The Effect of conservation agriculture (no tillage) on some chemical properties of olive soil

Abstract

The aim of this research was to study the effect of conventional and no-till methods on the soil content of total and available potassium and phosphorus, as well as available calcium and magnesium. The research was conducted in an olive field affiliated with the Agricultural Scientific Research Center in Lattakia (Bouqa), which was subjected to a
 no-till cultivation system for eight years, compared to conventional cultivation with two treatments (no-till, conventional) and three replicates for each treatment, according to a completely randomized block design. Soil samples were taken from all experimental plots at four depths: 0-10, 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, and 40-60 cm, over the 2022-2024 agricultural seasons, to conduct the required analyses.

The study results showed that the soil mineral content varied with depth depending on the type of treatment. The soil content of no-tillage increased compared to conventional cultivation in terms of total available phosphorus and potassium, as well as calcium and magnesium content available in the surface layers of the soil (0-40 cm). However, there were no significant differences between the concentrations of the studied mineral elements, whether in total or available form, in the deep soil layers (greater than 40 cm). This indicates the importance of no-till in increasing the soil nutrient content compared to conventional cultivation.