Abstract
Conservation tillage and integrated nutrient management are critical strategies for sustainable agricultural intensification in water-limited arid ecosystems. This study evaluated the effects of tillage systems (conventional tillage, CT and no-tillage, NT) combined with organic and inorganic fertility management on maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield, biomass production, and soil chemical properties in an arid calcareous soil. The experiment was conducted over two growing seasons using a split-plot design with tillage as the main plot and eight fertility treatments as sub-plots. Fertility treatments included green manure (GM), cattle manure (CM), chemical fertilizer (F), and their combinations applied at different split ratios. Mixed-effects modeling with restricted maximum likelihood (REML) and first-order autoregressive AR(1) covariance structure was used to analyze temporal and treatment effects (ANOVA, p ≤ .05). Results showed that CT produced the highest short-term maize grain yields (8.2–9.5 t ha− 1), while NT initially yielded 15–20% lower but showed gradual improvement over time, indicating soil resilience development. Integrated fertility management combining green manure, cattle manure, and chemical fertilizer (GM+CM+F at 2:1 split ratio) maximized yields across all tillage systems. Soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content increased by 15–25% under integrated management compared to chemical fertilizer alone. Water content was 12–18% higher under NT, suggesting improved water-use efficiency critical for arid regions. These findings demonstrate that integrated nutrient management combined with conservation tillage can enhance maize productivity and soil health in arid calcareous soils, with applications for similar dryland agroecosystems.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Conventional tillage produced grain yields of 8.2–9.5 t ha− 1.
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“CT produced the highest short-term maize grain yields (8.2–9.5 t ha− 1)”
Claim · model-written summary
No tillage initially yielded 15–20% less.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“NT initially yielded 15–20% lower but showed gradual improvement over time”
t0“maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield”
t1“conventional tillage, CT”
Claim · model-written summary
No tillage yields improved gradually over time.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“NT initially yielded 15–20% lower but showed gradual improvement over time”
t0“maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Integrated GM+CM+F at a 2:1 split maximized yields across tillage systems.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Integrated fertility management combining green manure, cattle manure, and chemical fertilizer (GM+CM+F at 2:1 split ratio) maximized yields across all tillage systems”
t0“maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Integrated management increased soil nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by 15–25% over fertilizer alone.
- Treatment
- integrated managemente0
- Outcome
- Soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contente0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 15–25%e0
- Comparator
- chemical fertilizer alonee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content increased by 15–25% under integrated management compared to chemical fertilizer alone”
t0“maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield”
Claim · model-written summary
No tillage had 12–18% higher water content.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Water content was 12–18% higher under NT”
t0“maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield”
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