Linking tillage practices to soil health, crop productivity, and erosion control in maize – wheat rotation

The suitability of conservation tillage in maize–wheat interrow farming in a young plum orchard in Croatia to control runoff, soil, and element loss under natural rainfall was evaluated. Paired runoff plots (20 m 2 size) comparing conventional (ploughing and discing) and conservation (chisel and harrow) tillage were implemented in triplicate across Stagnosols (11° slope). Soil physical (bulk density, penetration resistance, mean weight diameter, water stable aggregates) and chemical properties (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and copper) were assessed alongside event-based overland flow formation monitoring. After two years, conservation tillage maintained or improved soil structure, with significantly higher aggregate stability and soil carbon at 0–10 cm depth. Moreover, no clear increase in compaction was documented during the shift to conservation tillage. Conservation tillage exhibited a clear and significant mitigation effect on surface flows of water, sediment, and chemical elements. Sediment concentration decreased from 8.95 to 3.11 g L –1 , runoff was 40.5% lower, and cumulative soil loss declined from 8.57 to 2.97 t ha –1 over the two years. Importantly, reduced sediment export translated into markedly lower off-site losses. Conventional tillage increased losses of phosphorus (~3.4×), potassium (~3.2×), copper (~2.6×) and nitrogen (~1.7×) relative to conservation tillage. Overall, non-inversion loosening in orchard inter-rows proved an effective conservation practice for reducing runoff, soil erosion, and chemical export under natural rainfall, supporting on-site soil health and reducing off-site pollution.