Effects of using tractors and providing organic materials on soil compaction on performance of corn plants

The majority of the corn farming process is still carried out manually in Indonesia. Given how much labor is required for corn growing, this is inefficient. Utilizing agricultural equipment and tools, efforts are made to increase corn cultivation’s production and effectiveness. Agricultural equipment and instruments are used during all stages of corn crop production, including tillage, planting, weeding, fertilizing, controlling pests and diseases, and harvesting. The mechanical and physical characteristics of the soil may be adversely affected by this activity. Organic matter treatment can lessen the negative effects on the use of agricultural machinery and equipment. In addition, the result of this research activity is an increase in corn productivity due to the addition of organic matter to the field.


Introduction
Corn is one of the agricultural commodities that has promising prospects because it can be processed into food, feed, industrial raw materials (fiber), and fuel.Efforts to increase corn production, one of which can be done using agricultural tools and machinery.The use of agricultural tools and machinery can increase efficiency in the series of corn cultivation processes.
Basically, the use of agricultural tools and machinery or mechanization is to increase human labor power in the process of agricultural production.So that it can also increase agricultural productivity with the efficiency of farming businesses and improve the quality of agricultural products.
The use of agricultural tools and machinery in addition to helping to increase efficiency in agricultural business also has a direct impact on soil compaction.This soil compaction occurs due to the traffic activity of agricultural tools and machinery.Soil compaction can affect the vegetative development of plants, thereby reducing crop production [1].
Based on CPIS (Center for Policy and Implementation Studies) 1991.The use of compost as a soil improver is by increasing the content of soil organic matter so that agricultural soil can be maintained fertility.In addition, compost or organic matter can also improve the physical properties of the soil which was previously more friable [2].

Location
This research was carried out in the experimental farming experimental garden of Hasanuddin University Makassar.This event is scheduled to take place in March-June 2023 and preliminary research conducted in January-April 2023.

Tools and data retrieval
The tool used in this study is a 4-wheeled tractor which is used to simulate agricultural tools and machines activities during the corn farming process.Penetrometer to see soil penetration resistance and sample ring for soil sampling at the study site.
Data collection is carried out at each treatment and a predetermined time to determine the effect of tractor trajectory and the addition of organic matter on soil compaction and plant development.The research plot is shown in Figure 1   Parameters for measuring the physical and mechanical properties of the soil include soil moisture content, Bulk Density, soil penetration resistance measured at soil depths of 0-10cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm Where: KA= soil moisture content (%) Wa= wet soil sample weight (g) Wb= dry sample weight/after drying (g) Where: BD = bulk density (g/cm 3 ) Bk = dry weight (g) Vt = Total volume (cm Where: Tp = Penetration resistance (kgf/cm 2 ) Fp = readable penetration force on the penetrometer (kgf) Plants Track Ak = cross-sectional area of the cone (cm 2 )

Results and Discussion
The type and condition of the soil at the Unhas experimental farm location can be seen from table 1 whose sample we took at the experimental location.The type of soil has an influence on the development of corn, since changes in the physical properties of the soil are also influenced by the type of soil.As James and Donald [4] have done that the smaller the soil particles, the higher the soil density will be so that plant productivity will decrease, as shown in Figure 2 below.Research in the Indiana, Wisconsin, and Canada regions (Figure 2) shows that compaction reduces corn production.Compaction has different yield influences depending on the type of soil.For example, in 2 soil types in the Wisconsin area, type 1 soils (sandy clay loams) are more affected than soil type 2 (sandy loams).
The amount of agricultural tools and machines track frequency and the addition of organic/compost materials also have an influence on soil compaction.The more frequent or high the frequency of the agricultural tools and machines track, the denser the soil will be so that it can affect plant root and plant development.The addition of organic/compost material can dampen soil compaction due to the nature of compost which can improve the physical properties of the soil or loosen the soil.This research was conducted by Iqbal by testing the effect of the number of passes and the addition of organic matter on soil compaction and peanut productivity.With the result in general the number of pods is getting less and less as the intensity of the wheel track increases.Meanwhile, compost treatment can increase the number of pods as the dose of compost increases.The highest number of containing pods was found in the 2-pass treatment with a compost dose of 6 tons/ha, which was 25 pods per tree, while the least number of pods containing was 8.60 pods per tree in the 6-pass treatment without compost.The influence of trajectory and organic matter on soil compaction can be known through the bulk density value, the higher the bulk density means the higher the density level as well.These results can be seen in (Figure 3) a graph of the relationship between the number of passes and the dose of organic matter to the bulk density at a soil depth of 0-10 cm that has been carried out by Iqbal [5].The application of organic fertilizer / compost affects the height of the plant at the beginning of growth.The higher the dose, the higher the plant will be, this is due to the nature of the organic/compost material itself which is able to improve soil physical properties such as soil permeability, soil porosity, soil structure, water resistance, and soil cations retain water in the soil, and add soil nutrients needed by plants.Applying compost can increase nutrient content and improve soil properties so that it can optimize the growth and production of corn plants.The results of the preliminary test in the table above show that the higher the compost given, the better plant growth, especially in vegetative vases.However, at the treatment dose of 10 tons/ha, the age of observation was 45 days, the condition of the plants was shorter than the treatment without compost due to a fairly severe FAW attack.From the results of the average cob weight it was also found that the addition of organic matter/compost had an effect on the yield, so it can also be seen that in addition to improving the soil or reducing soil compaction, the addition of compost can also increase crop production.
The expected final result of this study is to determine how much soil compaction is caused by the use of tractors / agricultural tools and machiness and the addition of organic materials, as well as the effect of compaction on corn productivity.

Conclusions
The number of agricultural tools and machines tracks will affect soil compaction, and the addition of organic/compost material will reduce or can dampen soil compaction and add nutrients to the soil and improve the soil.Dense soil conditions will affect the development of corn plants and the addition of organic matter will optimize the development and productivity of corn.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Effect of Compaction on Corn Production (University Of Wisconsin Publication A3367)

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Graph of the relationship of the number of passes and the dose of organic matter to the bulk density at a soil depth of 0-10 cm [1] Mandang T and Nishimura I 1991 The Relationship of Soil and Agricultural Tools (Bogor: Institut Pertanian Bogor) Without compost Compost Dosage of 4 tons/ha Compost Dosage of 6 tons/ha

Table 1 .
Soil conditions on experimental fields

Table 2 .
Effect of compost/organic matter on corn