LASER LAND LEVELING EFFECT ON THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF A ACUIC HAPLOXERALFS SOIL

Abstract

Laser land leveling creates a uniform soil slope and improves irrigation water management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of laser land leveling on the physical and chemical properties of soil and the relationship with rice yield in an Acuic Haploxeralfs soil (Parral Series). The applied treatments were: traditional leveling (To ), laser leveling cut (T1 ), and laser leveling fill (T2 ). The experimental design was completely randomized with three treatments and three replications. Soil samples were taken at 10 and 20 cm depth, evaluating water aggregate distribution, soil particle-size distribution, pH, organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and zinc (Zn). Laser land leveling did not affect the aggregate size distribution, neither the percentages of sand, silt and clay of soil. Soil chemical properties did not show significant differences in pH, OM, P and K between treatments, although To
showed values significantly higher (P ? 0.05) of available nitrogen at 10 cm-depth than T1 and T2 , however this was not reflected in grain yield since
rice yield with laser land leveling reached values 15% higher than conventional land leveling, with no differences between cut and fill areas. Long-term field experiments will be necessary on clay soils to evaluate the effects in the spatial variability of soil properties and the effects on postleveling crop productivity