CROP SCIENCE, VOL. 59, MAY–JUNE 2019 WWW.CROPS.ORG 1 RESEARCH W heat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is an important industrial crop and a key component of food security in the world. It is nutritious, with per hectare amino acid yield exceeding that of animal products (Lambrecht et al., 2017). According to Afzal et al. (2008), ?75% of the world population consume wheat as part of their daily diet. In Pakistan, wheat is the major staple crop, contrib- uting about 37% of the total food energy intake (Ahmded, 2015). Wheat production has increased over the past 30 yr in Pakistan, estimated to be 13.9 million Mg in 1986 and 26.0 million Mg in 2016, which was equivalent to US$7.4 billion (FAOSTAT, 2018). Despite the high production of wheat and its contribution to the economy of Pakistan, loss of applied N is high, which poses adverse environmental impacts (Iqbal et al., 1998; Maqsood et al., 2016). Urea is the primary source of N, and in combination with high temperature and coarse-textured and alkaline soil conditions, it contributes to high N loss. High temperature and alkalinity of the soil facilitates urea hydrolysis and NH 3 volatilization. Also, the coarse-textured soils poorly fx released NH 4 + , predisposing the soil to high N loss (Rapson and Dacres, 2014; Baresel et al., 2016; Thapa and Chatterjee, 2017). Loss of applied N was estimated to range from 22 to 53%, increasing the overall cost of the cropping system (Iqbal et al., 1998; Maqsood et al., 2016). Tillage and Biochar Efects on Wheat Productivity under Arid Conditions Khurram Shahzad, Muhammad Abid, Henry Y. Sintim,* Shahid Hussain, and Wajid Nasim ABSTRACT Urea is an important source of inorganic N under wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production system in Multan, Pakistan. However, the average N loss is high, ranging from 22 to 53% of applied N, which poses adverse environmental impacts. Reduced tillage and combined application of biochar and optimal N fertilizer could improve wheat productivity and reduce N losses. We evaluated the effects of two tillage (conventional and reduced tillage), two biochar (no biochar and poultry waste biochar), and three inor- ganic N rate (0, 60, and 120 kg ha −1 ) treatments on productivity and economic proftability of wheat production for two continuous growing seasons (2014–2015 and 2015–2016). Gener- ally, reduced tillage increased wheat grain yield, protein content, and total N uptake by 0.2 Mg ha −1 , 3.0 kg kg −1 , and 37.0 kg ha −1 , respec- tively, when compared with conventional tillage. Biochar application increased wheat grain yield, protein content, and total N uptake by 0.3 Mg ha −1 , 6.8 kg kg −1 , and 38.6 kg ha −1 , respectively, compared with no-biochar plots. Reduced tillage was economically proftable within the two cropping seasons, but biochar application was not, because of the high price of biochar (US$1.00 kg −1 biochar) and application rate (10 Mg biochar ha −1 ). Overall, wheat production under reduced tillage, no biochar, and the 60-kg N ha −1 rate resulted in the greatest economic proft in this study. K. Shahzad, M. Abid, and S. Hussain, Dep. of Soil Science, Bahauddin Zakariya Univ., Multan 60800, Pakistan; K. Shahzad and H.Y. Sintim, Dep. of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State Univ., Puyallup Research & Extension Center, 2606 West Pioneer, Puyallup, WA 98371; W. Nasim, Dep. of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Univ. Islamabad (CUI), Vehari 61100, Pakistan, Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, The Islamia Univ. of Bahawalpur (IUB), Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Received 10 Aug. 2018. Accepted 27 Dec. 2018. *Corresponding author (henry. sintim@wsu.edu, sintimyabb@gmail.com). Assigned to Associate Editor Michael Mulvaney. Abbreviations: NUE, nitrogen use efciency. Published in Crop Sci. 59:1–9 (2019). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2018.08.0485 © 2019 The Author(s). Re-use requires permission from the publisher. Published online March 28, 2019