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Soil & Crop Management

Tillage System, Preceding Crop, and Nitrogen Fertilizer in Wheat Crop

I. Soil Water Content

^a Dep. de Ciencias Agroforestales, Univ. of Huelva, Campus de La Rábida, 21819 Palos de la Frontera (Huelva), Spain
^b Dep. de Ciencias y Recursos Agrícolas y Forestales, Univ. of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
^c Dep. de Producción Vegetal y Tecnología Agraria, Univ. of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

^* Corresponding author (rafael.lopez{at}dcaf.uhu.es)

Received for publication January 31, 2006. Under rainfed Mediterranean conditions, water economy must be based on a suitable choice of agronomic techniques. A 6-yr study was undertaken to determine the effects of tillage system, preceding crop, and N fertilizer on soil water at wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) planting and harvest in a Vertisol. Tillage treatments were no-tillage and conventional tillage. Preceding crops, in 2-yr rotations, were sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L.), fallow, and continuous wheat. Nitrogen fertilizer rates were 0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha^–1 applied to wheat only. No-tillage did not provide more water at wheat planting for any of the rotations. Preceding crop effect on soil water content (SWC) at planting was as follows: fallow faba bean > wheat chickpea > sunflower. At harvest, SWC was higher in continuous wheat. Only at harvest were there differences among N fertilizer rates for SWC. Besides, measurement of SWC at harvest for sunflower, chickpea, faba bean, and fallow were performed to determine soil water storage and precipitation storage efficiency (PSE) for 2 yr. Soil water storage was higher for rotations with sunflower or fallow. Nevertheless, fallow PSE was the lowest (10%). The mean PSE was 29%. Under the conditions of this study, no-tillage is not more efficient than conventional tillage in soil water accumulation. Fallow is not a useful tool for increasing water availability.

Abbreviations: PSE, precipitation storage efficiency • SWC, soil water content

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