Influence of Tillage and Cropping Systems on Soil Properties and Crop Performance under Semi-Arid Conditions

Ridha Boudiar, Khalid S. Alshallash (), Khadiga Alharbi (), Salah A. Okasha, Mohammed Fenni, Abdelhamid Mekhlouf, Bilal Fortas, Keirieddine Hamsi, Kamel Nadjem, Abdennour Belagrouz, Elsayed Mansour () and Mahfoud Mekhlouf
Additional contact information
Ridha Boudiar: Division of Biotechnology and Agriculture, Biotechnology Research Center (CRBt), Nouvelle Ville Ali Mendjli, Constantine 25016, Algeria
Khalid S. Alshallash: College of Science and Humanities-Huraymila, Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh 11432, Saudi Arabia
Khadiga Alharbi: Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Salah A. Okasha: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
Mohammed Fenni: Laboratoire d’Amélioration et de Développement de la Production Végétale et Animale (LADPVA), University of Ferhat ABBAS (UFAS-Sétif1), Sétif 19000, Algeria
Abdelhamid Mekhlouf: Laboratoire d’Amélioration et de Développement de la Production Végétale et Animale (LADPVA), University of Ferhat ABBAS (UFAS-Sétif1), Sétif 19000, Algeria
Bilal Fortas: Laboratoire d’Amélioration et de Développement de la Production Végétale et Animale (LADPVA), University of Ferhat ABBAS (UFAS-Sétif1), Sétif 19000, Algeria
Keirieddine Hamsi: Laboratoire d’Amélioration et de Développement de la Production Végétale et Animale (LADPVA), University of Ferhat ABBAS (UFAS-Sétif1), Sétif 19000, Algeria
Kamel Nadjem: Division of Biotechnology and Agriculture, Biotechnology Research Center (CRBt), Nouvelle Ville Ali Mendjli, Constantine 25016, Algeria
Abdennour Belagrouz: Higher School of Agronomy, Mostaganem 27000, Algeria
Elsayed Mansour: Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Mahfoud Mekhlouf: Experimental Farm, Field Crop Institute (ITGC), Sétif 19000, Algeria

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-13

Abstract: Conservation agriculture helps to mitigate the adverse impacts of conventional practices and intensive cultivation, accordingly enhancing agricultural sustainability. Tillage management and the preceding crop impact the sustainable use of soil resources and ultimately crop growth and productivity. The present study aimed to assess the impacts of the tillage system, cropping system, and their different interactions on soil properties and agronomic performance. No-tillage (NT), reduced tillage (RT), and conventional tillage (CT) were combined with three cropping systems; continuous wheat (wheat/wheat/wheat, W/W/W), lentil/wheat/lentil (L/W/L), and oat/wheat/barley-pea (O/W/BP) during three years crop rotation. The results displayed that the conservative practices (NT and RT) recorded higher soil nutrient content (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) than conventional tillage (CT). Moreover, NT and RT exhibited higher bulk density (BD) and lower water infiltration rates compared to CT. Besides, NT and RT tended to have higher soil moisture than CT. The cropping system W/W/W displayed higher magnesium content, while W/L/W had higher phosphorous and O/W/BP showed higher sodium values. The mono-cropping system under conventional tillage tended to have lower soil nutrient content compared to the other combinations. The highest wheat aboveground biomass, wheat grain yield, and lentil seed yield were produced by RT and CT compared to NT. Otherwise, the higher emergence of barley-pea was assigned for NT followed by CT and RT.

Keywords: poor soil; agriculture management; soil degradation; crop sequence; Mediterranean agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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