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The use of strawberries as living mulch in organic orchards and vineyards (DOMINO Practice Abstract)

{Tool} The use of strawberries as living mulch in organic orchards and vineyards (DOMINO Practice Abstract). Creator(s): Polverigiani, Serena; Zucchini, Matteo; Murri, Giorgio; Neri, Davide and Marchionni, Fabio. Issuing Organisation(s): UNIVPM - Università Politecnica delle Marche. DOMINO Practice Abstract. (2019)

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Summary in the original language of the document

Living mulch reduces the need for further soil management, starting from the second year after planting vines or trees. It assures a full soil cover during winter, thus reducing soil erosion and weed competition. It maintains a diversified plant community and provides potentially a secondary income.
• Select species with a limited summer growth(a sort of stasisor summer dormancy)to avoid or reduce water competition during the dry season.
• In mild winter climates (like Central Italy),transplant strawberry in autumn (generally the rainy season) to avoid drought stress to young strawberry plants.
• Transplant strawberry plants after soil tillage under the rowsof trees or vines, to stimulate competition of living mulch against weeds at the initial stage.
• Transplant the strawberries close to the main trunk. One plantlet per side should be enough to reach a quick soil coverin cool environments(double the density in case of clay soil or risk of waterstress).
• In the case of low tree/vine density, the strawberry must be planted along the row even far from the trunk (1 plant per meter), thus it is necessary to use an iron stick to protect the isolated plants against damages during soil tillage(picture 2).
• Remember that shallow tillage with a horizontal blade stimulates the growth of strawberry but strongly damages the tap root of several weeds


EPrint Type:Practice tool
What problem does the tool address?:Weed management under the trees is crucial in organic fruit and vine production. Insufficient weed control might lead to competition and reduce yield, while mechanical tillage exposes the soil to excessive mineralisation of organic matter, erosion, leaching and loss of biodiversity.
What solution does the tool offer?:Living mulch is a sustainable solution for weed management. The selected species (e.g. strawberries) create a stable and moderately competitive plant community (coenosis). Living mulch is particularly suitable in situations where soil tillage is otherwise unavoidable.
Country:Italy
Type of Practice Tool:Practice abstracts
Keywords:weed control, cover plants, income, organic agriculture, orchards, fruit crops, vineyards, viticulture
Agrovoc keywords:
Language
Value
URI
English
weed control
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_8345
English
cover plants
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1936
English
income
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3820
English
organic agriculture
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_15911
English
orchards
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_5379
English
fruit crops
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3120
English
vineyards
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_15203
English
viticulture
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_8277
Subjects: Crop husbandry > Crop combinations and interactions
Soil
Crop husbandry > Production systems > Fruit and berries
Crop husbandry > Weed management
Research affiliation: European Union > CORE Organic > CORE Organic Cofund > Domino
Italy > Univ. Politecnica delle Marche (prev. Univ. Ancona)
European Union > Organic Farm Knowledge
Related Links:https://www.univpm.it, https://organic-farmknowledge.org/tool/39679, https://www.facebook.com/organicfarmknowledge/posts/240527364526572, https://twitter.com/farm_knowledge/status/1385475081661452290
Project ID:ofk
Deposited By: Gernert, Maria
ID Code:39679
Deposited On:08 Apr 2021 08:41
Last Modified:02 May 2024 10:32
Document Language:English
Status:Published

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