Daniel Plaza-Bonilla

PhD, researcher in Agronomy and Soil Sciences
Ramón y Cajal fellow
Universitat de Lleida

- Liu, C.; Plaza-Bonilla, D.; Coulter, J.A.; Kutcher, H.R.; Beckie, H.J.; Wang, L.; Floch, J-B.; Hamel, C.; Siddique, K.; Li, L.; Gan, Y. - 2022
Diversifying crop rotations enhances agroecosystem services and resilience. Advances in Agronomy. DOI: 10.1016/bs.agron.2022.02.007.
Finding sustainable ways to increase crop productivity with little or no impact on the environment is the primary goal of modern agriculture.

Developing and adopting of diversified cropping systems are key factors for agricultural policy setting and a top priority for on-farm decision-making to increase crop productivity and enhance soil health, while reducing negative environmental impacts.

- Kherif, O.; Seghouani, M.; Justes, E.; Plaza-Bonilla, D.; Bouhenache, A.; Zemmouri, B.; Dokukin, P.; Latati, M. - 2022
The first calibration and evaluation of the STICS soil-crop model on chickpea-based intercropping system under Mediterranean conditions. European Journal of Agronomy 133, 126449.
To develop a new calibration able to simulate plant growth, N uptake and grain yield for chickpea (Cicer arietinum L).

This work provides the first calibration for chickpea sole crop and an evaluation for durum wheat-chickpea intercrops, allowing the STICS model to simulate scenarios of innovative cropping practices based on crop diversification.

- Plaza-Bonilla, D.; Lampurlanés, J.; Fernández, Fabián G.; Cantero-Martínez, C. - 2021
Nitrogen fertilization strategies for improved Mediterranean rainfed wheat and barley performance and water and nitrogen use efficiency. European Journal of Agronomy 124, 126238.
To assess winter cereal yield and water and N use efficiencies in a rainfed semiarid Mediterranean climate under (i) a range of pre-plant fertilizers, (ii) fertilizer incorporation, and (iii) application of urea-ammonium nitrate solution.

In semiarid Mediterranean the pre-sowing application of organic fertilizers can perform as well as mineral N fertilizer for winter cereal production and water-use efficiency. Proper management of organic fertilizers, product of the intensive animal husbandry of the region, requires a holistic valorization of their nutrients, a more efficient reduction of their volumes, and minimizing farm field distances by establishing better user networks.

- Plaza-Bonilla, D.; Álvaro-Fuentes, J.; Bareche, J.; Masgoret, J.; Cantero-Martínez, C. - 2017
Delayed sowing improved barley yield in a no-till rainfed Mediterranean agroecosystem. Agronomy Journal 109, 1249-1260.
Evaluate the effect of sowing date and maturity class on grain yield and WUE and NUE of barley and soft wheat managed under no-till conditions.

In western Mediterranean areas, sowing delay under no-till can increase grain yield, WUE and NUE of winter barley, and also of wheat but only during wet years.

- Plaza-Bonilla, D.; Cantero-Martínez, C.; Arrúe, J.L.; Lampurlanés, J.; Álvaro-Fuentes, J. - 2017
Do no-till and pig slurry application improve barley yield and water and nitrogen use efficiencies in rainfed Mediterranean conditions? Field Crops Research 203, 74-85.
Elucidate the impact of tillage and different sources and rates of nitrogen fertilization on cereal production and water and nitrogen use efficiencies under Mediterranean conditions.

The use of no-till and the application of agronomic rates of N as pig slurry leads to greater barley yield and water-and nitrogen-use efficiencies than the traditional management based on conventional tillage and mineral N fertilization.

- Plaza-Bonilla, D.; Nolot, J.M.; Raffaillac, D.; Justes, E. - 2017
Innovative cropping systems to reduce N inputs and maintain wheat yields by inserting grain legumes and cover crops in southwest France. European Journal of Agronomy 82, 331-341.
Evaluate the impacts of introducing grain legumes and cover crops in completely redesigned cropping systems (i.e. adapting all management practices) on wheat yield and grain quality to reduce N fertilizer and irrigation dependence.

Under temperate sub-mediterranean conditions, properly designed cropping systems that simultaneously insert grain legumes and cover crops reduce N requirements and show similar wheat yield and grain quality attributes as those that are cereal-based.

- Plaza-Bonilla, D; Nolot, J.M.; Passot, S.; Raffaillac, D.; Justes, E. - 2016
Grain legume-based rotations managed under conventional tillage need cover crops to mitigate soil organic matter losses. Soil and Tillage Research 156, 33-43.
Quantify the impact of the incorporation of grain legumes and cover crops on soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil organic nitrogen (SON) in rotations with an increasing number of grain legumes managed under conventional tillage

In conventionally-tilled grain legume-based rotations, the use of cover crops is efficient to mitigate SOC and SON losses and then increase N use efficiency at the cropping system level without reducing productivity.