Effects of Different Mulching Practices on Soil Environment and Fruit Quality in Peach Orchards
Mulching practices have been used to improve peach growth and production across the globe. However, the impact of mulching on the physiochemical properties and soil characteristics of orchards remains largely unknown. This study aimed to decipher the impacts of various mulching patterns on the soil...
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/6/827 |
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| author | Lei Guo Siyu Liu Peizhi Zhang Abdul Hakeem Hongfeng Song Mingliang Yu Falin Wang |
| author_facet | Lei Guo Siyu Liu Peizhi Zhang Abdul Hakeem Hongfeng Song Mingliang Yu Falin Wang |
| author_sort | Lei Guo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mulching practices have been used to improve peach growth and production across the globe. However, the impact of mulching on the physiochemical properties and soil characteristics of orchards remains largely unknown. This study aimed to decipher the impacts of various mulching patterns on the soil environment and the quality of <i>Prunus persica</i> fruit in “Zijinhuangcui”. Three treatments were set up, which included black ground fabric mulch (BF) and two living grass mulch treatments (HV: hairy vetch and RG: ryegrass). The results showed that different mulching treatments have different effects on soil, plant growth, and fruit quality. Living grass mulch treatments, especially the HV treatment, significantly improved soil nutrients by enhancing nitrogen-related indicators. Of note, the BF treatment had higher total phosphorus and available phosphorus contents than the HV and RG treatments. The HV treatment had the highest relative abundance of Proteobacteria (33.49%), which is associated with symbiotic nitrogen fixation, followed by RG (25.62%), and BF (22.38%) at the young fruit stage. Similarly, the abundance of <i>Terrimonas</i>, which has a unique nitrogen fixation system at the genus level, was significantly higher in the living grass mulch (HV, 1.30–3.13% and RG, 2.27–4.24%) than in the BF treatment. Living grass mulch also promoted tree growth, increased fruit sugar content, sugar-related components, and sugar-acid ratio, and reduced the acid content. Collectively, the findings of this study show that living grass mulch can promote tree growth and improve fruit quality by improving soil fertility, bacterial diversity, and richness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:53:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-904ebe9b075e49159d2827616aa962e5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:53:57Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-904ebe9b075e49159d2827616aa962e52024-03-27T14:00:45ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472024-03-0113682710.3390/plants13060827Effects of Different Mulching Practices on Soil Environment and Fruit Quality in Peach OrchardsLei Guo0Siyu Liu1Peizhi Zhang2Abdul Hakeem3Hongfeng Song4Mingliang Yu5Falin Wang6College of Horticulture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaFruit Crop Genetic Improvement and Seedling Propagation Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210095, ChinaFruit Crop Genetic Improvement and Seedling Propagation Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210095, ChinaFruit Crop Genetic Improvement and Seedling Propagation Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210095, ChinaInstitute of Pomology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Horticultural Crop Genetic Improvement, Nanjing 210014, ChinaInstitute of Pomology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Horticultural Crop Genetic Improvement, Nanjing 210014, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaMulching practices have been used to improve peach growth and production across the globe. However, the impact of mulching on the physiochemical properties and soil characteristics of orchards remains largely unknown. This study aimed to decipher the impacts of various mulching patterns on the soil environment and the quality of <i>Prunus persica</i> fruit in “Zijinhuangcui”. Three treatments were set up, which included black ground fabric mulch (BF) and two living grass mulch treatments (HV: hairy vetch and RG: ryegrass). The results showed that different mulching treatments have different effects on soil, plant growth, and fruit quality. Living grass mulch treatments, especially the HV treatment, significantly improved soil nutrients by enhancing nitrogen-related indicators. Of note, the BF treatment had higher total phosphorus and available phosphorus contents than the HV and RG treatments. The HV treatment had the highest relative abundance of Proteobacteria (33.49%), which is associated with symbiotic nitrogen fixation, followed by RG (25.62%), and BF (22.38%) at the young fruit stage. Similarly, the abundance of <i>Terrimonas</i>, which has a unique nitrogen fixation system at the genus level, was significantly higher in the living grass mulch (HV, 1.30–3.13% and RG, 2.27–4.24%) than in the BF treatment. Living grass mulch also promoted tree growth, increased fruit sugar content, sugar-related components, and sugar-acid ratio, and reduced the acid content. Collectively, the findings of this study show that living grass mulch can promote tree growth and improve fruit quality by improving soil fertility, bacterial diversity, and richness.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/6/827peach orchardsliving grass mulchsoil nutrientsmicrobial communityfruit quality |
| spellingShingle | Lei Guo Siyu Liu Peizhi Zhang Abdul Hakeem Hongfeng Song Mingliang Yu Falin Wang Effects of Different Mulching Practices on Soil Environment and Fruit Quality in Peach Orchards Plants peach orchards living grass mulch soil nutrients microbial community fruit quality |
| title | Effects of Different Mulching Practices on Soil Environment and Fruit Quality in Peach Orchards |
| title_full | Effects of Different Mulching Practices on Soil Environment and Fruit Quality in Peach Orchards |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Different Mulching Practices on Soil Environment and Fruit Quality in Peach Orchards |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Different Mulching Practices on Soil Environment and Fruit Quality in Peach Orchards |
| title_short | Effects of Different Mulching Practices on Soil Environment and Fruit Quality in Peach Orchards |
| title_sort | effects of different mulching practices on soil environment and fruit quality in peach orchards |
| topic | peach orchards living grass mulch soil nutrients microbial community fruit quality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/6/827 |
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