of agricultural operations and food production since many decades. But on the other part, these machines are affecting soil health causing the soil compaction. About 68 million ha of land worldwide has been affected with soil compaction. Wheel traffic induced soil compaction increases soil bulk density, Consequently, affect nutrient mobility and soil gaseous fluxes, crop/root growth, crop productivity, yield and economics. Controlled traffic farming (CTF) is a one of the sustainable solutions to overcome the soil compaction or prevent the further soil compaction. CTF separates the wheel traffic lane from the cropping zone and may be resulted in less than 30% area under traffic lane. Research confirms the positive effects on agricultural production and soil health worldwide. In this article we discuss about the soil compaction, its causes, adverse effects and CTF system in terms of trafficked area, soil health, environment and economic sustainability.

Keywords: Soil Compaction, Wheel Traffic, Controlled Traffic Farming

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Citation

Citation: Rashmi Bangale. “Controlled Traffic Farming: A Sustainable Solution to Soil Compaction". Acta Scientific Agriculture 7.2 (2023): 18-24.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Rashmi Bangale. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.