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Abstract
Relationships between site preparation tillage and growth were assessed through three growing seasons for five treatments in two different Pinus taeda L. plantations within the upper Coastal Plain of southwest Georgia. Results revealed that minimum tillage often had the greatest growth response. A coulter only treatment produced the greatest response at a clay rich site. On a sandy site, the control was as productive as bedded treatments. Soil electrical resistivity was used at the sandy site to assess soil moisture utilization with tillage over a 2x8x2 m soil volume. Resistivity was linearly correlated with soil moisture in the top 30 cm; in the control plots and the interbed areas of bedded plots, R ranged from 0.58 to 0.74; in bedded plots and the bedded areas of the bedded plot, R ranged from 0.12 to 0.53. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy predicted total foliar and soil N with some success (R > 0.9).