scholarly journals Tillage is Necessary in Re-establishing Peach Orchards

1994 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-67
Author(s):  
D.M. Glenn ◽  
J. Kotcon ◽  
W.V. Welker

Three soil management treatments (cultivation, herbicide, and killed sod) were established in the drive middle of a 10-year-old apple orchard removed the year prior to planting peaches. The cultivation and herbicide treatments used preplant tillage, leaving a bare soil surface, whereas the killed-sod system was untilled. Peach trees (Prunus persica L. Batsch) were planted, and growth, yield, and soil bulk density were measured after 3 years. There were no differences in tree growth or yield for the three treatments These results were contrary to published reports that the killed-sod system increased early tree growth. The lack of growth response in the killed-sod system was attributed to the high soil bulk density remaining from the previous orchard. We concluded that truck and tractor traffic in the drive middle causes severe soil compaction, which may limit root development. The soil compaction can only be moderated by tillage.

1985 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Gent ◽  
R. Ballard

Abstract Trafficking during harvesting significantly increased soil bulk density to depths of 3 to 6 inches in areas outside of primary skid trails and 9 to 12 inches in primary skid trails. On the Coastal Plain site, bedding was effective in offsetting soil compaction in areas outside of primary skid trails, forming a new soil surface, 7 to 8 inches in height, over the surface trafficked during harvest. Bedding may not be so effective in the skid trails, because the original soil surface under the bed was so compacted that root growth may be inhibited. On the Piedmont site, disking was effective in restoring bulk density to preharvest levels in the upper 3 to 5 inches of soil, but soil compaction in the upper 3 to 9 inches of drum-chopped areas may result in reduced root growth, because of mechanical impedance.


2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 601-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mason C Carter ◽  
Thomas J Dean ◽  
Ziyin Wang ◽  
Ray A Newbold

At four sites in the Gulf Coastal Plain, mechanical whole-tree harvesting (MWT) removed more biomass and nutrients than hand-fell bole-only harvesting (HFBO). Soil compaction and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) regeneration growth varied among sites. At one location, MWT increased soil bulk density by 0.1 Mg·m–3, from 1.14 to 1.24 Mg·m–3, with no effect on tree growth. At a second location, where bulk density increased by 0.1 Mg·m–3, from 1.41 to 1.51 Mg·m–3, pine growth was reduced significantly. Soil strength at 15–20 cm depth increased by 0.3–0.5 MPa at both locations. However, where MWT reduced pine growth, herbaceous weed control mitigated the effect. Fertilization with N and P, where P was limiting, increased pine growth irrespective of other treatments. Where P was not limiting, addition of a complete fertilizer reduced the mitigating effect of weed control. Bedding reduced soil compaction without improving early tree growth; however, bedding was not tested on the two sites where soil compaction appeared to be at critical levels. Broadcast burning increased survival but reduced pine growth irrespective of harvesting method. Our results suggest that the impact of intensive management on site productivity varies among sites, is potentially accumulative, and is subject to change over time.


1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 104-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Helms ◽  
C. Hipkin ◽  
E. B. Alexander

Abstract An analysis was made of the extent to which observed variability in plantation height growth could be explained by variability in soil surface characteristics that are modified by harvesting and site preparation activities. The study was done in a 16-year-old ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) plantation in the Sierra Nevada of California. Annual height growth of all 423 trees within a 0.48 ha area was measured together with soil bulk density, A-Horizon thickness, and shrub competition. Soil organic carbon and mineralizeable nitrogen were measured on a subsample of 72 trees. Trees in areas of highest bulk density grew 43% less at age 1 and 13% less at age 15 than those in areas of lowest bulk density. Annual shoot growth was markedly reduced for 4 consecutive years following 2 years of below-normal precipitation, especially in trees growing in soils of lowest bulk density. Bulk density, A-Horizon thickness, and shrub cover accounted for only 13 to 23% of variability in height growth of the 423-tree sample. These same variables, plus organic carbon and mineralizeable nitrogen, accounted for 31% of variability in height growth of the 72-tree sample. West. J. Appl. For. 1:104-108, Oct. 1986.


1991 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.M. Glenn ◽  
W.V. Welker

We determined how differences in peach tree water use and shoot and root growth due to ground cover treatments are affected by tree response and soil conditions in the adjacent soil environment. Ground cover combinations of bare soil (BS), a killed K-31 tall fescue sod (KS), a living Poa trivialis sod (PT), and a living K-31 tall fescue sod (LS) were imposed on 50% of the soil surface in greenhouse studies. The ground cover on 50% of the soil surface influenced root and top growth of the peach trees [Prunus persica (L) Batsch], water use, and NO3-N levels in the opposing 50%, depending on the competitiveness of the cover crop (LS vs. PT and KS) and characteristics of the soil (BS vs. KS). Tree growth was allometrically related to root growth.


Irriga ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amauri Nelson Beutler ◽  
José Frederico Centurion ◽  
Cassiano Garcia Roque ◽  
Zigomar Menezes de Souza

INFLUÊNCIA DA COMPACTAÇÃO E DO CULTIVO DE SOJA NOS ATRIBUTOS FÍSICOS E NA CONDUTIVIDADE HIDRÁULICA EM LATOSSOLO VERMELHO   Amauri Nelson BeutlerJosé Frederico CenturionCassiano Garcia RoqueZigomar Menezes de SouzaDepartamento de Solos e Adubos, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, SP. CEP 14870-000. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]  1 RESUMO              Este estudo teve como objetivo determinar a influência da compactação e do cultivo de soja nos atributos físicos e na condutividade hidráulica de um Latossolo Vermelho de textura média. O experimento foi conduzido na Universidade Estadual Paulista – Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Jaboticabal (SP). Os tratamentos foram: 0, 1, 2, 4 e 6 passadas de um trator, uma ao lado da outra perfazendo toda a superfície do solo, com quatro repetições. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado para a condutividade hidráulica e, em esquema fatorial 5 x 2 para os atributos físicos. Foram coletadas amostras de solo nas faixas de profundidades de 0,02-0,05; 0,07-0,10 e 0,15-0,18 m, por ocasião da semeadura e após a colheita para determinação da densidade do solo, porosidade total, macro e microporosidade do solo. A condutividade hidráulica do solo foi determinada após a colheita. O tempo entre a semeadura e a colheita de soja foi suficiente para aumentar a compactação do solo apenas na condição de solo solto. A compactação do solo reduziu a condutividade hidráulica em relação a condição natural (mata) e a condição de solo solto, sendo que esta não foi reduzida, após a primeira passagem, com o aumento no número de passagens.  UNITERMOS: Densidade do solo, porosidade do solo, infiltração de água, soja.  BEUTLER, A. N.; CENTURION, J. F.; ROQUE, C. G.; SOUZA, Z. M. COMPACTION AND SOYBEAN GROW INFLUENCE ON PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES AND  HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY IN RED LATOSSOL SOIL   2 ABSTRACT  The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of compaction and soybean grow on physical attributes and hydraulic conductivity of a Red Latossol, medium texture soil. The experiment was carried out in the experimental farm at the Paulista State University  – Agricultural Science College, Jaboticabal – São Paulo state. The treatments were 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6 side-by-side tractor strides on the soil surface with four replications. The experimental design was completely randomized for hydraulic conductivity and a 5 x 2 factorial design for soil physical attributes. Soil samples have been collected at 0.02-0.05, 0.07-0.10 and 0.15-0.18 m depth at sowing season and after harvest in order to determine soil bulk density, total porosity, macro and micro porosity. Soil hydraulic conductivity was determined after harvest. The time period between the soybean sowing and harvesting was enough to increase soil compaction only in loose soil condition. Soil compaction reduced hydraulic conductivity compared to the natural (forest) and loose soil condition  KEYWORDS: Bulk density, soil porosity, water infiltration, soybean.


1992 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean R. Evert ◽  
Paul F. Bertrand ◽  
`Benjamin G. Mullinix

Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge cv. Paraguayan-22) growing under newly planted peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.] trees severely stunted the trees. Neither supplemental fertilizer nor irrigating with two 3.8-liters·hour-1 emitters per tree eliminated tree stunting emitters were controlled by an automatic tensiometer set to maintain 3 kpa at a depth of 0.5 m under a tree in bahiagrass. Preplant fumigation with ethylene dibromide at 100 liters·ha-1 increased tree growth, but not tree survival. Fenamiphos, a nematicide, applied under the trees each spring and fall at a rate of 11 kg-ha -1 had no positive effect on tree survival, tree growth, or nematode populations. Bahiagrass tended to suppress populations of Meloidogyne spp. under the trees., Meloidogyne spp. were the only nematodes present that had mean populations > 65 per 150 cm3 of soil. Leaf concentrations of several elements differed between trees growing in bahiagrass sod and in. bare ground treated with herbicides. Leaf Ca was low for all treatments in spite of a soil pH near 6.5 and adequate soil Ca. The severe stunting of trees grown in bahiagrass, irrespective of the other treatments, demonstrated that bahiagrass should not be grown under newly planted trees. The low populations of parasitic nematodes in bahiagrass showed that bahiagrass has potential as a preplant biological control of nematodes harmful to peach trees. Chemical name used: ethyl 3-methy1-4-(methylthio) phenyl (1-methylethyl) phosphoramidate (fenamiphos).


2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Heninger ◽  
William Scott ◽  
Alex Dobkowski ◽  
Richard Miller ◽  
Harry Anderson ◽  
...  

We (i) quantified effects of skidder yarding on soil properties and seedling growth in a portion of western Oregon, (ii) determined if tilling skid trails improved tree growth, and (iii) compared results with those from an earlier investigation in coastal Washington. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings were hand planted at eight recent clearcuts in skid ruts in either nontilled or tilled trails, in adjacent soil berms, and in adjacent logged-only portions. Four and 5 years after skidding, rut depths averaged 15 cm below the original soil surface; mean fine-soil bulk density (0–30 cm depth) below ruts of nontilled trails exceeded that on logged-only portions by 14%. Height growth on nontilled trails averaged 24% less than on logged-only portions in year 4 after planting and decreased to 6% less in year 7. For years 8–10, mean height growth was similar for all treatments. Reduced height growth lasted for about 7 years compared with 2 years for coastal Washington. Ten years after planting, trees in skid-trail ruts averaged 10% shorter with 29% less volume than those on logged-only portions. Tillage improved height and volume growth to equal that on logged-only portions. Generalizations about negative effects of skid trails on tree growth have limited geographic scope.


2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 957-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Halde ◽  
A. M. Hammermeister ◽  
N. L. Mclean ◽  
K. T. Webb ◽  
R. C. Martin

Halde, C., Hammermeister, A. M., McLean, N. L., Webb, K. T. and Martin, R. C. 2011. Soil compaction under varying rest periods and levels of mechanical disturbance in a rotational grazing system. Can. J. Soil Sci. 91: 957–964. In Atlantic Canada, data are limited regarding the effect of grazing systems on soil compaction. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of intensive and extensive rotational pasture management treatments on soil bulk density, soil penetration resistance, forage productivity and litter accumulation. The study was conducted on a fine sandy loam pasture in Truro, Nova Scotia. Each of the eight paddocks was divided into three rotational pasture management treatments: intensive, semi-intensive and extensive. Mowing and clipping were more frequent in the intensive than in the semi-intensive treatment. In the extensive treatment, by virtue of grazing in alternate rotations, the rest period was doubled than that of the intensive and semi-intensive treatments. Both soil bulk density (0–5 cm) and penetration resistance (0–25.5 cm) were significantly higher in the intensive treatment than in the extensive treatment, for all seasons. Over winter, bulk density decreased significantly by 6.8 and 3.8% at 0–5 and 5–10 cm, respectively. A decrease ranging between 40.5 and 4.0% was observed for soil penetration resistance over winter, at 0–1.5 cm and 24.0–25.5 cm, respectively. The intensive and semi-intensive treatments produced significantly more available forage for grazers annually than the extensive treatment. Forage yields in late May to early June were negatively correlated with spring bulk density.


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 194-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Bustos ◽  
Andrew Egan

Abstract A study of soil compaction associated with four harvesting systems—a forwarder working with a mechanized harvester and a rubber-tired cable skidder, a farm tractor, and a bulldozer, each of them coupled with a chainsaw felling—was conducted in a group selection harvest of a mixed hardwood stand in Maine. The bulldozer system was associated with the highest percentage differences in soil bulk density measured in machine tracks (16.9%), trail centerlines (15.7%), and harvested group selection units (13.1%) versus adjacent untrafficked areas, whereas the forwarder system was associated with the lowest percentage differences in soil bulk density measured in machine tracks (3.5%), trail centerlines (1.2%), and harvested group selection units (6.3%) versus adjacent untrafficked areas. Results will help to inform loggers and foresters on equipment selection, harvest planning, and the conservation of forest soils and soil productivity.


2002 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Li ◽  
B. L. Ma ◽  
T. Q. Zhang

Soil compaction associated with inappropriate maneuvering of field equipment, and/or modern cropping system negatively affect soil physical properties, and thus, may limit microbial activities and biochemical processes, which are important to nutrient bioavailability. An experiment was carried out using the pot-culture technique to determine the effect of bulk density on soil microbial populations and enzyme activities in an Eutric Cambisol sandy loam soil (United Nations’ classification) planted with maize (Zea mays L.) in the Experimental Farm of Henan Agricultural University, Henan, China (34°49′N, 113°40′E). Numbers of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes and the enzyme activities of invertase, polyphenol oxidase, catalase, urease, protease, and phosphatase were determined at various stages during the plant growing season. Microbial numbers were negatively and linearly related to soil bulk density. With increases in soil bulk density from 1.00 to 1.60 Mg m-3, total numbers of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes declined by 26-39%. The strongest correlations between the soil microbial population and bulk density occurred at the plant growth stages of the 6 fully expanded leaf (V6) and anthesis (R1), with R2 > 0.90 (P< 0.01) for all three microorganism categories. Increasing soil bulk density was related quadratically to the activities of soil invertase and polyphenol oxidase, protease and catalase. It appears that the greatest activities of most soil enzymes occurred at a bulk density of 1.0 to 1.3 Mg m-3, which are optimum for most field crops. The plant growth stages also had an important impact on soil enzyme activities and microbial populations, with strong positive associations between soil microorganisms and enzyme activities with crop growth. Key words: Maize, soil enzymes, microbial population, soil compaction, bulk density, Zea mays


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