ISHS Acta Horticulturae 577: VII International Symposium on Plum and Prune Genetics, Breeding and Pomology
THE EFFECT OF COVERING ON SOIL-MOISTURE CONTENT AND TOTAL AMOUNT OF WATER IN PLUM LEAVES |
| Authors: | R. Miletic, N. Mitic, R. Nikolic, M. Maric, M. Mitrovic |
| Keywords: | plum, covering, water regime, total water, flowering, fruit set |
| Abstract:
With the aim to preserve the available soil moisture in the plum planting, covering of the soil using different materials was studied. The trial was set up in the young three-year-old experimental plum planting. Four cultivars and three variants of soil cover (black and white foils and plant material) were selected for the study. Classical soil cultivation by dusting in the zone of rows served as a control. The samples of soil and leaves were collected at the equal time intervals from the moment of trial establishment (early June) till September. As the year 1999 was marked with the excessive rainfall, in particular during the growing season, the effects of covering differed insignificantly. The most favourable results were obtained when the surface was covered with plant material. Due to the permeability, soil-moisture content increased by 1.3% in this treatment. As for other treatments, soil moisture decreased by 0.6% to 0.9%, and by 1.9% in the control. Simultaneously, the total water content in leaves decreased by 1.1% to 1.6%, and by 2.2% in the control. Severe drought during the growing season marked the following years. Soil moisture in the treatments with surface cover decreased by 2.5 to 3.9%, and by 8.7% in the control. | |
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