The Impact of Different Cover Crops, Mechanical Cultivation and Herbicide Treatment on The Soil Quality Variables and Yield in Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) Orchard with a Coarse-Textured Soil

Demir Z., IŞIK D.

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES-TARIM BILIMLERI DERGISI, vol.26, no.4, pp.452-470, 2020 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 26 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Doi Number: 10.15832/ankutbd.527445
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES-TARIM BILIMLERI DERGISI
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, CAB Abstracts, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.452-470
  • Keywords: Cover crops, Organic matter, Sandy loam soil, Soil quality, Available water capacity, Yield, ORGANIC-MATTER, PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES, WEED MANAGEMENT, PHOSPHORUS, NITROGEN, TILLAGE, EROSION, SYSTEMS, FERTILIZATION, PARAMETERS
  • Erciyes University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Effects of different cover crops on soil quality parameters and yield of an apple orchard located in Develi town of Kayseri province of Turkey were investigated in this study. Trifolium repens L. (TR), Festuca rubra subsp. rubra (FRR), Festuca arundinacea (FA), T. repens (40%) + F. rubra rubra (30%) + F. arundinacea (30%) mixture (TFF), Vicia villosa (VV) and Trifolium meneghinianum (TM) were used as the cover crops in an apple orchard with sandy loam soil. Experiments also included plots mechanically cultivated (MC), herbicide treatment (HC) and control (C) plot without cover crops. Soil samples were taken from two different depths (0-20 and 20-40 cm) in each plot. Experiments were conducted in randomized complete blocks design with four replications. The cover crop treatments improved soil quality parameters like organic matter (OM), basal soil respiration, bulk density (BD), aggregate stability, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), available water capacity compared to the soil of a nontreated control plot. Mean OM contents at 0-20 cm soil depth was ordered as; HC (0.56%)