Assessment of Soil Quality Index of Crosby Silt Loam in Central Ohio.

Soil quality index (SQI) has been proposed as a tool for assessing land use and soil management practices worldwide. Soil quality is most often defined as the capacity of soil to function within ecosystem and land use boundaries, to sustain productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant growth. Management practices may lead to positive/negative changes in soil function, therefore a need for comprehensive tools and methods to assess and SQI was recognized. Thus, the present investigation was planned at the experimental research site located at the Waterman Farm of The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA to evaluate the effects of tillage and surface tile drainage on SQI from Crosby Silt Loam in Central Ohio. Treatments included: (i) no-till (NT) with surface tile drainage (ii) NT without drainage (iii) chisel tillage (CT) with surface tile drainage, and (iv) CT without drainage. Intact soil cores and bulk soil from all the treatments at 0-10, 10-20 20-40, and 40-60 cm depths were collected during April 2011. Results from this study show that NT and surface tile drainage management have improved the SQI. SQI also is significant relationship and strongly positively related between corn yields (R² = 0.75; n=12 at 0-10 cm depth). Thus long-term usage of NT and surface tile drainage may improve crop productivity.