The planting delays and wet soil conditions will increase the potential for sidewall compaction to occur.

A team of Nordic researchers combined computed tomography (CT) scanning with traditional measurements of air exchange to diagnose the long-term impacts of soil compaction on the hidden, but vital, soil pore network, says the American Society of Agronomy.

Compaction can be present in fields for a number of reasons. Normally it’s created when heavy equipment, wagons, trucks, tankers or spreaders make passes on fields when the soil is too wet to hold them. Even heavy planters, tractors or sprayers can cause compaction.