Humedad Edáfica en Función del Subsolado e Infiltración en el Cultivo de Soya en Condiciones de Temporal

The physical action of subsoiling increases water infiltration, allowing the infiltrated water layer to reach the root zone of crops, including soybean, which was the focus of this research. The study was conducted in the Soconusco region, Chiapas, located in the southern Pacific region of Mexico, where approximately 12,000 hectares of soybean are cultivated under rainfed conditions, supported by a six-month rainy season (May–October) suitable for crop growth and production. However, since 1975, soil preparation for planting has been carried out under variable moisture conditions which, combined with repeated machinery traffic during plowing and harrowing operations, has caused soil compaction, currently presenting varying levels of compaction. Therefore, research was conducted during 2019, 2022, and 2023 using an experimental design consisting of three treatments: subsoiling and two control treatments, conventional plowing and soil harrowing. Treatments were established in paired plots of 0.5 ha (50 m × 100 m), with subsoiling mainly performed during the dry season (April 2019) at a depth of 60 cm. In each treatment, infiltration was measured to estimate its parameters, including infiltration rate, cumulative infiltrated depth, and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Under the hypothesis that subsoiling increases infiltration and in situ soil moisture, the objective was to evaluate soil moisture behavior within the crop root profile as a function of subsoiling and infiltration and its effect on soybean yield under rainfed conditions.