Abstract
Crop yield under reduced tillage (RT) practices is a concern for sustainable production worldwide because it is related to different environmental and agronomic factors than conventionally tilled soils. This study aimed to evaluate how climate, soil, and farming practices could affect crop yield under RT, especially under different sources of fertilisation [mineral (M), mineral + organic (MO), and organic (O)]. Multilevel meta-analysis was adopted. The analysis was performed taking into consideration environmental conditions, soil properties, crop rotation, and crop species. Only studies that reported the interaction effect of soil tillage and nutrients management on grain yield were included. The results suggest that the impact of soil tillage and fertilisation sources on crop yield depended on crop species. Using reduced tillage practices, adopting only organic nutrient sources could produce enough grains for legume crops. However, combining both inorganic and organic fertilizers added benefits for cereal crops in terms of grain yield production. This study highlights how conservation tillage practices could be affected by environmental and agronomic factors.
Highlights
In the last decades, the transformation to industrial society determined changes in agricultural practices from their basic function of providing food and labour to becoming a supplier of raw materials in agro-industrial and agri-business systems
The results suggest that the impact of soil tillage and fertilisation sources on crop yield depended on crop species
Most of the suitable studies were conducted in India, where twelve different crops were evaluated for yield under all climate conditions
Summary
The transformation to industrial society determined changes in agricultural practices from their basic function of providing food and labour to becoming a supplier of raw materials in agro-industrial and agri-business systems. Plow-based tillage methods modified the soils’ physical, mechanical, and biological properties and contributed to providing various benefits and services, including favourable soil structure for seeds and seedlings, pest control (weeds, insects, and diseases), improving soil aeration, and incorporation of crop residues and fertilizers [3,4]. It has always been considered an important technological development that is regularly placed at the beginning of each crop cultivation. There is an urgent need to satisfy the growing human population’s food demand through agricultural practices based on sustainable land management [8,9,10]
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