Abstract
The application of organic matter (OM) to peach orchards is currently uncommon in commercial operations but could potentially replace synthetic fertilizers and improve long-term orchard sustainability. The purpose of the study was to monitor how annual applications of compost to replace synthetic fertilizer would change soil quality, peach tree nutrient and water status, and tree performance during the first four years of orchard establishment within a subtropical climate. Food waste compost was incorporated before planting and added annually over four years with the following treatments: 1) 1x rate, applied as dry weight at 22,417 kg ha -1 (10 tons acre -1 ) incorporated during the first year and 11,208 kg ha -1 (5 tons acre -1 ) applied topically each year after; 2) 2x rate, applied as dry weight at 44,834 kg ha -1 (20 tons acre -1 ) incorporated during the first year and 22,417 kg ha -1 (10 tons acre -1 ) applied topically each year after; and 3) control, with no compost added. Treatments were applied to a virgin orchard location, where peach trees had never previously been grown, and to a replant location, where peach trees had been grown previously for more than 20 years. Synthetic fertilizer was reduced in the 1x and 2x rates by 80 and 100% during the spring and all treatments received the summer application according to standard practice. Soil OM, phosphorus and sodium all increased with the addition of 2x compost in the replant location at 15 cm depth, but not within the virgin location compared to the control treatment. The 2x rate of compost improved soil moisture during the growing season, but tree water status was similar between treatments. Tree growth was similar between treatments in the replant location, but the 2x treatment had larger trees compared to the control by the third year. Foliar nutrients were similar between treatments over the four years, while 2x compost rate increased fruit yield in the virgin location compared to the control the second year of harvest. The 2x food waste compost rate could be considered as a replacement for synthetic fertilizers and to potentially increase tree growth during orchard establishment.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
The 2x compost treatment increased replant-site soil organic matter at 15 cm.
- Taxon
- peach
Prunus persicat0 - Treatment
- 2x composte0
- Outcome
- Soil OMe0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- 15 cm depthe0
- Comparator
- control treatmente0
- Setting
- replant locatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Soil OM, phosphorus and sodium all increased with the addition of 2x compost in the replant location at 15 cm depth, but not within the virgin location compared to the control treatment”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
The 2x compost treatment increased replant-site soil phosphorus at 15 cm.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- 2x composte0
- Outcome
- phosphoruse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- 15 cm depthe0
- Comparator
- control treatmente0
- Setting
- replant locatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Soil OM, phosphorus and sodium all increased with the addition of 2x compost in the replant location at 15 cm depth, but not within the virgin location compared to the control treatment”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
The 2x compost treatment increased replant-site soil sodium at 15 cm.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- 2x composte0
- Outcome
- sodiume0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- 15 cm depthe0
- Comparator
- control treatmente0
- Setting
- replant locatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Soil OM, phosphorus and sodium all increased with the addition of 2x compost in the replant location at 15 cm depth, but not within the virgin location compared to the control treatment”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
The soil organic matter, phosphorus and sodium increases were absent at the virgin site.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- 2x composte0
- Outcome
- Soil OM, phosphorus and sodiume0
- Direction
- note0
- Comparator
- control treatmente0
- Setting
- virgin locatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Soil OM, phosphorus and sodium all increased with the addition of 2x compost in the replant location at 15 cm depth, but not within the virgin location compared to the control treatment”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
The 2x compost rate improved growing-season soil moisture.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- 2x rate of composte0
- Outcome
- soil moisturee0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Qualifier
- growing seasone0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The 2x rate of compost improved soil moisture during the growing season”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
Tree water status was similar among treatments.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- treatmentse0
- Outcome
- tree water statuse0
- Direction
- similare0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“tree water status was similar between treatments”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
Tree growth was similar among treatments at the replant site.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- treatmentse0
- Outcome
- Tree growthe0
- Direction
- similare0
- Setting
- replant locatione0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tree growth was similar between treatments in the replant location”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
At the third year the 2x treatment produced larger trees than control.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- 2x treatmente0
- Outcome
- treese0
- Direction
- largere0
- Qualifier
- third yeare0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the 2x treatment had larger trees compared to the control by the third year”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar nutrients were similar among treatments over four years.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- treatmentse0
- Outcome
- Foliar nutrientse0
- Direction
- similare0
- Qualifier
- four yearse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Foliar nutrients were similar between treatments over the four years”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
The 2x compost rate increased virgin-site fruit yield in the second harvest year.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- 2x compost ratee0
- Outcome
- fruit yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- second year of harveste0
- Comparator
- controle0
- Setting
- virgin locatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“2x compost rate increased fruit yield in the virgin location compared to the control the second year of harvest”
t0“peach”
Claim · model-written summary
Authors propose the 2x food waste compost rate as a synthetic fertilizer replacement that may increase tree growth.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicat0
- Treatment
- 2x food waste compost ratee0
- Outcome
- replacement for synthetic fertilizerse0
- Qualifier
- potentially increase tree growth during orchard establishmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The 2x food waste compost rate could be considered as a replacement for synthetic fertilizers and to potentially increase tree growth during orchard establishment”
t0“peach”
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See all 26 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.