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Soil properties under different orchard floor management systems for organic apple production

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Abstract

Orchard floor management impacts soil conditions and thus tree performance. This research was initiated to investigate the effects of alternative orchard floor management systems compatible with organic production on soil parameters using the “Pacific Gala” apple cultivar (Malus × domestica Borkh.) on three rootstocks of varying vigor. Alfalfa hay mulch, propane flame burner, and Swiss sandwich system (combination of resident vegetation and tilled strips) were compared from 2001 to 2005. These treatments were applied to tree rows which provided different vegetation-free areas. Contrasting additions of organic matter were evaluated for their effect on soil organic matter (SOM), C content, nitrate and ammonium availability, moisture, and soil food web through nematode populations. Laboratory incubations to determine C and N mineralization potentials were performed. During this time period, SOM increased under the mulched soil and slightly less under the Swiss sandwich system (SSS) but in this last case without external inputs. Carbon and N pools were not impacted by flame burning (FL) but were enhanced by alfalfa hay mulch (MU) and to a lesser extent by SSS. Nitrate-N content in soil under MU increased between five and ten times compared to SSS and FL. Total number of nematodes was higher for SSS and MU compared with FL treatment; however, SSS had the most structured soil food web, an important sustainability trait, while MU had the least.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Tonya Wiechel, Rod Jones, Bruce Tomkins, Armando Rabuffetti, and Steven Berkheimer for their critical comments of this manuscript and Claudio Valdés, Giovambattista Sorrenti, and the Clarksville Research Station personnel for their work in the laboratory and field. This research was funded by Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria of Uruguay and Michigan State University.

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  1. Dario Stefanelli

    Present address: Department of Primary Industries, Knoxfield Centre, 621 Burwood Highway, Knoxfield, VIC, 3180, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA) Las Brujas, Ruta 48 km-10, Canelones, 90200, Uruguay

    Roberto J. Zoppolo

  2. Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Roberto J. Zoppolo, Dario Stefanelli, George W. Bird & Ronald L. Perry

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  1. Roberto J. Zoppolo
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Correspondence to Roberto J. Zoppolo.

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Zoppolo, R.J., Stefanelli, D., Bird, G.W. et al. Soil properties under different orchard floor management systems for organic apple production. Org. Agr. 1, 231–246 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-011-0018-z

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