Effect of Reduced Tillage and Weather Conditions on the Yield Formation of Selected Ancient and Modern Wheat Species

A sustainable approach to agricultural production and increasing interest in alternative wheat species have intensified research on simplified soil management systems under changing climatic conditions. A three-year field experiment (2018–2020) was conducted to evaluate the effects of tillage methods (plowing, shallow tillage, and strip-till) and hydrothermal conditions on yield formation and yield components in three wheat species: Triticum sphaerococcum, Triticum persicum, and Triticum aestivum ssp. vulgare. The results showed that weather conditions during the growing season strongly modulated species responses to tillage systems. Multivariate analyses confirmed that grain yield was mainly determined by fertile generative tiller density and grain number per spike, whereas thousand-grain weight played a secondary or compensatory role. In T. sphaerococcum, clear tillage effects occurred only in the most favorable year, when shallow tillage enhanced yield. T. persicum consistently responded positively to strip-till across all years, increasing grain yield by 35.5% compared with plowing. In T. aestivum, the direction of tillage effects depended on weather conditions, with shallow tillage being most beneficial under favorable moisture and plowing under drier conditions. Overall, simplified tillage systems can enhance the productivity of ancient wheat species without reducing the performance of common wheat, provided that soil management is aligned with prevailing hydrothermal conditions.