Effect of Depth and Puddling Intensity on Engineering Properties of Clay Loam Soil

Engineering properties of soils besides the chemical and biological properties can be a tool for justifying the behavior of soil. In this study bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, soil penetration resistance and Shear strength were measured. Different levels of depth and puddling intensity and their interactions on the properties in randomized complete design with three replications in a factorial experiment was investigated. Results indicated puddling intensity decreased the soil hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, penetration resistance, shear strength and with increasing depth, bulk density, penetration resistance and shear strength increased. The changes in bulk density were 0.68-1.32. The highest and lowest hydraulic conductivity were reported 0.3 and 8.5 in treatment P0 depth 10 cm and treatment P2 depth 30 cm respectively. It can be said that puddling treatment P1 is more suitable than treatment P2 to keep moisture, reduce physical and mechanical damage, energy required to prepare the paddy fields.