Riad OUAHTITA: Direct Seeding imposed by drought in Morocco

#International agriculture..

Recently, agriculture in Morocco has experienced challenges related to water scarcity, as farmers have become faced with nature and its waste on productivity, especially basic products such as cereals and autumn crops.
The Ministry of Agriculture, in cooperation with associations such as the Moroccan Association for Conservation Agriculture ( AMAC) and institutions such as the National Institute for agricultural research and International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), has launched an agricultural revolution with the beginning of the agricultural season 2023-2024 to motivate farmers to adopt modern methods of planting and fertilizing, as well as the use of agricultural pesticides through smart technologies.
Direct Seeding is considered as a model among these initiatives and programs brought by the Green Generation Program 2020-2030 and is considered one of the most important agricultural techniques
Direct Seeding is one of the most important agricultural techniques, during the direct sowing or “seeding”, the seeds are placed without any previous plowing process. This technique is mainly used in particularly dry regions such as Canada, the USA, Russia, Ukraine and Australia. This new technology has appeared in Morocco in recent years, where farmers have started using this technology, especially in the cultivation of cereals and legumes ..
In principle, direct sowing by conventional cultivation “broadcasting seed” has the same effect as the function of the mechanical Seeder “Direct Seeder”. Differences in these technologies include reduced mechanical control over the appearance of weeds, delayed decomposition of plant residues.
The purpose of direct sowing is to place seeds directly into the remains of previous crops by working as little as possible to the soil (only 5-20% of the surface) depending on the soil conditions.
Mostly, water is the main limiting factor for the use of this method, as direct sowing saves moisture for germination, contributes to the preservation of soil components and leaves crop residues on the surface to protect against evaporation(Evapotranspiration etc.). Economic, technical and environmental factors also play a role, eliminating the cost of plowing and labor, as well as the speed of sowing and reducing working time
Leaving the majority of the soil surface intact without obstacles resulting from plowing provides good protection against soil erosion, preserving sloping agricultural lands, reducing water and air drift to reduce soil loss of its advantages and preserve nutrients “matières nutrients ” for plants, this technology also contributes to improving land fertility and enabling seeds to benefit from rainwater for easy leakage above the ground
The abolition of tillage operations saves time and reduces the cost per hectare. However, the cancellation of plowing shows some problems:
Surface plant residues can help spread diseases.
* The heterogeneous distribution of crop residues cannot be corrected.
• The growth of previously harmful plants should be treated with herbicides drugs .
The most effective tool to manage these problems of non-tillage is respect for the agricultural cycle and is useful in the non-depletion of minerals and elements in the soil because when planting the land with the same crop throughout the year, the consumption of minerals and elements needed by this element will lead to their depletion from the soil, but when using crop rotation or agricultural cycle enables the land to recover the elements and minerals in the soil.

#Riad OUAHTITA