Tillage Practices and Nitrogen Management in Wheat Production
Summary
Effective management of tillage and nitrogen inputs is central to sustainable wheat production worldwide. Conventional tillage, reduced tillage and no-tillage systems influence soil structure, organic matter distribution and microbial activity, all of which govern nitrogen mineralisation and availability to the crop. No-tillage and conservation agriculture offer benefits for soil conservation and long-term carbon sequestration but may initially constrain nitrogen release and uptake, leading to yield penalties without appropriate fertiliser adjustments. Optimising nitrogen use efficiency through calibrated fertiliser rates, split applications and integration of legume rotations can mitigate such risks. Recent advances explore genotype–tillage interactions, innovative fertiliser blends and remote sensing tools to synchronise nitrogen supply with crop demand, aiming to balance productivity, resource use and environmental outcomes on a global scale.
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Tillage Practices and Nitrogen Management in Wheat Production publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in tillage practices and nitrogen management in wheat production across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Conventional tillage: A system involving soil inversion with ploughing to a specified depth for seedbed preparation.
No-tillage: A conservation tillage practice that eliminates soil inversion, leaving crop residues on the surface.
N-fertilisation rate: The applied amount of nitrogen per hectare, typically adjusted to meet crop requirements.
Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE): The ratio of nitrogen uptake or yield produced per unit of applied nitrogen fertiliser.
References
- Conventional tillage versus no-tillage: Nitrogen use efficiency component analysis of contrasting durum wheat genotypes grown in a Mediterranean environment. Field Crops Research (2023).
- Wheat Response to No-Tillage and Nitrogen Fertilization in a Long-Term Faba Bean-Based Rotation. Agronomy (2019).
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