The main goal of our research set up in 2019 on the basis of our preliminary observations is to study the effect of different compost products on the compactness of a soil with high clay content cultivated in a reduced tillage system.

The experiment was set up with a compost product of wastewater origin (Remusz) and as different product of sheep manure origin (Terrasol) on a plot with meadow chernozem soil. Four doses of the wastewater compost were compared to the control where only mineral fertilizers were applied, furthermore, the effect of the same dose of the two different compost products was also used in the comparison. In this paper, only the effect of these treatments on the penetration resistance of the soil is analysed.

A significant soil penetration resistance decreasing effect in the investigated soil layer could be detected even due to the application of the lowest dose (5 t ha-1) of the Remusz compost compared to the control (mineral fertilizer application). The higher compost doses resulted in lower penetration resistance of the soil.

The two compost products had similar positive, compactness decreasing effect on the soil. Comparing the two compost products (same application time and dose), we found that Terrasol has a somewhat better effect on soil compactness.

Keywords: compost, soil compactness, penetration resistance