Multi-Environments Experiment (MEE) UNITUS

Summary

Unsustainable farming practices, including soil tillage intensification and heavy use of agrochemicals, have an adverse impact on natural resources, biodiversity and the environment. Therefore, there is a need to improve actual agricultural practices. The introduction of living mulches could be an efficient tool in order to stabilize crop yields, improve soil characteristics, and reduce external agricultural inputs such as herbicides and fertilizers. The overall objective of this experiment is to improve understanding and use of subsidiary crops in conservation agriculture systems under the Mediterranean environment of central Italy.
Field experiment was set up in September 2012 at the experimental farm of Tuscia University (UNITUS). A 2-year durum wheat – tomato sequence was foreseen. In the first year of study the treatments consisted in: (i) four different crops sequences (durum wheat + hairy vetch cover crop; durum wheat + black oat cover crop; durum wheat/ subclover living mulch; durum wheat + fallow); (ii) three nitrogen fertilization levels to the wheat (0%, 50%, and 100% of total nitrogen recommended dose).
In this poster is reported the preliminary results of the first year of multi environment experiment regarding the cereal grain yield and subclover biomass production.