Spatial comparison of soil penetration resistance between two central pivots

In regions with well defined dry seasons, flat land and plenty of water, the center pivot irrigation is an option to cultivate fruits, crops and grain. With technological improvement and planning, the season can be performed up to three harvests per year. However, mechanization and intensive use of the soil can damage, causing soil compaction, hindering optimal crop growth. Penetration Resistance (PR) is a soil attribute that measures soil compaction and geostatistics is part of the statistic that quantifies the regionalized variables. The aim of this work was to compare the spatial variability of the penetration resistance on two center pivots. Data were collected in March and October 2014 after harvest of soybean and common bean, respectively. A georeferenced grid was established in both center pivots. On each mark the PR were evaluated with an impact penetrometer. The PR increased, from the soil surface layer to underlayer in both center pivots. The heterogeneity of soil, with the presence of plinthite in their irreversible form, ironstone, scrambles the reading data of PR as could be perceived by the maximum values of descriptive statistics data.