Winter Cereals Production with No-Tillage and Conventional Methods in Central Greece

Conservation tillage has been widely applied to reduce intensive agriculture consequences such as erosion, soil degradation, water pollution, loss of organic matter, and high production cost. This study compares conventional cultivation and conservation tillage of winter cereals (wheat) in an experimental field (1.0 ha) of clay soil structure in central Greece. The interventions for the conventional treatment included ploughing, harrowing, and seeding, while for conservation tillage only seeding and spraying (no-tillage). During the 2-year experiment, fuel consumption, water infiltration and cereal yields were recorded. The results showed a fuel saving of 40%, increased cumulative infiltration (first period, no-tillage: 61 mm/10 min, 124 mm/30 min; conventional tillage: 32 mm/10 min, 52.5 mm/30 min, second period, no-tillage: 66 mm/10 min, 149 mm/30 min; conventional tillage: 23.5 mm/10 min, 48 mm/30 min) and yield reduction of 5% for no-tillage.