Abstract
Cover crops significantly affect soil quality, and growth characteristics in apple orchards, but reports are scarce. Therefore, the present study was conducted on a 15-year-old apple orchard (cultivar ‘Red Gold’) at Kashmir valley (32°22′–34°43′N, 73°52′–75°42′E; 1850 m.a.s.l.) to determine the influence of grass (Festuca arundinaceae) and legume (Trifolium pratense) bi-culture (GLBC) on soil properties viz. soil organic carbon (SOC), labile carbon (LC), total nitrogen (TN), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe); and plant growth characteristics like trunk girth (TG), trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA), fruit yield (FY), and yield efficiency(YE), relative to a no cover crop control. GLBC produced 27.9 ± 3.9 and 7.5 ± 0.8 tons/ha green and dry herbage. Plant growth characteristics differed significantly (p < 0.05), with highest TG (38.89 ± 1.54 cm) and TCSA (123.07 ± 9.61 cm2) in GLBC and lowest (36.22 ± 0.97 and 107.11 ± 5.72, respectively) in control. The treatments differed for FY and YE, and maximum FY (30.63 ± 2.81 t/ha) and YE (0.25 ± 0.01 kg/cm2) was recorded in GLBC. Average SOC (12.53 g kg−1), LC (0.90 g kg−1), and TN (0.76 g kg−1) were 20.7, 27.7, and 13.3% greater in GLBC than control at 0–30 cm depth. Relative to control, SOC accumulation in GLBC was 14.15%, and soils sequestered 3.04 Mg C ha−1. For nutrients, differences between treatments were limited for Mg, moderate for P, and Cu; and strong for Mn and K. The findings convey that GLBC adds enough residues to soil to cause measurable changes in SOC and offers potential for C sequestration and soil sustainability.
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Acknowledgements
Financial assistance received under Young Scientist Startup Grant (DST/SERB/337-2014) from Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India is highly acknowledged. Assistance in soil analysis provided by staff of Soil Science Laboratory, Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar is highly appreciated. Appreciations are also to farmers for sharing their thoughts and knowledge.
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Dad, J.M., Dand, S.A. & Pala, N.A. The effect of bi-culture cover crops on soil quality, carbon sequestration, and growth characteristics in apple orchards of North Western Himalayas. Agroforest Syst 95, 1745–1758 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-021-00687-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-021-00687-7