Splitting Nitrogen Fertilization Is More Important than Nitrogen Level When Mixed Wheat Varieties Are Cultivated in a Conservation Agriculture System
Kévin Allart,
Ali Almoussawi,
Louay Kerbey,
Manuella Catterou,
David Roger,
David Mortier,
Elisa Blanc,
Bastien Robert,
Fabien Spicher,
Léa Emery,
Bertrand Hirel,
Frédéric Dubois,
Thierry Tetu
Affiliations
Kévin Allart
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Ali Almoussawi
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Louay Kerbey
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Manuella Catterou
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
David Roger
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
David Mortier
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Elisa Blanc
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Bastien Robert
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Fabien Spicher
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Léa Emery
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Bertrand Hirel
Unité Mixte de Recherche 1318 INRA-AgroParisTech, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique et de l’Environnement (INRAE), 78026 Versailles, France
Frédéric Dubois
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Thierry Tetu
Unité de Recherche “Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés” EDYSAN, UMR 7058 CNRS-UPJV, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 rue des Louvels, CEDEX 1, 80037 Amiens, France
Nitrogen (N) is one of the most limiting nutrients for cereal production, especially in wheat, which is one of the main crops cultivated globally. To achieve high yields, wheat requires a certain amount of nitrogen (N), as N deficiency can lead to a decrease in yield and thus reduce income for farmers. In contrast, excessive applications of N fertilizer can be detrimental to both terrestrial and aquatic environments. To optimize N fertilizer applications in wheat, a three-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of different N fertilization strategies on various N-related physiological and agronomic traits. Moreover, to optimize N utilization efficiency while maintaining crop productivity, a mixture of five winter wheat varieties was used to mitigate the possible impact of environmental constraints. These strategies were based on a simultaneous increase in N fertilization and N fertilizer fractionation at key stages of plant development in a soil conservation agriculture (SCA) system in which legumes were grown prior to the cultivation of the main crop. In this SCA system, we observed that 200 kgN·ha−1 was optimal for both N use efficiency (NUE) and aerial and grain biomass production. Moreover, we found that at this level of N fertilization, of the application strategies, a 40%/40%/20% split application at full tillering, at the first node, and at booting, respectively, appeared to be the best option for the highest plant productivity.