Nitrogen Use Efficiency Using the <sup>15</sup>N Dilution Technique for Wheat Yield under Conservation Agriculture and Nitrogen Fertilizer
Hassnae Maher,
Rachid Moussadek,
Abdelmjid Zouahri,
Ahmed Douaik,
Nour Eddine Amenzou,
Moncef Benmansour,
Hamza Iaaich,
Houria Dakak,
Zineb El Mouridi,
Abdelkbir Bellaouchou,
Ahmed Ghanimi
Affiliations
Hassnae Maher
Laboratory of Materials, Nanotechnologies, and Environment, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat P.O. Box 1014, Morocco
Rachid Moussadek
Research Unit on Environment and Conservation of Natural Resources, Regional Center of Rabat, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat P.O. Box 6356, Morocco
Abdelmjid Zouahri
Research Unit on Environment and Conservation of Natural Resources, Regional Center of Rabat, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat P.O. Box 6356, Morocco
Ahmed Douaik
Research Unit on Environment and Conservation of Natural Resources, Regional Center of Rabat, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat P.O. Box 6356, Morocco
Nour Eddine Amenzou
Division of Water and Climate, Direction of Studies and Scientific Research, National Center for Nuclear Energy, Sciences and Techniques (CNESTEN), Route de Kenitra-Mamoura, P.O. Box 1382, Kenitra 14000, Morocco
Moncef Benmansour
Division of Water and Climate, Direction of Studies and Scientific Research, National Center for Nuclear Energy, Sciences and Techniques (CNESTEN), Route de Kenitra-Mamoura, P.O. Box 1382, Kenitra 14000, Morocco
Hamza Iaaich
Research Unit on Environment and Conservation of Natural Resources, Regional Center of Rabat, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat P.O. Box 6356, Morocco
Houria Dakak
Research Unit on Environment and Conservation of Natural Resources, Regional Center of Rabat, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat P.O. Box 6356, Morocco
Zineb El Mouridi
Research Unit on Environment and Conservation of Natural Resources, Regional Center of Rabat, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Rabat P.O. Box 6356, Morocco
Abdelkbir Bellaouchou
Laboratory of Materials, Nanotechnologies, and Environment, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat P.O. Box 1014, Morocco
Ahmed Ghanimi
Laboratory of Materials, Nanotechnologies, and Environment, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat P.O. Box 1014, Morocco
Conservation agriculture (CA), which could contribute to sustainable agriculture, maintains or improves soil nitrogen fertility by eliminating tillage (no-tillage). Quantitative assessment of soil constituents is enhanced by stable isotope techniques such as 15N, which are used to better understand nitrogen dynamics. This study was therefore carried out to assess the impact of tillage type and fertilizer application on soil and plant nitrogen fractionation. The trial consisted of two tillage types: no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT). Three nitrogen doses (82, 115, and 149 kg ha−1) were applied. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with three replications. The Louiza variety of durum wheat was used in this study. Soil nitrogen sequestration was assessed using the stable nitrogen isotope (15N) method. The statistical analysis (ANOVA) showed that, overall, there was no significant difference between tillage types and nitrogen doses for grain and straw yields and grain total nitrogen. In contrast, the effect of both factors and their interaction were significant for straw total nitrogen. There was no difference between tillage types for grain nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), even though NT was superior to CT by 3.5%, but nitrogen doses had a significant effect and a significant interaction with tillage type. When comparing nitrogen doses for each tillage type separately, results showed that the average NUE for grain was 20.5, 8.4, and 16.5%, respectively, for the three nitrogen doses for CT compared with 26.8, 19.0, and 30.6% for NT, indicating clearly the better performance of NT compared to CT. Regarding straw, the NUE is 3.2, 3.5, and 5.4% for CT compared with 3.4, 4.9, and 9.2% for NT. NUE in grain and straw under no-tillage was higher than under conventional tillage in all three nitrogen doses. These results show that soil conservation techniques such as no-tillage and the integrated application of nitrogen fertilizer can be good strategies for reducing soil nitrogen losses.
