Laboratory assessment of the workable range of soils in the tropical zone of Veracruz, Mexico

Information on workability limits is highly valuable at the farm level to help the farmer in deciding when and possibly how to carry out tillage. On higher levels (e.g. on regional scale) this knowledge will form a basis for obtaining guidelines with respect to required number of tractors, equipment etc. and so help in planning and policy making. Data of this kind are often lacking. The study reported here is the laboratory component of research carried out in the tropical area of Veracruz, Mexico. In this study, laboratory methods to determine workability limits were assessed for a typical clay and loam soil. For the dry workability limit (where energy for producing specifically sized aggregates is the decisive factor), the drop test was applied. Results in terms of soil moisture tension at the point of lowest energy expenditure were comparable with the field results, although energy levels were different. For the determination of the wet workability limit (WWL), an air permeability test and a compression test were used. Both tests yielded limits that were very close to the ones determined in the field. The compressibility test allows the assessment of other soil characteristics such as prediction of modification of pF curve and aeration properties under compressive forces. For field or farm scale, workability limits can be obtained from representative areas and then used in combination with water balance models to determine the number of workable days under a certain weather (rainfall) regime. The applicability on a regional scale is as yet more difficult, soil physical information from soil maps is usually not sufficient to allow reliable interpretations. The use of existing pedo-transfer functions to obtain input for models to predict workable days did not produce satisfactory results.