The Effect of Understorey Management on Soil Fertility, Tree Nutrition, Fruit Production and Apple Fruit Quality

Effects of living mulches on the soil nutrient contents, enzyme activities, and bacterial community diversities of apple orchard soils

“…The soil mineral nitrogen content was significantly lower with the non-legume perennial ryegrass treatment than that with the no mulch treatment. This demonstrates the existence of nitrogen competition between the perennial ryegrass and the apple trees [28,29]. By contrast, the leguminous mulch treatments increased the nitrogen input into the soil via their nitrogen fixation ability, so the soil nitrogen was not reduced [40].…”

Potential Nitrogen Contributions from Legumes in Pacific Northwest Apple Orchards

“…The orchard floor management system used can directly and profoundly affect tree performance (Connell et al, 2001;Elmore et al, 1989;Forshey, 1988;Woolbridge and Botha, 1991;Woolbridge and Harris, 1989). Past studies clearly reveal that orchard nitrogen nutrition is sensitive to orchard floor vegetation and management systems (Nielson et al, 1984(Nielson et al, , 1986Marsh et al, 1996;Meagher and Meyer, 1990;Meyer et al, 1992;Nielson and Hogue, 1985;Shribbs and Skroch, 1986;Skroch and Scribbs, 1986).…”

Maintenance of a Living Understory Enhances Soil Carbon Sequestration in Subtropical Orchards

“…Agroforestry is a management system that integrates trees with farms in an agricultural landscape and usually encompasses a wide variety of understory vegetation management methods. Many studies have shown that management of understory vegetation can greatly influence soil fertility, tree nutrition, and fruit quality [10]. Because C sequestration in agroforestry systems is largely dependent on how the system is managed [8], understory vegetation management is expected to influence soil C sequestration by affecting soil nutrient cycling and system productivity [11].…”