Soil tilth: an approach for soil health management

Soil is one of the most essential natural resources to produce food for all living creature. The production capacity of soil depends upon the health of the soil. It is being damaged by erosion and intensive agricultural practices. Soil management must be improved to sustain a productive and profitable agriculture. Tilth has been used to describe the physical state of the soil. It denotes the ease with which tillage, preparation of seedbed, germination and root development can be accomplished. Tilth, in fact, is a composite of physical properties such as texture, structure, strength, organic matter, and consistency. The management practises to achieve desired soil conditions is difficult because the processes that influence tilth are poorly understood by the farmers. Tillage is one of the main activities that leads to the long-term deterioration of tilth because it accelerates the rate of oxidation of organic substance. Tillage facilitates the access of soil, air, and water to the plant and often increases soil tilth over the short period. Plant growth incorporates the influences of crop, soil, and microclimate, making it a useful predictor of soil tilth. The evaluation of soil tilth levels in agriculture is a difficult task, requiring a lot of time and knowledge. This chapter aims to give an insight about the available soil tilth assessment techniques