Chickpea water use efficiency as affected by tillage in rainfed Mediterranean conditions
Autor
Fernández García, María Purificación
Muñoz-Romero, Verónica
López-Bellido Garrido, Rafael J.
Editor
Science DirectFecha
2013Materia
No-tillageConventional tillage
Soil water content
Precipitation use efficiency
Vertisol
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Under rainfed Mediterranean conditions, chickpea production can be increased by improving the soil water content (SWC). This study was conducted on a Vertisol in southern Spain over a period of ten years (2000-2009) to determine the effects of the tillage system on the SWC and the water use (WU) of the chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) crop. The study was performed as part of a long-term experiment called “Malagón” that started in 1986; the tillage systems treatments were no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT). The NT treatment recorded more water at sowing in all soil depths studied (0-30 cm, 30-60 cm and 60-90 cm). However, the CT treatment had higher SWC at harvest in the deeper layers (30-60 cm and 60-90 cm). The NT treatment improved the grain yield significantly compared with the CT treatment (1180 kg ha-1 and 1082 kg ha-1, respectively). The greatest WU occurred under the NT treatment, with 375 mm, compared with 355 mm under the CT treatment. This difference could be related to a higher nodule biomass in NT treated crops. However, the influence of the tillage system on the precipitation use efficiency (PUE) and the water use efficiency (WUE) was not clear.