Impact of soil management systems on organic dwarf apple orchards and soil aggregate stability, bulk density, temperature and water content

Abstract

With growing pressure to reduce pesticide use, fruit growers require an alternative to herbicidal control of weeds. One option is the use of mulches or permanent vegetative ground covers, which in turn may have advantages in promoting soil physical properties and improving growth. This study examined the short-term effects of ground cover management in two newly established dwarf apple orchards in Quebec. Effects of cultivation, composted manure mulch, straw mulch, grass cover crops, a cover crop mixture of lupin and wild carrot (mixed flora) and geotextile were determined, comparing soil aggregate stability, bulk density, temperature, volumetric water content and tree growth. Straw and geotextile mulches resulted in higher soil water contents and tree growth relative to soil under grass or mixed flora ground cover. Ground cover maintained soil aggregate stability. Soil temperatures were highest under cultivation and geotextile treatments in spring and summer months, and apple yields and growth rates were greater than for ground cover treatments. Straw mulch buffered soil from temperature variation. Little effect of mulch treatments on soil bulk density was observed. Given that soil water content was the primary factor related to optimum orchard production straw and geotextile mulches promoted soil water retention and could be considered superior management options for growers, depending on costs of establishment and maintenance of the mulches. Key words: Mulches, ground cover, bulk density, aggregate stability, soil temperature, volumetric water content

Effect of Orchard Floor Management Practices on Nutrient Status in Apple cv. Royal Delicious

“…Bhardwaj and Kumar (2012) reported that black polythene mulch acts as an insulating barrier, which checks evaporation from soil surface and conserves soil moisture. Similar findings were obtained by several researchers (Walsh et al, 1996 andChandel et al, 2010) who reported comparatively higher soil moisture contents in different mulches over unmulched trees.…”

“…Various workers Kathiravan, 2009 andLiu et al, 2014) also found an increase in soil temperature with polythene and straw mulches. Walsh et al, (1996) found higher soil temperature under cultivation as compared to straw mulch in apple. Mulches reduces the temperature fluctuation at night, condensation on the underside of the mulch absorbs the long wave radiation emitted by the soil thereby slowing cooling of the soil.…”

Coberturas do solo e crescimento da macieira na implantação de um pomar em sistema orgânico de produção

“…O manejo adequado da cobertura pode proporcionar melhoria de atributos físicos, químicos e biológicos do solo (Medeiros, 1992;Neves et al, 2006), o que auxilia na produção das fruteiras (Ragozo et al, 2006), merecendo especial atenção em sistemas de produção orgânica (Walsh et al, 1996;Goh et al, 2000).…”

Growth Performance of ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Fuji’ Cultivars Grafted onto Dwarf Rootstocks: a Preliminary Study in Eastern Anatolia

“…The high yield in apple production is facilitated by cultivation of dwarf varieties, which lowers the maintenance costs due to pruning, harvesting, and applying pesticides and herbicides, in addition to increasing the nutrient uptake of roots (DPT, 2006). Moreover, dwarf apple trees come into bearing 2-3 years after planting, and therefore provide an income more rapidly than standard trees (Walsh et al, 1996). Thus, apple is a promising commercial crop, particularly in regions with low income and fragmented lands.…”