The possibilities of fuel savings and the reduction of CO2 emissions in the soil tillage in Croatia

The soil tillage is one of the greatest energy consumers in agriculture and also a significant contributor to CO2 emission. That is the reason why an experiment with different tillage systems and their influence on fuel consumption and CO2 emission was carried on six locations in Slavonia and Baranja, the most important agricultural regions in Croatia, within the period of 1996–2004. The compared tillage systems were the conventional tillage (CT), the conservation or reduced tillage (RT) and the no-tillage system (NT). The testing crops were four major arable crops in Croatia: maize (Zea mays L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), soybean (Glycine max L.) and barley (Hordeum sativum L.). Under the CT system and due to fuel consumption, the CO2 emissions for these crops were 167.72, 136.18, 162.86 and 132.36 kg ha−1, respectively. The use of the RT and the NT systems saved 35.3–42.9% and 87.8–88.1%, respectively, thus reducing part of the CO2 emission. Presuming the use of the CT system on arable land of Slavonia and Baranja will decrease from its 93.7% to the EU-15 soil tillage trend for 2015 (RT 40% and NT 5%), the total annual emission of CO2 could be reduced by 9312 Mg or 18.3%. The benefits of non-conventional tillage systems use could not only significantly contribute to environmental protection but could also improve economic results of farmers in Croatia.