Methods of soil managing in apple orchards

摘要

Three methods of soil management on the row in an apple orchard have been compared: chemically weeded bare soil, or covered with a plastic or a bark mulch. Following parameters were assessed: water status, N_(min) evolution, vegetative growth and yields. Numerous soil profiles were dug to investigate the development of the root system as related to the treatments. The best results were given by the bark mulch, with higher yields and better environmental acceptability due to reduced herbicide applications and reduced water pollution with nitrates. The plastic mulch gives rather good growth and yields but puts trees at a risk to be damaged by rodents. Moreover, the problem of plastic disposal after use is still present. Chemical weeding is the easy choice, but its agronomic and ecological performances are not particularly good.