Fruit Crop Ecology and Management - UVM Apple Orchard

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moderate soil temperature,
reducing plant stress. Mulches
are obtained from imported
material and side-delivered
from mowing the alleyway’s
cover crops. When mulch
contains high quality materials
such as legume residues,
decomposition may also
provide significant amounts of
nutrients such as nitrogen,
potassium and phosphorus. In
orchards and vineyards, mulch
can be placed around
individual trees or vines, or in
the entire row. The area
immediately surrounding the
trunk should be kept mulchfree
to avoid disease, insect or
rodent problems.
Manures and composted
materials. If available,
manures and composted
materials can be used as
primary means of replenishing
organic matter. Like mulch,
they improve the soil’s waterholding
capacity, structural
stability and tilth.
Timely and proper applications
of manure also provide readily
available nutrients while
stimulating microbial activity.
Manure is more difficult to
manage than compost
because of its bulk and
because it may contain larger
amounts of mineral nitrogen
than plants can take up.
Limited amounts of manure,
determined by its chemical
Fruit Crop Ecology and Management: Chapter 1
composition, can be applied
near the time of maximum crop
uptake. Large amounts of
nitrogen from manure can be
lost through volatilization
during untimely applications
(such as on frozen ground),
and excessive applications can
lead to serious leaching losses
or become toxic to plants.
Composting raw materials such
as animal manure or municipal
wastes has several
advantages. During
composting, nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphorus are
fixed into more stable forms
that are less susceptible to
loss. Wastes are more easily
handled because composting
reduces the volume and allows
more even application.
Composting also reduces
pathogen populations and
toxicity to plants. The major
disadvantage is that
considerable amounts of
nitrogen and high-energy
carbon are lost during the
composting process.
Impact of
management on crop
performance
In new plantings, vigorous,
healthy vegetative growth is the
primary goal. In this building
stage, the fruit plant needs to
grow with minimum competition
from living ground cover
(weeds or cover crop) near the
trees or vines. In new
plantings, the noncover-cropped
area should be
R. Perry
In this new orchard, alfalfa hay mulch was placed in the tree rows.