Effect of tillage practices on durum wheat (Triticum durum) productivity under semi-arid climatic conditions

The current study addresses one of the constraints of direct seeding adoption in Algeria, which is the high cost and limited availability of seeders, leading to a slow adoption of this agricultural system in the country. However, a specific seeder called “Boudour” has been developed in Algeria by the CMA of Sidi Bel Abbes. To evaluate the performance of this machine, an experiment was conducted in a semi-arid area at the Experimental Station of the Technical Institute of Field Crops (ITGC) in Sétif. The objectives of the study were to compare the effects of different seeders on wheat development. The results indicated that the “Boudour” seeder performed better in terms of achieving a regular seeding depth of 6 cm and resulted in higher observed yield values. These findings suggest that the “Boudour” seeder can contribute to improved wheat cultivation in soils where it can provide consistent seeding depth. The results have demonstrated that the choice of crop technique, along with the type of seed drill, remains a significant factor in improving the cultivation of durum wheat, even in semi-arid conditions. However, yield components such as grain weight per spike (PMG) and spike length are not influenced by the choice of crop technique. On the other hand, the number of grains per spike and tillering appear to be greatly influenced by the choice of the technical approach. Regarding the estimated yield of durum wheat, it is significantly higher in the plots where soil is tilled, with an average theoretical yield reaching 42 q/ha, compared to an average of 16 q/ha for direct seeding using the Jean Shearer method.