Tillage for Soybean & Wheat Productivity CIRAA
This experiment has been added by the GLTEN Curators using existing published sources.
- Objective
- To examine the effects of different forms of tillage (No-Tillage and Conventional Tillage) and nitrogen fertilization on various arable crops.
- Description
- A long-term dryland field experiment established at the Enrico Avanzi Interdepartmental Center for Agro-Environmental Research of the University of Pisa, located in the Pisa coastal plain of Italy.
- Data Access Statement
- Don't know
- Data license
- Don't know
- Data policy
- Don't know
- Organization
- Enrico Avanzi Interdepartmental Center for Agro-Environmental Research , University of Pisa, Italy
- Person
- Prof Marco MazzonciniUniversity of Pisa
Site: CIRAA Tillage for Soybean Wheat
- Type
- research field
- Location
- PisaPisa coastal plainItaly
- Geographic location
- 43.568022, 10.414296
- Elevation
- 1 Metres
- Visits permitted?
- No
- Management
- Conventionally tilled (CT) plots were seeded using the Accord DL for wheat (14-cm row spacing) and the ‘Monosem’ for soybean (50-cm row spacing). In No-Tillage (NT) plots, the drills used were the Gaspardo DP300 for wheat (18-cm row spacing, 9% soil surface disturbance) and the Gaspardo No-Till 1040 for soybean (50-cm row spacing, 16% soil surface disturbance). For wheat, planting commences after 15 October, when soil conditions allowed field entry. The seeding rate was the same for both tillage treatments each year but varied depending on sowing time (from 200 to 280 kg ha−1 for wheat, and from 350,000 to 500,000 seeds ha−1 for soybean). Seed is placed to a depth of 1.5 to 2.5 cm for wheat and 2 to 4 cm for soybean depending on soil moisture. The amount of fertilizer (NPK) applied to the crops is always the same for the two tillage systems for any given year (32 kgN/ha, 96kgP/ha, 96 kgK/ha). Fertilizer NPK was applied during seedbed preparation (mixed in the upper soil layer for CT, applied on the surface before planting for NT) for both wheat and soybean. Top-dress N fertilization (72% of the total amount) was done for wheat at appropriate spring growth stages.
- Soil type
- Typic Xerofluvents
- Soil description
- It is a poorly drained silt-loam soil. In this area, the soil water table is around 35 cm depth at the end of the winter and 110 cm depth at the end of the summer.
- Soil properties
Variable Depth Value (range) Units Ref year Estimated? Baseline? sand content 0 – 30 Centimetres 320 gram per kilogram silt content 0 – 30 Centimetres 482 gram per kilogram clay content 0 – 30 Centimetres 198 gram per kilogram soil pH 7.7 total CaCo3 0 – 30 Centimetres 54 gram per kilogram soil organic carbon 0 – 30 Centimetres 10.7 gram per kilogram soil carbon to nitrogen ratio 0 – 30 Centimetres 9.1 extractable phosphorus 0 – 30 Centimetres 24.7 mg per kg exchangeable potassium 0 – 30 Centimetres 159.5 mg per kg - Climatic type
- warm mediterranean climate
- Climate description
- Climatic conditions at the experimental site are typically Mediterranean, relatively cold, wet winters, and hot, dry summers. High seasonal variability in rainfall, most of it falling between October and April with a few rain events in summer (end of June–end of August), is typical. This climate results in moderate stress for dryland summer crops (e.g., soybean).
- Climate properties
Variable Time period Value (range) Units Mean total annual rainfall (16 year average) 1990 – 2005 907 millimeter
Design period: Current design period (1986—)
- Design Type
- Randomized complete block design
- Description
- From 1986 to 1989, the two tillage systems evaluated were: (i) CT–MP (Conventional Tillage-Moldboard Ploughing) to a 30 to 35 cm depth followed by secondary tillage with a disk harrow for weed control, fertilizer incorporation, and seedbed preparation before fall or spring crop planting; (ii) NT (No tillage) for soybean and MT for winter wheat (due to a lack of NT equipment), consisting of disk-harrowing to a 15-cm depth. Crop residues were incorporated to a 30-cm depth under CT, 15-cm depth under MT, and retained on the surface under NT. From 1989 onward, wheat was NT planted. From 1999 onward, winter wheat was replaced by durum wheat.
- Design description
- A randomized complete block experimental design, replicated four times. Plots 50 m long by 25 m wide and seeded in a north-south direction.
- Crops
Crop Years grown - Factor
- Factor name
- Factor levels
- tillage process
conventional tillage (30-35 cm depth)
CT–MP to a 30 to 35 cm depth followed by secondary tillage with a disk harrow for weed control, fertilizer incorporation, and seedbed preparation before fall or spring crop planting. Crop residues are incorporated to a 30-cm depth under CT.no-till
NT for soybean and MT for winter wheat (due to a lack of NT equipment), consisting of disk-harrowing to a 15-cm depth. Crop residues are retained on the surface under NT.
- Measurements
Variable Material Units Frequency Scale Comment yield Not specified total biomass Not specified harvest index Not specified plant population number Not specified 1000 seed weight Not specified number spikes per wheat head Not specified weed biomass Not specified plant phosphorous components Not specified
Related publications
- Rainfed Wheat and Soybean Productivity in a Long-Term Tillage Experiment in Central Italy (2008) Mazzoncini et al Agronomy Jornal Vol 100 Issue 5, 1418-1429 https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2007.0173 [In English]