The organic mulches in vineyards exerted an influence on spontaneous weed cover and plant biodiversity

The current trend toward sustainable agricultural practices creates a demand for alternatives to conventional soil management. One of the main problems for farmers is the competition for water and nutrients of weeds with the crop and the complicated management that this entails. Conventional practices such as tillage and the use of herbicides are commonly used and imply high environmental impacts while organic mulches could be an attractive sustainable alternative for soil management. Therefore, the 3-year effect of different soil management practices with organic mulches on the control of spontaneous weeds in the vine row has been studied. Three types of organic mulches [grapevine pruning debris (GPD), straw (SM) and spent mushroom compost (SMC)] and two conventional soil management methods [in-row tillage (TILL) and herbicide (HERB)] were compared on a vineyard in North Spain. For this purpose, the percentage of soil covered by weeds (PWC), the presence of each species and its effect on the vine development, and the weed community formations were analysed in each soil management. In addition, soil nutrition, soil temperature and soil water content were measured. On the one hand, SM and GPD mulches limited the presence of weeds (<30%), reducing the need for tillage maintenance and improving soil integrity. On the other hand, SMC produced excessive weed growth (>85%) that could be a problem for the farmer. Of the conventional practices, the TILL treatment was strongly affected by the timing of agricultural work and environmental conditions, with large variability between years. The results indicated that the application of organic mulches reduced the percentage of species with a harmful effect on optimal vine growth and increased plant diversity and its benefits for the ecosystem. Organic mulches are an effective alternative for soil management due to the improvement of the chemical and physical properties of the soil, the increase in the water content of the soil, the reduction of heat stress and the percentage of noxious species for optimum vine growth.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mairata, Andreu, Labarga, David, Puelles, Miguel, Huete, Joaquín, Portu, Javier, Rivacoba, Luis, Pou, Alicia
Other Authors: European Commission
Format: artículo biblioteca
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-11-01
Subjects:Ecosystem services, Grapevine, Mulching, Soil management, Weed community, Weed suppression,
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/347846
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011033
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85173526767
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