Agroecology and Precision Agriculture as Combined Approaches to Increase Field-Scale Crop Resilience and Sustainability

This study coupled precision agriculture with agroecology to improve the agricultural systems’ sustainability in a climate variability context, characterized by fewer rainy days and more extreme events. A three-year comparative analysis was carried out in a durum wheat rotation, divided into two plots of 2.5 ha each, one managed with conventional methods (CP, sunflower as intermediate crop) and another managed with an agroecological approach (AE, field bean as green manure crop), featuring prescription maps for site-specific mineral fertilization. The statistical analysis of durum wheat parameters, soil characteristics, and economic variables was conducted alongside the examination of climatic data. In AE soil, the exchangeable calcium was statistically different from CP soil (6044 mg kg⁻¹ and 5660 mg kg⁻¹, respectively). Cation exchange capacity was significantly higher in AE (32.7 meq 100 g⁻¹), compared to CP (30.9 meq 100 g⁻¹). In AE, wheat yield (2.36 t ha⁻¹) was higher than in CP (2.07 t ha⁻¹), despite extreme rainfall causing flooding in some parts of the AE plot. The economic balance was only 6% in favor of CP (EUR + 2157), confirming the AE approach’s resilience (EUR + 2027), despite the higher costs of cover cropping and site-specific fertilization. The novelty of integration between “smartish” precision agriculture and agroecology allows for sustainable management.