Durum Wheat Production as Affected by Soil Tillage and Fertilization Management in a Mediterranean Environment

Roberto Mancinelli, Mohamed Allam, Verdiana Petroselli, Mariam Atait, Merima Jasarevic, Alessia Catalani, Sara Marinari, Emanuele Radicetti (), Aftab Jamal, Zainul Abideen and Gabriele Chilosi
Additional contact information
Roberto Mancinelli: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Mohamed Allam: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Verdiana Petroselli: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Mariam Atait: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Merima Jasarevic: Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Alessia Catalani: Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Sara Marinari: Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Emanuele Radicetti: Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences (DOCPAS), University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Aftab Jamal: Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Crop Production Sciences, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan
Zainul Abideen: Dr. Muhammed Ajmal Khan, Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
Gabriele Chilosi: Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: Several strategies have been proposed recently to reduce the accumulated harmful circumstances of intensive conventional farming practices. The adoption of conservation soil tillage and organic fertilization techniques could contribute to achieving this goal. The study was conducted over a three-year trial to assess the effects of soil tillage practices (plough; subsoil; spading) and fertilization management (inorganic vs. organic) on durum wheat growth dynamics and productivity in a Mediterranean environment. The chlorophyll concentration (CC) was evaluated using an MC-100 chlorophyll meter, and Green Area (GA) was extracted from red-green-blue (RGB) digital images acquired with a commercially available digital camera. These non-destructive low-cost methods were used to examine crop status and its reactions to climate conditions over three consecutive growing seasons in the field. A positive strong linear relationship between both CC and GA against grain yield in each growing season was identified. The study highlights that CC and GA methods are valuable tools to assess crop development under Mediterranean conditions. The results indicated that the applied conservation tillage systems, such as subsoil tillage and using the spading machine, along with organic fertilization with compost, are valuable choices in the Mediterranean basin for sustainable and higher crop production (13%) compared to the conventional traditional system.

Keywords: sustainable farming practices; conservation soil tillage; compost; organic fertilization; chlorophyll concentration; green area; durum wheat; Mediterranean environment (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
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