Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Yield of Durum Wheat Under Organic and Conventional Fertilization in Three Texture Classes
Durum wheat (<i>Triticum turgidum</i> subsp. <i>durum</i>), though less widespread than soft wheat, is crucial in Mediterranean countries. Agriculture significantly contributes to global climate change by emitting greenhouse gases, particularly nitrous oxide, which accounts f...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Agronomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/3/702 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850093514625384448 |
|---|---|
| author | Lucia Ottaiano Ida Di Mola Luca Vitale Eugenio Cozzolino Maria Eleonora Pelosi Giuseppe Maglione Mauro Mori |
| author_facet | Lucia Ottaiano Ida Di Mola Luca Vitale Eugenio Cozzolino Maria Eleonora Pelosi Giuseppe Maglione Mauro Mori |
| author_sort | Lucia Ottaiano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Durum wheat (<i>Triticum turgidum</i> subsp. <i>durum</i>), though less widespread than soft wheat, is crucial in Mediterranean countries. Agriculture significantly contributes to global climate change by emitting greenhouse gases, particularly nitrous oxide, which accounts for about 6% of global warming because of its long atmospheric lifetime and heat-trapping capacity. Soil fertility is influenced by the interplay of its physical, chemical, and biological properties, which, in turn, affect the production of nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O), a potent greenhouse gas. The yield-scaled N<sub>2</sub>O emission index, which measures N<sub>2</sub>O emissions relative to crop yield, is used to develop sustainable agricultural strategies. Our study aimed to compare the effects of organic vs. conventional fertilization on durum wheat yield and N<sub>2</sub>O emissions across three soils differing in texture. The study was carried out from autumn 2020 to spring 2021 in Portici (Naples, Italy). A factorial combination was applied, involving three different texture classes (clay, sand, and loam) and four fertilization strategies (no fertilization, compost, digestate, and mineral fertilization). Our results highlight that in sandy soil, wheat yield reached its highest values, particularly under digestate fertilization (+74.5%) and, interestingly, with lower cumulative N<sub>2</sub>O emissions (−16%). However, in sandy soil, the protein content of kernels was lower, similar to that recorded for the fertilization with digestate. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-69d740cd2439411fafb57d2bcfe81518 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-69d740cd2439411fafb57d2bcfe815182025-08-20T02:41:54ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-03-0115370210.3390/agronomy15030702Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Yield of Durum Wheat Under Organic and Conventional Fertilization in Three Texture ClassesLucia Ottaiano0Ida Di Mola1Luca Vitale2Eugenio Cozzolino3Maria Eleonora Pelosi4Giuseppe Maglione5Mauro Mori6Department of Agronomy, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, ItalyNational Research Council, Department of Biology, Agriculture and Food Sciences, Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, P.le Enrico Fermi 1, Loc. Porto del Granatello, Portici, 80055 Naples, ItalyCREA, Research Center for Cereal and Industrial Crops, 81100 Caserta, ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, ItalyNational Research Council, Institute for the Animal Production System in the Mediterranean Environment, P.le Enrico Fermi 1, Loc. Porto del Granatello, Portici, 80055 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, ItalyDurum wheat (<i>Triticum turgidum</i> subsp. <i>durum</i>), though less widespread than soft wheat, is crucial in Mediterranean countries. Agriculture significantly contributes to global climate change by emitting greenhouse gases, particularly nitrous oxide, which accounts for about 6% of global warming because of its long atmospheric lifetime and heat-trapping capacity. Soil fertility is influenced by the interplay of its physical, chemical, and biological properties, which, in turn, affect the production of nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O), a potent greenhouse gas. The yield-scaled N<sub>2</sub>O emission index, which measures N<sub>2</sub>O emissions relative to crop yield, is used to develop sustainable agricultural strategies. Our study aimed to compare the effects of organic vs. conventional fertilization on durum wheat yield and N<sub>2</sub>O emissions across three soils differing in texture. The study was carried out from autumn 2020 to spring 2021 in Portici (Naples, Italy). A factorial combination was applied, involving three different texture classes (clay, sand, and loam) and four fertilization strategies (no fertilization, compost, digestate, and mineral fertilization). Our results highlight that in sandy soil, wheat yield reached its highest values, particularly under digestate fertilization (+74.5%) and, interestingly, with lower cumulative N<sub>2</sub>O emissions (−16%). However, in sandy soil, the protein content of kernels was lower, similar to that recorded for the fertilization with digestate.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/3/702nitrous oxide<i>Triticum durum</i>yield-scaled N<sub>2</sub>O emissionsemission factor |
| spellingShingle | Lucia Ottaiano Ida Di Mola Luca Vitale Eugenio Cozzolino Maria Eleonora Pelosi Giuseppe Maglione Mauro Mori Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Yield of Durum Wheat Under Organic and Conventional Fertilization in Three Texture Classes Agronomy nitrous oxide <i>Triticum durum</i> yield-scaled N<sub>2</sub>O emissions emission factor |
| title | Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Yield of Durum Wheat Under Organic and Conventional Fertilization in Three Texture Classes |
| title_full | Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Yield of Durum Wheat Under Organic and Conventional Fertilization in Three Texture Classes |
| title_fullStr | Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Yield of Durum Wheat Under Organic and Conventional Fertilization in Three Texture Classes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Yield of Durum Wheat Under Organic and Conventional Fertilization in Three Texture Classes |
| title_short | Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Yield of Durum Wheat Under Organic and Conventional Fertilization in Three Texture Classes |
| title_sort | greenhouse gas emissions and yield of durum wheat under organic and conventional fertilization in three texture classes |
| topic | nitrous oxide <i>Triticum durum</i> yield-scaled N<sub>2</sub>O emissions emission factor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/3/702 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT luciaottaiano greenhousegasemissionsandyieldofdurumwheatunderorganicandconventionalfertilizationinthreetextureclasses AT idadimola greenhousegasemissionsandyieldofdurumwheatunderorganicandconventionalfertilizationinthreetextureclasses AT lucavitale greenhousegasemissionsandyieldofdurumwheatunderorganicandconventionalfertilizationinthreetextureclasses AT eugeniocozzolino greenhousegasemissionsandyieldofdurumwheatunderorganicandconventionalfertilizationinthreetextureclasses AT mariaeleonorapelosi greenhousegasemissionsandyieldofdurumwheatunderorganicandconventionalfertilizationinthreetextureclasses AT giuseppemaglione greenhousegasemissionsandyieldofdurumwheatunderorganicandconventionalfertilizationinthreetextureclasses AT mauromori greenhousegasemissionsandyieldofdurumwheatunderorganicandconventionalfertilizationinthreetextureclasses |