EFFECTS OF GROUND COVER MANAGEMENT ON CERTAIN ABIOTIC AND BIOTIC INTERACTIONS IN PEACH ORCHARD ECOSYSTEMS

Large peach orchard blocks with three different ground cover strategies were established in North Carolina to measure the effects of abiotic and biotic variables on tree growth and peach production. Bare ground plots generally had higher soil temperature and soil moisture than the strip sod or solid sod plots. Soil nutrients, soil physical factors, and foliar nutrients were generally not different among the treatment plots. Tree growth (terminal shoot growth, trunk circumference) and fruit yield were usually higher in the bare ground plots, while the weedy plots had higher percentages of fruit injury due to feeding by hemipteran insects (catfacing). Ring nematode results were variable and no conclusions could be made with reference to treatment effects on nematode populations. © 1990.