Abstract
Orchard floor management is vital to tree health, yield, and fruit quality. Current standard management practices include maintaining a vegetation-free tree row and a grass-covered alleyway. This system is effective at limiting competition from undesirable vegetation and creating a favorable environment for the fruit trees. However, limitations to standard orchard floor practices are that the grass alleyway provides no nutrient benefit, and current practices do not readily lend themselves to organic management constraints. Alternative in-row and alleyway systems are requisite to creating improved orchard floor management systems. Three different approaches were used to investigate alternative orchard floor management strategies, including: alternative in-row weed control with combinations of mulch and organic herbicides, alternative alleyway management with legume cover crops, and combinations of in-row and alleyway alternative strategies. Although organic in-row weed control was best accomplished with combinations of straw and acetic acid, this management approach was not economically viable at current costs of labor and supplies, and current fruit prices. Alfalfa and alfalfa clover treatments contributed the most aboveground biomass and nitrogen among alternative alleyway covers, but consumed 45% more water than the conventional grass alleyway. In combinations of in-row and alleyway alternatives, birds-foot trefoil alleyway had a beneficial effect on tree growth compared to grass, while consuming the greatest amount of water. Peach yields were the highest for the integrated compost and NPK fertility treatments that used herbicides to minimize competition. Treatments that experienced the most competition from weeds, no herbicide and reduced herbicide treatments, resulted in lower yields. Weed fabric and tillage in-row weed control methods resulted in the highest tree growth as compared to the straw and alyssum treatments. Finally, results from the combined studies were integrated into a series of recommendations for commercial fruit growers. While alternatives to orchard floor management show a number of potential benefits for growers in the Intermountain West, additional work is needed to determine the long-term viability of these approaches.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Straw and acetic acid combinations gave the best organic in-row weed control.
- Taxon
- fruit treese1
- Treatment
- combinations of straw and acetic acide0
- Interactor
- weede0weed
- Outcome
- weed controle0
- Direction
- beste0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
t0“Orchard Floor Management”
e0“organic in-row weed control was best accomplished with combinations of straw and acetic acid”
e1“This system is effective at limiting competition from undesirable vegetation and creating a favorable environment for the fruit trees.”
Claim · model-written summary
Straw and acetic acid weed control was not economically viable at current costs and fruit prices.
Verbatim
t0“Orchard Floor Management”
e0“this management approach was not economically viable at current costs of labor and supplies, and current fruit prices.”
e1“This system is effective at limiting competition from undesirable vegetation and creating a favorable environment for the fruit trees.”
Claim · model-written summary
Alfalfa and alfalfa clover produced the most aboveground biomass and nitrogen among alleyway covers.
Verbatim
e0“Alfalfa and alfalfa clover treatments contributed the most aboveground biomass and nitrogen among alternative alleyway covers”
e1“This system is effective at limiting competition from undesirable vegetation and creating a favorable environment for the fruit trees.”
Claim · model-written summary
Alfalfa and alfalfa clover alleyways consumed 45% more water than grass.
Verbatim
e0“Alfalfa and alfalfa clover treatments contributed the most aboveground biomass and nitrogen among alternative alleyway covers, but consumed 45% more water than the conventional grass alleyway.”
e1“This system is effective at limiting competition from undesirable vegetation and creating a favorable environment for the fruit trees.”
Claim · model-written summary
Birds-foot trefoil alleyway improved tree growth compared with grass.
Verbatim
e0“birds-foot trefoil alleyway had a beneficial effect on tree growth compared to grass”
e1“This system is effective at limiting competition from undesirable vegetation and creating a favorable environment for the fruit trees.”
Claim · model-written summary
Birds-foot trefoil consumed the greatest amount of water.
Verbatim
e0“birds-foot trefoil alleyway had a beneficial effect on tree growth compared to grass, while consuming the greatest amount of water.”
e1“This system is effective at limiting competition from undesirable vegetation and creating a favorable environment for the fruit trees.”
Claim · model-written summary
Integrated compost and NPK fertility with herbicides gave the highest peach yields.
- Taxon
- Peach
Prunus persicae0 - Treatment
- integrated compost and NPK fertility treatments that used herbicidese0
- Outcome
- Peach yieldse0
- Direction
- higheste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Peach yields were the highest for the integrated compost and NPK fertility treatments that used herbicides to minimize competition.”
Claim · model-written summary
No and reduced herbicide treatments with the most weed competition had lower yields.
- Taxon
- PeachPrunus persicae1
- Treatment
- no herbicide and reduced herbicide treatmentse0
- Interactor
- weedse0weed
- Outcome
- yieldse0
- Direction
- lowere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Treatments that experienced the most competition from weeds, no herbicide and reduced herbicide treatments, resulted in lower yields.”
e1“Peach yields were the highest for the integrated compost and NPK fertility treatments that used herbicides to minimize competition.”
Claim · model-written summary
Weed fabric and tillage gave the highest tree growth versus straw and alyssum.
Verbatim
e0“Weed fabric and tillage in-row weed control methods resulted in the highest tree growth as compared to the straw and alyssum treatments.”
e1“This system is effective at limiting competition from undesirable vegetation and creating a favorable environment for the fruit trees.”
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