SUITABILITY OF BLUE FESCUE (Festuca ovina L.) AS LIVING MULCH IN AN APPLE ORCHARD – PRELIMINARY EVALUATION
Maria Licznar-Małańczuk
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life SciencesAbstract
The living mulch is one of the orchard floor weed control option suitable for the organic production, which especially adds orchard biodiversity. The covering plant
competes with the fruit tree, what can result in the reduced growth and yield. At the Fruit Experimental Station of the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, in a young apple orchard mulched with blue fescue (Festuca ovina L.), the growth, cropping, and fruit quality were evaluated. In spring 2009, trees of the ‘Ligol’ cv. budded on the M.9, M.26, and P 60 rootstocks were planted, and in the following four years (2010–2013) blue fescue was being sown in the tree rows. Prior to the introduction of the living mulch, a herbicide fallow was maintained. The sowing of blue fescue as early as in the second year following the tree planting caused a significant decrease of the total yield per tree obtained in the first four years of the cropping. On the other hand, it contributed to an improved
coloration of the fruits. Postponing of the cover plant sowing until the third and fourth year following the orchard establishment mitigated the negative influences of the living mulch on the tree growth and yielding, as well as on the fruit quality. As in addition blue fescue satisfactorily protects the soil from weed occurrence, its application in form of a late-sown living mulch could be considered as a promising alternative to the herbicide fallow.
Keywords:
cover crop, grass, rootstock, growth, croppingReferences
Atucha, A., Merwin, I.A., Brown, M.G. (2011). Long-term effects of four groundcover management systems in an apple orchard. HortSci., 46(8), 1176−1183.
Belding, R.D., Majek, B.A., Lokaj, G.R.W., Hammerstedt, J., Ayeni, A.O. (2004). Orchard floor management influence on summer annual weeds and young peach tree performance. Weed Technol., 18, 215−222.
Bone, N.J., Thomson, L.J., Ridland, P.M., Cole, P., Hoffmann, A.A. (2009). Cover crops in Victorian apple orchards: Effects on production, natural enemies and pest across a season. Crop Protec., 28, 675−683.
Bordelon, B.P., Weller, S.C. (1997). Preplant cover crops affect weed and vine growth in firstyear vineyards. HortSci., 32(6), 1040–1043.
Calkins, J.B., Swanson, B.T. (1995). Comparison of conventional and alternative nursery weed management strategies. Weed Technol., 9, 761−767.
Fiorio, S., Macolino, S., Leinauer, B. (2012). Establishment and performance of bluegrass species and tall fescue under reduced-input maintenance in a temperature Mediterranean environment. HortTechnol., 22(6), 810−816.
Fredrikson, L., Skinkis, P.A., Peachey, E. (2011). Cover crop and floor management affect weed coverage and density in an establishing Oregon vineyard. Hort Technol., 21(2), 208−216.
Glenn, D.M. Newell, M.J. (2008). Long-time effects of sod competition on peach yield. Hort Technol., 18(3), 445−448.
Granatstein, D., Sánchez, E. (2009). Research knowledge and needs for orchard floor management in organic tree fruit systems. Inter. J. Fruit. Sci., 9, 257−281.
Hulme, P.D., Pakeman, R.J., Torvell, L., Fisher, J.M., Gordon, I.J. (1999). The effects of controlled sheep grazing on the dynamics of upland Agrostis–Festuca grassland. J. Applied Ecol., 36, 886–900.
Kühn, B.F., Lindhard Pedersen, H. (2009). Cover crop and mulching effects on yield and fruit quality in unsprayed organic apple production. Europ. J. Hort. Sci., 74(6), 247−253.
Lakatos, T., Bubán, T. (2000). Effectiveness of different groundcover materials to preserve soil water content in a young apple orchard. Acta Hort., 525, 425−426.
Licznar-Małańczuk, M. (2012). Zastosowanie żywych ściółek w sadzie jako alternatywnego sposobu pielęgnacji gleby w porównaniu z ugorem herbicydowym. Monogr. 154, UP, Wrocław.
Licznar-Małańczuk, M. (2014). The diversity of weed species occurring in living mulch in an apple orchard. Acta Agrobot., 67(1), 47–54.
Lipecki, J., Janisz, A. (2000). Rozmieszczenie przestrzenne oraz zmiany w występowaniu niektórych chwastów w sadzie jabłoniowym Gospodarstwa Doświadczalnego Felin koło Lublina. Acta Agrobot., 53(2), 85−104.
Merwin, I.A. (2003). Orchard-floor management systems. In: Apples: botany, production and uses. Ferree, D.C., Warrington, I.J. CABI Publ., Cambridge, 303−318.
Miñarro, M. (2012). Weed communities in apple orchards under organic and conventional fertilization and tree-row management. Crop Protect., 39, 89−96.
Neilsen, G.H., Hogue, E.J. (2000). Comparison of white clover and mixed sodgrass as orchard floor vegetation. Can. J. Plant Sci., 80, 617−622.
Sánchez, E.E., Giayetto, A., Cichón, L., Fernández, D., Aruani, M.C., Curetti, M. (2007). Cover crop influence soil properties and tree performance in an organic apple (Malus domestica Borkh) orchard in northern Patagonia. Plant Soil, 292(1−2), 193−203.
Sanchez, J.E., Edson, Ch.E., Bird, G.W., Whalon, M.E., Willson, T.C., Harwood, R.R., Kizilkaya, K., Nugent, J.E., Klein, W., Middleton, A., Loudon, T.L., Mutch, D.R., Scrimger, J. (2003). Orchard floor and nitrogen management influences soil and water quality and tart cherry yields. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci., 128(2), 277−284.
Schiavon, M., Barnes, B.D., Shaw, D.A., Henry, J.M., Baird, J.H. (2013). Strategies for converting tal fescue to warm-season turf in a Mediterranean climate. Hort Technol., 23(4), 442−448.
Slatnar, A., Licznar-Malanczuk, M., Mikulic-Petkovsek, M., Stampar, F., Veberic, R. (2014). Long-term experiment with orchard floor management systems: Influence on apple yield and chemical composition. J. Agric. Food Chem., 62(18), 4095–4103.
Scopel, E., Triomphe, B., Affholder, F., Macena Da Silva, F.A., Corbeels, M., Valadares Xavier, J.H., Lahmar, R., Recous, S., Bernoux, M., Blanchart, E., de Carvalho Mendes, I., De Tourdonnet, S. (2013). Conservation agriculture cropping systems in temperate and tropical conditions, performances and impacts. A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev., 33, 113–130.
Sosna, I., Licznar-Małańczuk, M., Czaplicka, M. (2009). Wstępna ocena wpływu żywych ściółek na wzrost i owocowanie drzew jabłoni i gruszy. Zesz. Probl. Post. Nauk Roln., 536, 197−203.
Tworkoski, T.J., Glenn, D.M. (2001). Yield, shoot and root growth, and physiological responses of mature peach trees to grass competition. HortSci., 36(7), 1214−1218.
Tworkoski, T.J., Glenn, D.M. (2012). Weed suppression by grasses for orchard floor management. Weed Technol., 26, 559–565.
Zebarth, B.J., Freyman, S., Kowalenko, C.G. (1993). Effect of ground covers and tillage between raspberry rows on selected soil physical and chemical parameters and crop response. Can. J. Soil Sci., 73, 481−488.
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences
License
Articles are made available under the conditions CC BY 4.0 (until 2020 under the conditions CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
Submission of the paper implies that it has not been published previously, that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
The author signs a statement of the originality of the work, the contribution of individuals, and source of funding.
