000			03481nab a22003137a 4500
999			_c29076 _d29076
001			G96432
003			MX-TxCIM
005			20210707223017.0
008			210707s2011 xxk|||p|op||| 00| 0 eng d
022			_a0014-4797
022			_a1469-4441 (Online)
024	8		_ahttps://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479711000044
040			_aMX-TxCIM
041			_aeng
100	1		_9898 _aCossani, C.M. _gGlobal Wheat Program _8INT3189
245	1	0	_aImproving wheat yields through n fertilization in Mediterranean Tunisia
260			_aCambridge (United Kingdom) : _bCambridge University Press, _c2011.
500			_aPeer review
500			_aPeer-review: Yes - Open Access: Yes|http://science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jlresults.cgi?PC=MASTER&ISSN=0014-4797
520			_aRainfed wheat is frequently exposed to periods of water stress that generate low and variable grain yields. Field experiments (with studies in Tunisia and Morocco) carried out in the context of a European research project of co-operation with Mediterranean partner countries (WatNitMED) showed that nitrogen (N) fertilization may be a tool to increase productivity of rainfed wheat in Mediterranean environments. However, most farmers in Northern Africa do not fertilize their rainfed cereals. In the present study, we aimed to analyse whether the generally accepted positive yield response to N fertilization in rainfed Mediterranean conditions corresponds to actual advantages achieved in the fields of working farmers, attempting a further up-scaling of knowledge from field experiments to real fields. We attempted to apply research results to Tunisian working farmers’ fields by conducting a farm pilot experiment. The pilot experiment was conducted in two different regions (a low-yielding region and a relatively high-yielding region) of cereal production in Tunisia, where wheat production represents typical rainfed Mediterranean agro-ecosystems in North Africa. First, we compared the yield response to N fertilization against unfertilized conditions (a common situation for many of the farmers in North Africa), and secondly we compared what the farmers suggested as an optimal N fertilization practice in their fields against the WatNitMED's recommendation which was based on an N-fertilization scheme derived from field experiments from the European research project in Mediterranean conditions. The WatNitMED fertilization scheme suggested higher rates of fertilization than those considered optimal by farmers (on average 40 kg N ha−1 higher). Unfertilized grain yield across both locations ranged from about 1 to 3.5 Mg ha−1 (typical of farmers’ yields in the region), and fertilizing increased grain yields in most situations. Within the two alternative fertilization treatments, WatNitMED fertilization produced higher yields than the fertilization rate considered optimal by farmers. This trend was observed at the low-yielding location as well as at the high-yielding location. These responses demonstrated that fertilization in working farmers’ field conditions may be a reliable means of improving dryland wheat grain and straw yields. They also showed that rates of fertilization regarded as optimal by real farmers were below the optimum for these regions.
536			_aGlobal Wheat Program
546			_aText in English
591			_aNo CIMMYT affiliation
594			_aINT3189
595			_aCSC
700	1		_aThabet, C. _921019
700	1		_aMellouli, H.J. _921020
700	1		_91905 _aSlafer, G.A.
773	0		_tExperimental Agriculture _gv. 47, no. 3, p. 459-475 _dCambridge (United Kingdom) : Cambridge University Press, 2011. _wG444498 _x0014-4797
856	4		_uhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12665/528 _yAccess only for CIMMYT Staff
942			_cJA _2ddc _n0