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© 2022 Dung et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background

Cover crops and mulching can ameliorate soil porosity and nutrient availability, but their effects on the physical characteristics and nutrients in the raised bed soils are unclear.

Methods

The field experiment was conducted in a pomelo orchard from 2019 to 2021, with an area of 1,500 m2. The treatments included control (no cover crop), non-legume cover crop (Commelina communis L.), legume cover crop (Arachis pintoi Krabov & W.C. Gregory), and rice straw mulching (Oryza sativa L.). At the end of each year (2019, 2020, and 2021), soil samples were collected at four different layers (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm) in each treatment. Soil bulk density, soil porosity, and the concentration of nutrients in the soil were investigated.

Results

The results revealed that soil bulk density at two depths, 0–10 and 10–20 cm, was reduced by 0.07 and 0.08 g cm−3 by rice straw mulch and a leguminous cover crop, thus, increasing soil porosity by ~2.74% and ~3.01%, respectively. Soil nutrients (Ca, K, Fe, and Zn) at topsoil (0–10 cm) and subsoil (10–20 cm) layers were not significantly different in the first year, but those nutrients (Ca, K, Fe, and Zn) improved greatly in the second and third years.

Conclusions

Legume cover crops and straw mulch enhanced soil porosity and plant nutrient availability (Ca, K, Fe, and Zn). These conservation practices best benefit fruit orchards cultivated in the raised bed soils.

Details

Title
Impact of cover crop and mulching on soil physical properties and soil nutrients in a citrus orchard
Author
Tran VanDung; Ngo, Phuong Ngoc; Le VanDang; Ngo Ngoc Hung
Publication year
2022
Publication date
Oct 5, 2022
Publisher
PeerJ, Inc.
e-ISSN
21678359
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2721459362
Copyright
© 2022 Dung et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.