<i>Agronomic performance of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and fertiliser use efficiency as affected by controlled and non-controlled traffic of farm machinery</i>

Abstract

Controlled traffic farming (CTF) is a mechanization system that confines all load-bearing wheels to permanent traffic lanes, thus optimizing productivity of non-compacted crop beds for given energy, fertilizer and water inputs. This study investigated the agronomic and economic performance of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in compacted and non-compacted soils to represent the conditions of non-CTF and CTF systems, respectively. Yield-to-nitrogen (N) responses were obtained by applying urea (46% N), urea treated with 3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate (DMPP), commercially known as ENTEC ® urea (46% N), and urea ammonium nitrate (solution, 30% N) at rates between 0 (control) and 300 kg ha-1 N at regular increments of 100 kg ha-1 N. The results showed that the CTF system increased grain yield, total aboveground biomass, and harvest index by 12%, 9%, and 4%, respectively compared to the crop grown under the non-CTF system (P<0.05). Overall, the agronomic efficiency was approximately 35% higher in CTF compared with non-CTF (≈4 vs. 3 kg kg-1 , respectively). Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) was approximately 50% higher in CTF compared with non-CTF; however, there was not fertilizer type effect on NUE. On average, the optimal economic nitrogen application rates and corresponding grain yields were 122 kg ha-1 and 3337 kg ha-1 , and 175 and 3150 kg ha-1 in the CTF and non-CTF systems, respectively. This work demonstrated that significant improvements in fertilizer-N recoveries may not be realized with enhanced nitrogen formulations alone and that avoidance of (random) traffic compaction is a prerequisite for improved fertilizer use efficiency.

&lt;i&gt;Effect of controlled traffic farming on energy saving in Australian grain cropping systems&lt;/i&gt;

“…Research has shown that CTF systems have advantages in maintaining 'good' soil structural conditions with lower inputs of energy (reduced draft), improved trafficability and timeliness compared with conventional traffic systems (e.g., Tullberg, 2000;McHugh et al, 2009). In Australia, CTF represents a profitable technological innovation for arable land-use (Kingwell and Fuchsbichler, 2011) and has additional agronomic and environmental benefits (Tullberg, 2010), including reduced potential for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Antille et al, 2015) and enhanced fertilizer-use efficiency (Hussein et al, 2017). Adoption of CTF by Australian grain growers is estimated to be approximately 25% (Edwards et al, 2012).…”