Cover crops for managing weeds, soil chemical fertility and nutritional status of organically grown orange orchard in Sicily

Abstract

Cover crops can offer significant advantages in the agronomic management of citrus orchards in Mediterranean environments. Therefore, a three-year research was conducted in eastern Sicily aimed at studying the effects of four cover crop sequences (Sinapis arvensis-Trigonella foenum-graecum-T. foenum-graecum; Medicago scutellata-Avena sativa-Lolium perenne; Vicia faba minor-A. sativa-A. sativa; A. sativa-V. faba. minor-L. perenne) on weeds, major soil chemical properties and nutritional status of an organically grown orange orchard. The results highlighted that, among the studied cover crop sequences, Vicia faba-Avena-Avena was the most beneficial for weeds control within the orchard (92%, of cover crop cover, and 586 and 89 g DW m -2 of cover crop aboveground biomass and weeds aboveground biomass, respectively). Overall, the chemical fertility of the soil was positively influenced. In particular, it was observed an increase of the content of total nitrogen and available phosphorus in the soil by both Sinapis-Trigonella-Trigonella (0.75 g kg -1 and 59.0 mg kg -1 , respectively) and Vicia faba-Avena-Avena (0.70 g kg -1 and 56.0 mg kg -1 , respectively) cover crop sequences. Medicago-Avena-Lolium sequence seemed to be the most useful to ensure a better nutritional status of the orange orchard.

Trifolium subterraneum cover cropping enhances soil fertility and weed seedbank dynamics in a Mediterranean apricot orchard

“…The role of cover cropping on soil physical and chemical properties has been investigated (Adeli et al 2020;Mauro et al 2015;Nascente and Stone 2018;Ramos et al 2020;Wulanningtyas et al 2021). In the present study, the best results were obtained by adopting T. subterraneum with dead mulches incorporated into the soil (TCC-B).…”

Improving soil health, weed management and nitrogen dynamics by Trifolium subterraneum cover cropping

“…In recent years, a valid option has been offered by cover cropping, namely the mono-or intercropping of herbaceous plants either for part of or an entire year with the aim of enhancing yields (Mauromicale et al 2010). Cover crops exert significant positive effects on physical, chemical and biological soil characteristics, since they enhance soil organic matter and structure while reducing soil erosion and nutrient leaching, increase soil microbial activities and reduce pest and weed pressure on cash crops (Mauro et al 2015;Mauromicale et al 2010). Moreover, they can be integrated into conservative agricultural systems such as zero tillage to further reduce weed infestations (Samarajeewa et al 2006).…”

“…Herbaceous species such as Trifolium spp. and other Fabaceae (Mauro et al 2015;Sánchez et al 2007), Sinapis alba L. and Achillea millefolium L. (Bone et al 2009) have been used as cover crops in fruit orchards. Recently, several cereals like Avena sativa L., Secale cereale L. and Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench., or other plant species such as Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC., Brassica nigra (L.) Koch and Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC., have been proposed, especially in organic farming, for their allelopathic properties, since they are able to release allelochemicals into the soil through root exudation or leaching from plant residues (Finney and Creamer 2008).…”

Trifolium subterraneum cover cropping for improving the nutritional status of a Mediterranean apricot orchard

“…In this framework, cover cropping (the mono‐ or inter‐cropping of herbaceous plants over either part of a year, or over an entire year) may provide important benefits to orchards, since it may reduce soil erosion and nutrient leaching, 10,11 keep the soil humidity at the proper level, 12 maintain soil fertility replenishing its organic matter, 13 enriching nitrogen (N) content (especially when leguminous cover crops are grown) 14 and releasing previously non‐available soil phosphorus (P) through the release of secondary metabolites into the rhizosphere 15,16 . In addition, cover crops also enhance soil microbial populations, encourage generalist predator arthropod populations and heartworm communities, and reduce pest and weed pressure 10,17,18 . Through these, cover cropping gain additional indirect benefits in orchard systems, i.e.…”