[PDF] Orchard Floor Management For Fruit Trees eBook

Author : Marc A. Rowley
Publisher :
Page : 110 pages
File Size : 17,92 MB
Release : 2011
Category :
ISBN :

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PUBLIC ABSTRACT: Managing fruit orchards involves both the management of the orchard trees, and the orchard floor. 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 effectively controls weeds and creates 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. 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. The best organic in-row weed control was accomplished with combinations of straw and acetic acid (vinegar). However, this management approach was not economically viable at current costs of labor and supplies, and current fruit prices. The alternative alleyway treatments of alfalfa and alfalfa clover contributed the most above-ground biomass and nitrogen, but consumed 45% more water than the conventional grass alleyway. Among in-row and alleyway alternative combinations, treatments that experienced the most competition from weeds resulted in lower yields. Commercial orchard managers in the Intermountain West need information on optimum orchard floor management for their unique environment. Results from these studies were integrated into a series of grower recommendations that are contained in Chapter 5. Alternative orchard floor management strategies that improve orchard sustainability provide immediate benefits to fruit industry employees and businesses. Long-term benefits will also impact fruit consumers as well as urban and sub-urban neighbors that share the environment.

Author : Cem Akin
Publisher : Fair Winds Press
Page : 194 pages
File Size : 23,70 MB
Release : 2011-08
Category : Cooking
ISBN : 159253712X

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Start growing your own fruit trees wherever you are with 'The Home Orchard Handbook.'

Author : Rafiq Islam
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 327 pages
File Size : 22,29 MB
Release : 2021-06-16
Category : Science
ISBN : 100040711X

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This book will not serve as the "encyclopedia of cover crop management," but it’s close. The benefits of a wide range of individual cover crops and blends/mixes for specific agronomic crop rotations and geographic locations are included. Descriptions, photographs, and illustrations show how cover crops look in the field, including plant height, leaf architecture, and rooting patterns. Long term benefits are described for soil health, soil structure, water quality, nutrient contributions, soil biodiversity, air quality and climate change. In addition to the "whys" of cover crop use, the book includes details on the "hows:" how to choose cover crops for specific applications and locations; how (and when) to plant; how to manage and maintain the cover for maximum benefit; and how and when to terminate. Planting options include: drilling/planting between rows of an agronomic crop at planting time, or when the crop is short (i.e. corn in early June); "aerial" seeding with an airplane or high-clearance machine shortly before the crop reaches maturity; and drilling/planting immediately after harvest of the agronomic crop. Selected cover crops (blends) can help with pest and disease management. Cover crops are an economic input with an expected return on investment, similar to pesticides and fertilizer. As part of a continuous no-till system, cover crops provide long-term biological, chemical and structural benefits. The resulting increase in soil organic matter means the agronomic crop yields benefit from better water infiltration and water holding capacity, greater availability of nitrogen and other nutrients, deeper rooting, and increased soil microbial activity in the root zone.

Author : R. Lewis Castle
Publisher : Read Books Ltd
Page : 38 pages
File Size : 45,88 MB
Release : 2013-04-26
Category : Gardening
ISBN : 1473382017

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This antiquarian volume contains a detailed guide to managing an orchard, with a particular focus on spraying fruit trees. Complete with a wealth of useful information and helpful diagrams, this text constitutes an ideal guide for anyone looking for information on orchard management, and would be of special utility to those with little previous experience. Although old, much of the information contained herein is timeless, making it both a useful resource and a great addition to collections of vintage literature. The chapters of this book include: 'The Formation of New Orchards', 'Soil and its Treatment', 'Orchard Soils', 'Arrangement of Orchards', 'Management', 'Improving Old Orchards', 'Spraying Fruit Trees', and more. This text is being republished now in an affordable, modern edition - complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on growing fruit.