Screening of crop varieties for agroforestry farming: the case of durum wheat in organic olive orchards in southern France

In this study, it was investigated a durum wheat/olive tree agroforestry model in the Mediterranean climate conditions of Southern France under organic farming system. It was studied two agroforestry treatments where the olive tree canopies intercepted the 33 % of PAR in one case and the 55% of PAR in the other case, due to different canopy size. The two agroforestry treatments were compared with a durum wheat control system, grown in full sun conditions. The following five topics were investigated: 1 - impact of agroforestry on the microclimate and the edaphic environment experienced by crops; 2 - impact of agroforestry on durum wheat phenology; 3 - impact of agroforestry on durum wheat yield, yield components and morphology; 4 - screening durum wheat varieties for agroforestry: searching for an appropriate test; 5 - impact of associated field crops on organic olive orchards production.