Effects of Biochar and Cattle Manure under Different Tillage Management on Soil Properties and Crop Growth in Croatia

Igor Bogunovic (), Ivan Dugan, Paulo Pereira, Vilim Filipovic, Lana Filipovic, Vedran Krevh, Jasmina Defterdarovic, Manuel Matisic and Ivica Kisic
Additional contact information
Igor Bogunovic: Department of General Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Ivan Dugan: Department of General Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Paulo Pereira: Environmental Management Laboratory, Mykolas Romeris University, LT-08303 Vilnius, Lithuania
Vilim Filipovic: Department of Soil Amelioration, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Lana Filipovic: Department of Soil Amelioration, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Vedran Krevh: Department of Soil Amelioration, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Jasmina Defterdarovic: Department of Soil Amelioration, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Manuel Matisic: Department of General Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Ivica Kisic: Department of General Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: The negative environmental impact of conventional agriculture threatens agroecosystem stability and food security. Therefore, searching for optimal soil management practices is crucial for maintaining and improving soil functions. This work aims to determine the impact of conventional and conservation tillage on Stagnosols in a semi-humid environment in Marija Magdalena (Croatia) during 2021 and 2022. Under each tillage treatment, subplots were biochar, cattle manure, and control (split-plot design). The conservation tillage exhibits lower compaction in addition to conventional tillage. In 2021, at 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm depths, control plots had the highest bulk density (BD), while biochar plots had the lowest. In 2022, biochar and manure treatments under conventional tillage had significantly higher BD than those under conservation tillage. Penetration resistance did not exceed 2 MPa in all treatments. Soil water content was high in conservation treatments at 0–15 cm. Water-stable aggregates were higher in biochar and manure plots under both tillage treatments. Maize yield was higher in conservation treatments in 2021 and in conventional during 2022. Manure and biochar in the conventional system showed a better impact on grain yields than under conservation. Conservation tillage in rain-fed farming maintains crop yields and reduces soil compaction.

Keywords: reduced tillage; soil amendments; soil compaction; grain yields; sustainable agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/11/2128/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/11/2128/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:11:p:2128-:d:1278144

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().