Analysis of rainfall distribution on spatial and temporal patterns of wheat yield in Mediterranean environment

Wheat yield production in Mediterranean environment is highly affected by rainfall and amount of soil water stored into the soil before and during the growing season. Agricultural fields have been always considered as uniform entities and managed accordingly. However, uniform agronomic management in fields where spatial variability is present, is economically and environmentally inefficient. The objectives of this study were to: (i) identify spatially and temporally stable areas throughout the field, (ii) understand the influence of fallow and growing season rainfall on spatial and temporal variability of wheat yield. The study was carried out on a 12 ha field located in Foggia, Southern Italy during five years wheat monoculture. One hundred geo-referenced points were sampled for deriving spatial maps of soil texture and organic carbon. Spatial maps of grain yield, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) were collected non-destructively. Total growing season rainfall was correlated with grain yield after dividing it into long fallow (June–November), short fallow (September–November), growing season (December–May), vegetative (December–February), reproductive (March–May). The spatial maps were used to define spatial and temporal yield variability and to identify three stable zones within the field, “low yield stable” (LS), “average yield stable” (AS), “high yield stable” (HS). Long and short fallow rainfall was highly correlated with grain yield of HS zone with correlation coefficients ranging between 0.5 and 1. Growing season rainfall was mostly correlated with the AS zone. The crop response to rainfall was a result of dynamic interaction of spatial static properties such as soil texture, position in the landscape and dynamic properties (soil water content, infiltration and crop water use).

► The spatial variability of soil properties and the distribution of the rainfall affect both the spatial and temporal variability of grain yield.
► Spatial yield and remotely sensed maps allow the identification of three spatial and temporal stable zones and one unstable zone.
► Short fallow rainfall was an important factor affecting the spatial and temporal variability of wheat yield.
► Practical implications of this research are a better understanding of crop water productivity.