An Overview Analysis of the Wheat Yield Gap in Tunisia.

In Tunisia, cereals are grown on 1.5 million hectares mainly in the upper northern part of the country in areas with mean annual rainfall ranging from 200 to 800mm. Durum wheat is the major crop and the most widely cultivated cereal. Yields vary greatly from year to year and across time as well. The country has to import cereal as the production is unable to satisfy an increasing demand, caused by the population growth.

Increasing wheat production will be one of the greatest challenges facing Tunisian’s government today. Two main options could be considered (i) expand wheat lands areas at the expense of other ecosystems or (ii) increase the yields (per unit area) of existing wheat lands. However, the last option, more viable with the country conditions, the average wheat yield gap of about 60%, ranges from 53% in irrigated areas to 67% in rain fed areas.  

The main purpose of this paper is to review the various causes of yield gaps that are not resolved by the current soil and crop management practices and the appeals process to water and soil resource management.

To meet future food requirements and strong competition for limited resources, some comprehensive tools to enhance yield production considering all factors influencing agriculture production in the future are put forward. In arid and semi arid conditions, efficient water management, advanced irrigation technologies, integrated soil–crop management system, multidisciplinary understanding and cooperation among the disciplines of plant science, agronomy, soil science, agro-ecology and extension as well as farmer awareness education are the reasonable and useful ways to largely close the gap between actual and potential yields.