Reducing ploughing depth and nitrogen fertilisation in hilly environment of the centre of italy (marche)

For the purpose to provide a contribution about ploughing subject three ways were compared in a quadriennal rotation from Experimental Industrial Crops Institute in Osimo. During the years 1986-1999, in a factorial experiment with 4 replications, traditional (50 cm), shallow ploughing (25 cm) and chiseling (50 cm) plus reduced ploughing (25 cm) were compared with two crop rotations (sugar beet- wheat; shelling peas-wheat) and three nitrogen levels (0, 92, 184 kg ha-1) in a split block experiment. The conventional and chiseling plus reduced ploughing did not influenced sugar-beet or peas yield or qualitative and quantitative crop traits; like it was emphasized in the previous seven years. Wheat seed yield was positively influenced by reduced ploughing done to the previous crop but not by rotation. Straw yield was higher after sugar beet than after peas. Nitrogen fertilisation allowed the best technical yield of wheat at the intermediate level of 90 kg ha-1, whereas more nitrogen (180 kg ha-1) improved only the biomass and heads per squared meter at harvesting, lowering the test weight of wheat. In conclusion we could affirm that, in this experience, the best ploughing for sugar-beet and shelling peas is at 25 cm. Moreover it was not possible to reduce fertilisation of wheat following shelling peas (leguminous crop).