RU2808587C1 - Method of mulching soil in fruit plantations - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: crop production.

SUBSTANCE: method involves grassing the soil between the rows under fruit crops by sowing a cereal grass mixture of fescue, ryegrass, and bluegrass, followed by mowing the grass and moving it to the trunk strip of trees as mulch. In this case, freshly cut grass is treated with Stimix®Niva with a working fluid flow rate of 200 l/ha. Subsequently, the growing grass stand is regularly mowed at intervals of 3-5 weeks, as the grass grows to a height of more than 30 cm, treated with the biodestructor Stimix®Niva after each mowing.

EFFECT: method improves the elemental composition of apple fruits to increase their keeping quality and reduce the susceptibility to bitter pitting.

1 cl, 2 dwg, 4 ex

Description

Field of technology to which the invention relates

The invention relates to the field of agriculture, in particular to horticulture, and can be used in the fight against bitter pitting in intensive fruit plantings.

State of the art

There is a known method of mulching the soil, including loosening the soil, harvesting, transporting and applying mulch material into the rows of row crops, characterized in that a mass of crushed dry fennel stems and shoots is taken as mulch material at a dose of 0.3-0.5 t/ha. (patent RU 2042301, Publ. 08/27/1995).

The disadvantage of this method is that transporting and applying large amounts of organic fertilizer requires a lot of labor and equipment.

The closest in technical essence and the achieved positive effect and adopted by the authors as a prototype is a method of soil mulching, which includes preparing the soil for sowing and mulching it with peat chips in a layer of 2-3 cm, characterized in that defecate is added to the peat chips in a ratio of 1:1 , and its embedding into the upper layers of the soil is carried out using the needle-shaped working parts of the cultivator.

The disadvantage of this method is that the method can only be used on farms and in summer cottages where the planting area is small.

Mulching, as a method of increasing soil moisture, helps optimize the calcium regime and increases the growth of active roots. Liming at a dose of 1.0 Ng increases the calcium content in fruits by an average of 20%, increasing the growth of absorptive roots, water-holding capacity and water content of leaves. Doses of 1.5 and 2.0 Ng, on the contrary, reduce these indicators to a greater extent in winter varieties of apple trees (Pugachev G.N. Content and activity of calcium in orchards on weak-growing clonal rootstocks of apple trees on chernozem soils: abstract dissertation with -kh.n. - Voronezh, 2004-20 p.).

The technical solution is not economically profitable, since liming in high doses (1.5 and 2.0 Ng) reduces economic efficiency, and in small doses (2/3 and 1.0 Ng) has virtually no effect on the profitability of apple fruit production. The technical solution for mulching tree trunk strips with sawdust is also complex and less cost-effective than mulching with mown grass growing in rows and between rows.

The elemental composition of fruits is directly dependent on the conditions of mineral nutrition of the plant, which consist of the characteristics of root nutrition, soil characteristics and the agricultural technology used.

Calcium deficiency leads to disruption of the normal water exchange of fruits, deterioration of their respiration, cracking, and as a result, a decrease in the quantity and quality of the apple harvest, and the development during storage of such physiological diseases as wilting, tanning, glassiness, bitter pitting (subcutaneous spotting). Of the listed diseases, bitter pitting of fruits is the most widespread and causes significant damage.

An analysis of existing methods of combating bitter pitting showed that in modern gardens repeated treatments of trees with pesticides and calcium-containing preparations (12 or more times) are used. Preparations used without restrictions introduce chemical elements into the agrocenosis of the garden, including microelements, which at high concentrations become heavy metals, and can contribute to malnutrition of apple trees. The criterion for the risk of developing bitter pitting is the calcium content in the fruit. At the stage of removable ripeness, apple fruits should contain 90...130 mg of potassium, 5...8 mg of magnesium, 8...14 mg of calcium per 100 g of fresh weight (depending on varietal characteristics).

Disclosure of the Invention

The objective of the present invention is to increase the efficiency of soil mulching in fruit plantations, improve soil fertility and yield, as well as optimize the elemental composition of fruits with an optimal K+Mg/Ca ratio to minimize the risk of fruit damage by diseases, in particular bitter pitting.

The technical result that can be achieved using the present invention boils down to improving the elemental composition of apple fruits to increase their keeping quality and reduce the susceptibility to bitter pitting.

The technical result is achieved using a method of mulching the soil in the inter-rows of fruit plantings, which includes sodding the soil under fruit crops by sowing a cereal grass mixture consisting of fescue, ryegrass, bluegrass, followed by mowing the grass and moving it to the trunk strip of trees as mulch, while the freshly cut grass is processed with Stimix®Niva in the evening with a working fluid flow rate of 200 l/ha, subsequently the growing grass stand is regularly mowed at intervals of 3 - 5 weeks, as the grass grows to a height of more than 30 cm, treated with a biodestructor after each mowing.

Microbial organic fertilizer, destructor of plant residues Stimix®Niva intensively decomposes and mineralizes all components of crop residues: cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and improves the mineral nutrition of plants, accelerates the rotting of plant residues cut into mulch and suppresses the growth of pathogenic bacterial and fungal microflora on straw and in the soil.

Brief description of drawings

Figure 1 shows the content of macroelements in apple fruits depending on the methods of soil maintenance in the tree trunk on average for 2020 - 2022.

Figure 2 - The ratio of macroelements in apple fruits depending on the methods of soil maintenance by year of study

Carrying out the invention The method is carried out as follows.

In the inter-rows of fruit plantings, the soil under the fruit crops is sodded by sowing a cereal grass mixture consisting of fescue, ryegrass, and bluegrass. The mown grass is moved to the tree trunk as mulch. Freshly cut grass is treated with Stimix®Niva with a working fluid flow rate of 200 l/ha. Subsequently, the growing grass stand is regularly mowed at intervals of 3-5 weeks, as the grass grows to a height of more than 30 cm, with treatment with a biodestructor after each mowing.

Mulching the trunk strip with mown grass followed by treatment with the biodestructor of plant residues Stimix®Niva has a positive effect on the mineral composition of apple fruits (Fig. 1).

Example 1.

The experiment was carried out on the basis of the horticultural farm of OOO Pedigree State Farm Kenzhe. In the inter-rows of fruit plantings, the soil under the fruit crops was sodded by sowing a cereal grass mixture consisting of fescue, ryegrass, and bluegrass. The mown grass was moved to the tree trunk as mulch. Freshly cut grass is treated with Stimix®Niva with a working fluid flow rate of 200 l/ha.

After regrowth, the grass stand was mowed regularly at intervals of 3-5 weeks as the grass grew to a height of more than 30 cm.

Fruits for analysis are selected 7 days before harvest. The content of potassium, calcium and magnesium - mineral elements, the quantity and ratio of which are associated with potential keeping quality, was determined separately in the pulp and skin of the fruit.

The content of potassium, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium in fruits was determined separately in the pulp and skin of apple fruits. Calcium, magnesium, potassium - by atomic absorption spectroscopy, phosphorus content - by photometric method.

On the Jeromini variety, the relative increase in phosphorus content in the pulp compared to the control was 41%, on the Gala variety - 36%, and minimal differences with the control (14%) were noted for the Evelina variety.

In terms of Ca content in the pulp and skin of the fruit, the Gala variety stood out, with high values of this macroelement in the control variant - 6.34 and 6.07 mg/100 g fresh weight, respectively. In the pulp of the apple fruit of the Evelina variety, this indicator in all variants of the experiment was also in optimal values - from 5.83 to 6.38 mg/100 g wet weight. The Ca content in the pulp and skin of the fruit of the Jeromini apple tree variety in the control variant was beyond the optimal value and amounted to 4.62 and 4.39 mg/100 g fresh weight, respectively.

Options with mulching with mown grass on the Gala, Jeromini, Evelina varieties exceed the control ones in terms of Ca content in the fruit pulp by 15%, 17% and 6%, respectively. Treatment of mown grass with Stimix®Niva destructor accelerates the decomposition of plant residues and the supply of nutrients. In the variant of the experiment of mulching tree trunks with mown grass treated with Stimix®Niva, the Ca content in the pulp of apple fruits of the Gala, Jeromini and Evelina varieties was maximum and amounted to 7.53, 5.76 and 6.38 mg/100 g wet weight, respectively.

Mineral elements participate in the metabolic processes occurring in the tissues of the fruit; their quantitative content and, in particular, the ratio between them are predictive indicators of the preservation of fruits during storage. Imbalance of mineral substances in apple fruits: low calcium content, high potassium, magnesium, high K+Mg/Ca ratio and low Ca/Mg leads to bitter pitting of the fruit. Apple fruits exhibit resistance to diseases with increased calcium content (at least 5-6 mg/100 g wet weight), phosphorus (at least 8-9 mg/100 g wet weight), and low magnesium content (no more than 5-6 mg/ 100 g wet weight), optimal ratio K+Mg/Ca (no more than 25-30) and Ca/Mg (no more than 1-1.5).

Example 2. In 2020, the ratio of the studied elements of the mineral composition of fruits of the Gala variety (Ca/Mg) in the variant of keeping the trunk strip under herbicide was the lowest (1.06), although it was within the optimal norm (>7). The level of the Ca/Mg ratio in the fruits of the Gala variety increased by 9.4% when the trunk strip was mulched with mown grass. When mulch material was treated with Stimix®Niva, the Ca/Mg ratio in the fruit pulp of the Gala variety increased by 13.2% and by 15.1% in the skin relative to the control option (herbicidal steam). In the pulp and skin of the fruits of the Jeromini apple tree, the maximum increase in the Ca/Mg ratio relative to the control (11.6%) was also observed when the tree trunks were mulched with mown grass treated with Stimix®Niva. The Ca/Mg ratio relative to the herbicidal steam increased by 22.8% in the fruits of the Evelina apple tree when the tree trunks were mulched with mown grass treated with Stimix®Niva. Mulching the tree trunks with mown grass treated with Stimix®Niva reduced the level of the K+Mg/Ca ratio in the pulp of apple fruits of the Gala, Jeromini, and Evelina varieties by 19.2%, 2%, 9.2%, respectively (Table 2). Reducing the level of the K+Mg/Ca ratio in apple fruits increases their resistance to bitter pitting.

Example 3. In 2021, the Ca/Mg ratio in the pulp and skin of apple fruits of the Gala, Jeromini, Evelina varieties was not high in the variant of keeping the trunk strip under herbicidal fallow and amounted to 1.02 and 1.00, respectively; 1.02 and 0.99; 1.02 and 1.01. The agrotechnical method of mulching tree trunks with mown grass followed by treatment with Stimix®Niva increased the Ca/Mg ratio of the Gala apple tree by 15.7%, in the fruits of the Jeromini apple tree by 11.7%, in apple fruits of the Evelina variety by 16.7%. Mulching of tree trunks with mown grass treated with Stimix®Niva reduced the level of the K+Mg/Ca ratio in the pulp of apple tree fruits of the Gala variety from 18.42 in the control variant to 14.92; in the pulp of apple fruits of the Jeromini variety from 19.71 to 18.24; in the pulp of apple fruits of the Evelina variety from 17.71 to 16.62.

Example 4. In 2022, mulching the trunk strip of apple trees of the Gala variety with mown grass treated with Stimix®Niva improved the balance of mineral substances in apple fruits: the level of the Ca/Mg ratio increased by 23.3%, and the K+Mg/Ca ratio decreased from 18 .39 to 13.89 in the fruit pulp. The ratio of mineral elements in the pulp of apple tree fruits of the Jeromini variety was also optimized in relation to the herbicide steam (control) in the option of mulching the trunk strip of apple trees with mown grass treated with Stimix®Niva and amounted to a Ca/Mg ratio of -0.98 (control), 1. 20 (mulching with mowed grass + Stimix®Niva); according to the ratio K+Mg/Ca-19.74 in the control variant and 17.39 in the variant of mulching with mowed grass + Stimix®Niva. The level of the Ca/Mg ratio increased in the pulp of the fruits of the Evelina variety when mulching the trunk strip of apple trees with mown grass treated with Stimix®Niva by 20.2% relative to the herbicidal steam, and the K+Mg/Ca ratio decreased by 6%.

Thus, over three years of research, the agrotechnical method of mulching tree trunks with mown grass followed by treatment with Stimix®Niva increased the calcium content in the fruit pulp and optimized the level of the Ca/Mg, K+Mg/Ca ratio in the fruits.

Claims (1)

A method for mulching the soil in apple tree plantings, including sodding the soil in the inter-rows under the fruit crops by sowing a cereal grass mixture, characterized in that a cereal grass mixture is sown from fescue, ryegrass, bluegrass, followed by mowing the grass stand and moving it to the trunk strip of trees as mulch, with In this case, the freshly cut grass stand is treated with Stimix®Niva with a working fluid flow rate of 200 l/ha, subsequently the growing grass stand is regularly mowed at intervals of 3-5 weeks, as the grass grows to a height of more than 30 cm, with treatment with the biodestructor Stimix®Niva after each mowing .

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