Abstract
Prolific weed growth during rainy, humid summers coupled with poor efficacy of available weed management strategies remains a major barrier to adoption of organic apple production in New York. The effects of multiple, in-row weed management strategies on weed cover and biomass, soil health, and tree growth and productivity were assessed via a split-plot experiment implemented in 2016 in a certified organic apple orchard in Ithaca, NY, USA. Main treatments included cultivation with a Wonder Weeder (cultivation), surface-applied wood chip mulch (mulch), and an untreated control (main). Split treatments included ammoniated soap of fatty acids (ammoniated soap), capric/caprylic acid (capric acid), mowing with a string trimmer (mowing), and an untreated control (split). The mulch was applied once, in Spring 2016; all other treatment combinations occurred four times per season, about monthly from May to August. Between 2017 and 2019, nearly all measured soil health parameters increased under the mulch treatment relative to the control (main) treatment. Notably, soil organic matter in the mulch treatment increased from 4.8% in 2016 to 5.2% in 2019 but declined in the cultivation treatment from 4.5% to 4.1% during those years. Regardless of the split treatment, the mulch treatment maintained 16% to 45% less weed biomass than the other main treatments throughout the study. The split treatments became a more significant factor in the latter years. Regardless of the main treatment, the split treatments of ammoniated soap, capric acid, and mowing all maintained less than 200 g·m −2 of weed biomass per sampling period, which was significantly less than the control (split) at sample dates 3 and 4 in 2017 and sample dates 2 to 4 in 2018 and 2019. This was mainly due to an abundance of Symphytotrichum lanceolatum and Solidago spp. in main treatment combinations with the control (split) treatment. Tree growth was greatest in the cultivation treatment, in which trunk cross-sectional area quadrupled between Spring 2016 and Fall 2019. These findings demonstrate that multiple approaches are needed to obtain adequate weed control and balance orchard productivity and soil health during the establishment period of an organic apple orchard in New York.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Mulch increased nearly all measured soil health parameters relative to the main control during 2017–2019.
- Taxon
- Apple
Malus domesticat0 - Treatment
- mulch treatmente0
- Outcome
- soil health parameterse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- nearly alle0
- Comparator
- control (main) treatmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Between 2017 and 2019, nearly all measured soil health parameters increased under the mulch treatment relative to the control (main) treatment.”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil organic matter under mulch rose from 4.8% to 5.2% between 2016 and 2019.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- mulch treatmente0
- Outcome
- soil organic mattere0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 5.2%e0
- Qualifier
- 4.8% in 2016e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“soil organic matter in the mulch treatment increased from 4.8% in 2016 to 5.2% in 2019”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil organic matter under cultivation declined from 4.5% to 4.1%.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- cultivation treatmente0
- Direction
- declinede0
- Value
- 4.1%e0
- Qualifier
- 4.5%e0
Not reportedComparatorOutcome
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“declined in the cultivation treatment from 4.5% to 4.1% during those years”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulch maintained 16% to 45% less weed biomass than other main treatments.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- mulch treatmente0
- Interactor
- weede0weed
- Outcome
- weed biomasse0
- Direction
- lesse0
- Value
- 16% to 45%e0
- Comparator
- other main treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Regardless of the split treatment, the mulch treatment maintained 16% to 45% less weed biomass than the other main treatments throughout the study.”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Split treatments became a more significant factor in later years.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- more significant factore0
- Qualifier
- latter yearse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The split treatments became a more significant factor in the latter years.”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Ammoniated soap kept weed biomass below 200 g·m −2 per sampling period and below the split control at specified dates.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- ammoniated soape0
- Interactor
- weede0weed
- Outcome
- weed biomasse0
- Direction
- less thane0
- Value
- 200 g·m −2e0
- Comparator
- control (split)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Regardless of the main treatment, the split treatments of ammoniated soap, capric acid, and mowing all maintained less than 200 g·m −2 of weed biomass per sampling period, which was significantly less than the control (split) at sample dates 3 and 4 in 2017 and sample dates 2 to 4 in 2018 and 2019.”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Capric acid kept weed biomass below 200 g·m −2 per sampling period and below the split control at specified dates.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- capric acide0
- Interactor
- weede0weed
- Outcome
- weed biomasse0
- Direction
- less thane0
- Value
- 200 g·m −2e0
- Comparator
- control (split)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Regardless of the main treatment, the split treatments of ammoniated soap, capric acid, and mowing all maintained less than 200 g·m −2 of weed biomass per sampling period, which was significantly less than the control (split) at sample dates 3 and 4 in 2017 and sample dates 2 to 4 in 2018 and 2019.”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Mowing kept weed biomass below 200 g·m −2 per sampling period and below the split control at specified dates.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- mowinge0
- Interactor
- weede0weed
- Outcome
- weed biomasse0
- Direction
- less thane0
- Value
- 200 g·m −2e0
- Comparator
- control (split)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Regardless of the main treatment, the split treatments of ammoniated soap, capric acid, and mowing all maintained less than 200 g·m −2 of weed biomass per sampling period, which was significantly less than the control (split) at sample dates 3 and 4 in 2017 and sample dates 2 to 4 in 2018 and 2019.”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Symphytotrichum lanceolatum abundance contributed to the split control weed biomass.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- control (split) treatmente0
- Interactor
- Symphytotrichum lanceolatume0weed
- Outcome
- abundance of Symphytotrichum lanceolatume0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This was mainly due to an abundance of Symphytotrichum lanceolatum and Solidago spp. in main treatment combinations with the control (split) treatment.”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Solidago abundance contributed to split control weed biomass.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- abundance of Symphytotrichum lanceolatum and Solidago spp.e0
SolidagoOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This was mainly due to an abundance of Symphytotrichum lanceolatum and Solidago spp. in main treatment combinations with the control (split) treatment.”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Cultivation produced the greatest tree growth, with trunk cross-sectional area quadrupling from spring 2016 to fall 2019.
- Taxon
- AppleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- cultivation treatmente0
- Outcome
- trunk cross-sectional areae0
- Direction
- quadruplede0
- Value
- quadruplede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tree growth was greatest in the cultivation treatment, in which trunk cross-sectional area quadrupled between Spring 2016 and Fall 2019.”
t0“Apple”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude that multiple approaches are needed to balance weed control, productivity and soil health in establishing organic apple orchards.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticae0
- Outcome
- multiple approachese0
- Setting
- New Yorke0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“multiple approaches are needed to obtain adequate weed control and balance orchard productivity and soil health during the establishment period of an organic apple orchard in New York.”
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See all 13 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.