scholarly journals (317) Effects of Different Organic Mulch on Soil Physical Characteristics and Leaf Nutrition in Apple Orchards

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 1027D-1027
Author(s):  
Hyun-Sug Choi ◽  
Curt Rom ◽  
Jason McAfee

Mulch may affect soil chemistry, soil microclimate, biological communities, and tree performance. The trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of different orchard mulches on leaf nutrition, soil moisture, bulk density, root density, and water infiltration for understanding potential use in organic orchards for weed control and as a nutrient resource. Black plastic, hardwood chips, and shredded white paper were applied to three apple cultivars, `Gala', `Jonagold', and `Braeburn' on M.9 rootstocks. A control was sprayed with contact herbicide. Trees grown in hardwood mulch had the highest foliar P and K in year 3. Trees in other mulches showed no difference of leaf nutrition in year 5. All treatments had consistently higher soil moisture than control in year 1, 2, and 4. Mulch did not affect soil bulk density in year 2. The root density was lowest under black plastic mulch in year 2, but was similar in all treatments in year 3. In year 2, water infiltration was fastest in hardwood mulch and control treatments.

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Yunqi ◽  
Zhang Yinghua ◽  
Wang Zhimin ◽  
Tao Hongbin ◽  
Zhou Shunli ◽  
...  

The North China Plain (NCP) serves as China’s second most important maize production region. Rotary tillage, a popular method used in winter wheat/summer maize systems in the region, has adverse effects on maize production. The current study was conducted to determine whether rotary tillage after subsoiling in the winter wheat season (RS) improves the grain-filling rate and yield of summer maize by decreasing soil bulk density, when compared with rotary tillage (R), in the NCP. The RS treatment decreased soil bulk density and increased soil moisture in the summer maize season when compared with the R treatment. Root number under the RS treatment at 8 collar and silking stages was 22.4−35.3% and 8.0−11.7% greater than under the R treatment, respectively. The RS treatment significantly enhanced the grain-filling rate and grain weight as compared to the R treatment. Yield, thousand grain weight, biomass, and harvest index under the RS treatment were 7.7, 7.2, 2.3 and 5.3% higher than under the R treatment. Thousands grain weight was correlated with soil bulk density and soil moisture after silking. Consequently, the increase in grain weight and yield of summer maize resulted from the decrease in soil bulk density and a consequent increase in soil moisture, root number and grain-filling rate.  


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wininton M. da Silva ◽  
Aloísio Bianchini ◽  
Cesar A. da Cunha

ABSTRACT This study aimed to describe the behavior of models for adjusting data of soil penetration resistance for variations in soil moisture and soil bulk density. The study was carried out in Lucas do Rio Verde, MT, Brazil in a typic dystrophic red-yellow Latosol (Oxisol) containing 0.366 kg kg−1 of clay. Soil penetration resistance measurements were conducted in the soil moistures of 0.33 kg kg−1, 0.28 kg kg−1, 0.25 kg kg−1 and 0.22 kg kg−1. Soil penetration resistance behavior due to variations in soil moisture and soil bulk density was assessed by estimating the soil resistance values by non-linear models. There was an increase of the soil penetration resistance values as soil was losing moisture. For the same edaphic condition studied, small differences in the data of soil bulk density affect differently the response of soil resistance as a function of moisture. Both soil bulk density and soil moisture are essential attributes to explain the variations in soil penetration resistance in the field. The good representation of the critical soil bulk density curve as a limiting compression indicator requires the proper choice of the restrictive soil resistance value for each crop.


Soil Research ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
AK Sharda

Studies were conducted on soil columns of a silty clay loam packed at bulk densities of 1200, 1300 and 1400 kg/m3 to evaluate the influence of soil bulk density on water infiltration in the horizontal direction. Soil water diffusivity values were obtained by reversing the iterative procedure of Philip. A reduction to less than 25% in soil water diffusivity occurred near saturation with the increase in soil bulk density, but the influence of soil bulk density decreased with the decrease in relative water content. Lengths of infiltration, cumulative influx and infiltration rates also reduced markedly with the increase in soil bulk density from 1200 kg/m to 1400 kg/m3.


1973 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Langlands ◽  
I. L. Bennett

SummaryA Phalaris tuberosa and Trifolium repens pasture was grazed continuously at stocking rates varying from 2·5 to 37·1 sheep per ha between 1964 and 1969. During this period herbage availability and composition, basal cover, root weight, water infiltration, soil moisture content, bulk density and chemical composition of the soil were measured at intervals.As stocking rate was increased, herbage availability, root weight, basal cover, soil pore space and the rate of water infiltration declined, and bulk density and the nitrogen and calcium contents of the herbage on offer increased. In periods of below-average rainfall, soil moisture and nitrate levels were greater when herbage was of low availability.Herbage production was calculated from estimates of herbage consumption and of litter decomposition, and averaged 8·45 t dry matter/ha/year; it was insensitive to changes in stocking rate over the range from 2 to 22 sheep/ha. The ratio, herbage consumption/ pasture production increased by 0'045 per unit increase in stocking rate.


Soil Research ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Hamza ◽  
S. S. Al-Adawi ◽  
K. A. Al-Hinai

Reducing soil compaction is now an important issue in agriculture due to intensive use of farm machinery in different farm operations. This experiment was designed to study the influence of combinations of external load and soil water on soil compaction. Four soil water levels were combined with four external loads as follows: soil water—air-dry, 50% of field capacity, field capacity, and saturation; external load using different-sized tractors—no load (0 kg), small tractor (2638 kg), medium tractor (3912 kg), and large tractor (6964 kg). Soil bulk density, soil strength, and soil water infiltration rate were measured at 0–100, 100–200, and 200–300 mm soil depths. The 16 treatments were set up in a randomised block design with three replications. Combined increases in soil water and external load increased soil compaction, as indicated by increasing soil bulk density and soil strength and decreasing soil water infiltration rate. There was no significant interaction between soil water and external load for bulk density at all soil depths, but the interaction was significant for soil strength and infiltration rates at all soil depths. The ratio between the weight of the external load and the surface area of contact between the external load and the ground was important in determining the degree of surface soil compaction. Least compaction was produced by the medium tractor because it had the highest tyre/ground surface area contact. In general, the effects of soil water and external load on increasing soil bulk density and soil strength were greater in the topsoil than the subsoil.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1289
Author(s):  
Zuzana Dudáková (Allmanová) ◽  
Michal Allman ◽  
Ján Merganič ◽  
Katarína Merganičová

The paper deals with the damage of the remaining stand and soil caused by harvesting using three ground-based forest operations methods (harvester-forwarder/cable skidder/animal-tractor). It compares the impact of the most common harvesting technologies applied in Slovakia and in Central Europe and thus contributes with valuable information to the knowledge on the suitability of their application in forests stands dominated by broadleaved tree species. Harvesting was performed in five forest stands located at the University Forest Enterprise of Technical University in Zvolen in central Slovakia from August to October 2019. Damage to remaining trees was assessed from the point of its size, type, and position of damage along stem. We expected lower damage of remaining trees in stands where harvesters were used because of the applied cut-to-length short wood system and fully mechanized harvesting system. In addition, we examined soil bulk density and soil moisture content in ruts, space between ruts, and in undisturbed stand to reveal the impact of harvesting machinery on soil. We expected greater soil bulk densities and lower soil moisture content in these stands due to the greatest weight of harvesters and in ruts created by machinery compared with undisturbed stand soil. The highest percentage of damaged remaining trees equal to 20.47% and 23.36% was recorded for harvester forest operations, followed by skidder (19.44%) and animal forest operations with 19.86% and 14.47%. Factorial ANOVA confirmed significant higher soil compaction in stands where harvesters were used (higer bulk density) than in stands where skidding was performed with the skidder and animal power. Higher soil moisture content was recorded in ruts created by harvesters and the skidder. The lowest soil moisture content was in undisturbed stands irrespective of the applied forest operation method.


2011 ◽  
Vol 347-353 ◽  
pp. 237-240
Author(s):  
Zhen Ru Wu ◽  
Guo Mei Jia ◽  
Li Na Cao ◽  
Fang Qing Chen

Soil microbial properties have been proved to be powerful indicators of soil quality. This study analyzed the changes in soil moisture content, soil bulk density and porosity, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and microbial biomass of Substrate in vegetation restoration of Rock Slope. The results showed that soil moisture, soil porosity, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and C/N increased significantly, and soil bulk density decreased gradually compared with bare rock Slope. Therefore, the results suggested that the vegetation restoration of Rock Slope could improve soil quality.


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