Short-term effects of different techniques to prepare an organic citrus soil for replanting on its microbiological and biochemical properties

Summary

Adopting measures to increment soil levels of organic matter and biological activity is key when an agrosystem is going to be converted to organic management. Nutrient reserves are increased and more easily mobilized, and soil suppresivity is enhanced. This last aspect is particularly relevant in replantations where chemical disinfection treatments can not be used and plantlets are very sensitive. A field trial is therefore being carried out to study the effects on soil biochemical and microbiological properties of different techniques(disinfectant vegetal cover, organic amendment and biofumigation, with untreated and solarized controls) to prepare the soil for replanting in a citrus orchard in convertion to organic management. This work discusses the results obtained six months after the application of all treatments was finished. The effects of the treatments on the soil biochemical parameters were consistent with those found immediately after the treatments were applied, showing a clear depressive effect of solarization on all parameters but chitinase. On the other hand, microbiological parameters were very variable and the changes observed after the treatments had disappeared.