Assessing Yield and Productivity Gaps in Tunisian Maize Cropping System

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

You submission is recommended for publication only after major revision. My comments are as below:

The text in each section grammatically should be consistent I am afraid. For instance, results should be past tense. Discussion should be present tense.

Abstract revised as Maize production is deficient in arid countries such as Tunisia. To assess the maize yield and estimate productivity gaps in Tunisian farmers in consideration of climate change challenges, a survey was conducted including 50 farms in 10 governorates with focuses on agronomic practices, seed type adoptions, and socioeconomic parameters. The yield gaps related to water resources and farmers' technical efficiency represent 26.8% and 32.9%, respectively, while for water productivity, the gaps related to water resources and technical efficiency are 32.2% and 31.3%, respectively. Hybrid varieties are among the 25% yield increase compared to local landraces. Farmers retain local landraces mainly for their food quality. Favorable climatic conditions in the northern regions of Tunisia are among the reasons for higher yield compared to the central and southern areas, where registering a yield reduction of 9,2% and 17%, respectively. The Tobit analyses show that sowing rate, geographic location, type of variety, and fertilization are the most significant factors contributing to technical inefficiencies. For further increase of maize yield in Tunisia, improving agricultural practices, water management, and using high-yielding varieties are essential.

Introduction

Line 36-37 Revised as with a production of 1.2 billion Mg in 2022 and an increased rate faster than that of rice and wheat during the last two decades [2].

Line 37 However replaced by Though

Line 43 please check your data: 45.000 Mg produced in 2022 compared to 827.41525 Mg imported. Do we need so many figures after the decimal point?

Line 44-45 Revised as This production highlights the necessity for enhancing agricultural practices and increased investment to boost maize yields and decrease reliance on imports.

Line 73-75 Revised as The potential WP values of maize grain are between 4.5 to 5.6 kg/m³ throughout different continents, while current mean water productivity ranges from 1.1 to 2.6 74 kg/m³ across these regions [24].

Line 103 Revised as such as the sowing date, sowing rate, irrigation scheme and fertigation systems used.

Line 126-127 Revised as Since the maize crop cycle mainly occurs in the summer, the driest time of the year in the Mediterranean area, the rainfall cumulative levels are low and do not exceed 50 mm.

Line 195-196 Revised as final uses among the farmers (Table 2). The majority of farmers (44%) attained higher education.

Line 202 What did you mean “on Mars respectively”?

Line 269-270 Delete the paragraph please.

Discussion

Line 342-348 I am afraid you have to rephrase this paragraph. It is not clear and does not make it meaningful.

Line 354-357 Please emphasize how fertilization could narrow the yield but not simply saying something. You have to inform readers of farmers what is the possible fertilization to achieve best yield.

Conclusion

Though achieving the best yield is region-specific solutions to farmers, I am afraid you have to give a big picture regarding the potential practices in improving maize yield. For instance, you may highlight the sowing date, early or late planting, increased planting population, adoption of hybrid variety, optimization of fertilizers, crop rotation with legumes etc. Just a thought!

Author Response

We have incorporated the corrections. Thank you for your contribution

Abstract revised as Maize production is deficient in arid countries such as Tunisia. To assess the maize yield and estimate productivity gaps in Tunisian farmers in consideration of climate change challenges, a survey was conducted including 50 farms in 10 governorates with focuses on agronomic practices, seed type adoptions, and socioeconomic parameters. The yield gaps related to water resources and farmers' technical efficiency represent 26.8% and 32.9%, respectively, while for water productivity, the gaps related to water resources and technical efficiency are 32.2% and 31.3%, respectively. Hybrid varieties are among the 25% yield increase compared to local landraces. Farmers retain local landraces mainly for their food quality. Favorable climatic conditions in the northern regions of Tunisia are among the reasons for higher yield compared to the central and southern areas, where registering a yield reduction of 9,2% and 17%, respectively. The Tobit analyses show that sowing rate, geographic location, type of variety, and fertilization are the most significant factors contributing to technical inefficiencies. For further increase of maize yield in Tunisia, improving agricultural practices, water management, and using high-yielding varieties are essential.

R: We have revised the abstract accordingly

Introduction

Line 36-37 Revised as with a production of 1.2 billion Mg in 2022 and an increased rate faster than that of rice and wheat during the last two decades [2].

R: We have corrected the sentence accordingly

Line 37 However replaced by Though

R: We have corrected the sentence accordingly

Line 43 please check your data: 45.000 Mg produced in 2022 compared to 827.41525 Mg imported. Do we need so many figures after the decimal point?

R: We have corrected the numbers

Line 44-45 Revised as This production highlights the necessity for enhancing agricultural practices and increased investment to boost maize yields and decrease reliance on imports.

R: We have corrected the sentence accordingly

Line 73-75 Revised as The potential WP values of maize grain are between 4.5 to 5.6 kg/m³ throughout different continents, while current mean water productivity ranges from 1.1 to 2.6 74 kg/m³ across these regions [24].

R: We have corrected the sentence accordingly

Line 103 Revised as such as the sowing date, sowing rate, irrigation scheme and fertigation systems used.

R: We have corrected the sentence accordingly

Line 126-127 Revised as Since the maize crop cycle mainly occurs in the summer, the driest time of the year in the Mediterranean area, the rainfall cumulative levels are low and do not exceed 50 mm.

R: We have corrected the sentence accordingly

Line 195-196 Revised as final uses among the farmers (Table 2). The majority of farmers (44%) attained higher education.

R: We have corrected the sentence accordingly

Line 202 What did you mean “on Mars respectively”?

R: We have corrected the sentence to “where temperatures are much higher than in the northern area, reaching 21 °C and 18 °C , respectively, in March”

Line 269-270 Delete the paragraph please.

R: We have deleted the sentence

Discussion

Line 342-348 I am afraid you have to rephrase this paragraph. It is not clear and does not make it meaningful.

R: We have corrected the paragraph

Line 354-357 Please emphasize how fertilization could narrow the yield but not simply saying something. You have to inform readers of farmers what is the possible fertilization to achieve best yield.

R: We have modified that part of the discussion with new suggestions and references

Conclusion

Though achieving the best yield is region-specific solutions to farmers, I am afraid you have to give a big picture regarding the potential practices in improving maize yield. For instance, you may highlight the sowing date, early or late planting, increased planting population, adoption of hybrid variety, optimization of fertilizers, crop rotation with legumes etc. Just a thought!

R: We have added the required sentences

Thank you very much for your valuable comments and corrections.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript entitled "Assessing Yield and Productivity Gaps in Tunisian Maize Cropping System " contains interesting survey results. It is difficult to conduct a good and reliable survey, but the authors succeeded.

The text of the manuscript requires improvement and correction. I have included detailed comments in the original pdf text.

General comments:

Explain the "+" symbol next to the authors' names

Add to the keywords: cultivation technology, agricultural practices

line 66, change the record of cited literature to [19, 20] etc.

There is little information in the manuscript about soil conditions and they also affect the yield of maize (can you add this?)

There is also little information in the text about the chemical protection of plants used, how do farmers protect plants from weeds, pests, diseases?

It is good to publish the results of the research as soon as possible after their statistical processing

Subsection 2.1.2. Evapotraspiration stimulations. "stimations109Mean monthly climate data from 1981 to 2010 were collected from the National Institute of Meteorology's synoptic stations..." Why only to 2010?

The yield is unclear to me. Are we talking about the yield of green fodder, seeds, biomass?

Check the units recorded (Mg/ha or kg/ha), see the journal's requirements

Provide correct table references in the text

Correct the description and data in Table 1 (comments in the pdf text)

In Figure 2 you provide the unit T/ha and in the text Mg/ha

line 250. Correct the sentence

Correct the list of references according to the journal's requirements or see the latest issue

I hope that my comments will help the Authors improve the text of the manuscript. Thank you for your cooperation

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

We have incorporated the corrections. Thank you for your contribution

Explain the "+" symbol next to the authors' names

R: We have replaced the symbol by “^+” and explained that it means that “These authors contributed equally to this work”. Sorry for the mistake

Add to the keywords: cultivation technology, agricultural practices

R: we have made the correction

line 66, change the record of cited literature to [19, 20] etc.

R: we have made the correction

There is little information in the manuscript about soil conditions and they also affect the yield of maize (can you add this?)

R: Soil analyses were not conducted in the regions visited during this study, which limited our ability to collect detailed data on soil types and conditions specific to each farmer or region. While soil conditions are indeed an important factor influencing maize yield, this information was beyond the scope of our current research. Future studies could incorporate soil analysis to provide a more comprehensive understanding of yield variability.

There is also little information in the text about the chemical protection of plants used, how do farmers protect plants from weeds, pests, diseases?

R: Farmers reported that no significant diseases were observed during the maize growing cycle. Regarding weed management, there is no standardized or well-defined technical approach. Practices vary among farmers and regions, with no systematic method consistently applied. This lack of a structured approach to weed control highlights an area for potential improvement in agricultural practices.

It is good to publish the results of the research as soon as possible after their statistical processing

R: Indeed, but we had to learn how to do the proper analysis and solve several additional issues in this project.

Subsection 2.1.2. Evapotraspiration stimulations. "stimations109Mean monthly climate data from 1981 to 2010 were collected from the National Institute of Meteorology's synoptic stations..." Why only to 2010?

R: The 1981–2010 period was selected because it represents the standard 30-year climate normal for precipitation data, as provided by the National Institute of Meteorology's synoptic stations. This period is widely recognized in climatology for establishing baseline averages and is consistent with the latest climate normals published by the institute. Using this timeframe ensures the reliability and comparability of our climate data.

The yield is unclear to me. Are we talking about the yield of green fodder, seeds, biomass?

R: The yield discussed in this study specifically refers to green fodder yield. To avoid any ambiguity, we have revised the manuscript to explicitly state this focus. This clarification ensures that readers understand the context and scope of the yield measurements reported in our research.

Check the units recorded (Mg/ha or kg/ha), see the journal's requirements

R: We have made the necessary corrections

Provide correct table references in the text

R: done

Correct the description and data in Table 1 (comments in the pdf text)

R: done

In Figure 2 you provide the unit T/ha and in the text Mg/ha

R: we have corrected the text accordingly

line 250. Correct the sentence

R: done

Correct the list of references according to the journal's requirements or see the latest issue

R: done

I hope that my comments will help the Authors improve the text of the manuscript. Thank you for your cooperation

Thank you very much for your valuable comments and corrections.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This revised version is good enough for publication.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Good enough.

Author Response

This revised version is good enough for publication.

R: Thank you