Influence of fertigation and sawdust mulch on apple growth and yielding in Latvia
2011
Rubauskis, E. | Berlands, V. | Skrivele, M. | Ikase, L.
The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of mulch and fertigation on apple-trees in the conditions of Latvia. The trees were planted in spring of 1997 on the dwarf rootstock B.9. The treatments control, sawdust mulch and fertigation were placed in base plots. Subplots were formed by cultivars 'Melba' and 'Korichnoe Novoe'. In the rows sawdust mulch was spread in a 1 m wide and 5-10 cm thick layer, renewed 2 times. In the period of the experiment (1997-2009), 11-750 L of water per year per tree were supplied with fertigation, depending on precipitation, to provide soil moistening no less than 0.7 of soil field capacity in the area of tree roots. In the fertigation treatment the norm of macronutrients was provided equal to control. In the mulch treatment 20% more N was supplied. Mulch and fertigation compared with control influenced the trunk growth of both cultivars, however, the influence of mulch was significantly larger. Influence of the mulch treatment on the total yield of both cultivars was similar as in the fertigation treatment. The influence on yield efficiency was connected with the treatments influence on tree growth, trunk growth to thickness, therefore the lowest yield efficiency for both cultivars was in the treatment with mulch. The influence of both treatments was not provable for fruit size and the index of biennial yielding.
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