An evaluation of conservation tillage based on long-term experiments in winter crop rotations in NE Spain
This study evaluates yields and water use efficiency from a productive and economic perspective under different tillage systems in semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Three long-term experiments, initiated in 1987, 1990, and 2005, were conducted at three locations in the Ebro River Valley (northern S...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya) |
| Repositorio: | Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/468641 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2025.08.003 https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/468641 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Gross margin No-tillage Conservation tillage Intensive tillage |
| Sumario: | This study evaluates yields and water use efficiency from a productive and economic perspective under different tillage systems in semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Three long-term experiments, initiated in 1987, 1990, and 2005, were conducted at three locations in the Ebro River Valley (northern Spain): Selvanera, Agramunt, and Peñalba, with increasing degrees of aridity. The tillage systems studied were intensive tillage (IT), reduced tillage (RT), and no tillage (NT). In Selvanera and Agramunt, conservation tillage systems (RT and NT) outperformed IT in 51 % and 57 % of the seasons, respectively, in terms of yields and water use efficiency (WUEy). In Peñalba, NT only exceeded IT in 2010. Results showed that economic water use efficiency (EWUE) was significantly affected by tillage systems at each location (p < 0.001). In Selvanera and Agramunt, conservation systems increased gross margins (GM) by 45 % and 185 %, respectively. In Peñalba, due to low yields, IT was economically unviable. Although conservation tillage systems can lead to initial economic losses due to unpredictable yields, long-term benefits were observed, highlighting their economic viability in water-scarce areas. This study confirms that conservation tillage systems improve both water use efficiency and profitability, especially in regions with water limitations. |
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