Effect of continuous cultivation and soil texture on some soil properties

The effects of soil continuous cultivation and soil texture on some of its properties, electrical conductivity, total porosity, and calcium carbonate content and soil penetration resistance. Six samples of soil material for a layer of 0-30 cm were collected from three different texture sites are Clay, Loam and Loamy Sand in Basra Governorate for three sites Abi al-Khasib, Karma and Zubair. Three of these samples represented the treatment of soil continuous cultivation, soil planted with alfalfa crop (Medicago sativa) for 7 consecutive years, and the other three samples from the same sites for uncultivated soil with three replications for each sample. The results showed a decrease in the values of electrical conductivity, calcium carbonate, soil penetration resistance, and an increase in soil porosity values in cultivated soils. The lowest EC values were 4.1, 5.3 and 6.2 dS. m-1 for soils with textures Loamy sand, Loam and Clay, respectively, and for CaCO3 of 182.3 g. kg-1 in Loamy sand, 266.7 g. kg-1 and 310 g. kg-1 for Loam and Clay soils, respectively, and for resistance to penetration of 550 KN.m-1 for clay soils. While it was 620 KN.m-1, and 714 KN.m-1, for loam soil and loamy sand soil, respectively, compared to uncultivated soil. While the soil porosity values increased for cultivated soils compared with uncultivated soils and the values of 43%, 48.53% and 53.4%, for soils with textures Loamy sand, Loam and Clay respectively, And for the average weighted diameter of 0.2537 mm, 0.2817 mm, 0.3640 mm, for soils with textures Loamy sand, Loam and Clay, respectively.