Effect of Tillage Systems on Durum Wheat Production with Different Rotations in Semi Arid Area of Algeria.

Background: Durum wheat is the most important cereal in Algeria. The yield of durum wheat is low and depends on climatic conditions and technical operations. Methods: The objective of this study is to compare the effect of the no-till system (NT) and conventional tillage system (CT) with three crop rotation sequences on wheat yield, yield components and some physiological traits under rain-fed conditions. The study was conducted at the technical institute of field crops-Sétif-in east of Algeria, over three crop seasons: 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19. Result: The number of plants/m², tillers/m², spikes/m² and grain yield were affected by the tillage system and the environmental conditions. Seed weight, straw yield, biological yield, leaf relative water content and leaf chlorophyll content were significantly affected by the environment but not by the tillage system. While the spike density, the harvest index and the grain yield were significantly higher under NT system than in the CT system. Furthermore, wheat grain yield was also higher following legumes than in wheat monoculture. These results indicate that no-tillage and crop diversification by adding leguminous in rotation improves grain legumes yield of durum wheat under semi-arid conditions of Algeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]