C overC rops forSustainable W eed M anagem entin a Sem i- A rid C lim ate Pear( Pyrus communis )O rchard in Israel G oldw asserY 1 ,Abraham s J 2 ,O gany Y 3 , Sibony M 1 and R ubin B 1 1 R .H.Sm ith Faculty ofAgriculture,Food and Environm ent The H ebrew U niversity ofJerusalem ,R ehovot76100,Israel 2 Soil C onservation and D rainage U nit,N orthern D istrict/W estern G alilee Branch,M inistry ofAgriculture,Yad Natan25212,Israel 3 M atityahu R esearch Station,A.R .O ,UpperGalilee13860, Israel
Cover Crop Introduction. The use of cover crops (CC) is an important component in sustainable agriculture with a wide range of proven benefits in field crops and orchards. Benefits of Cover Crops. Prevention of soil and wind erosion - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Cover Crops for Sustainable Weed Management in a Semi-
Arid Climate Pear (Pyruscommunis) Orchard in Israel
1R.H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
2Soil Conservation and Drainage Unit, Northern District/Western Galilee Branch, Ministry of Agriculture, Yad
Natan 25212, Israel3Matityahu Research Station, A.R.O, Upper Galilee13860,
Israel
Cover Crop Introduction
• The use of cover crops (CC) is an important component in sustainable agriculture with a wide range of proven benefits in field crops and orchards.
Benefits of Cover Crops
• Prevention of soil and wind erosion
• Enhancement of soil properties (aeration, fertility and moisture retention)
• Increasing of beneficial insects and predators for biological control of pests
• Non-chemical suppression of weeds
Cover Crops suppress weeds by:
• Crop competition
• Shading
• Release of phytotoxic
allelopathic substances
Oat CC emerging in young citrus orchard
Avocado planting into oat CC
Weed management on (herbicides) ,and between (CC) tree rows
Mowing of alfalfa CC in avocado
Mowed and dry oat CC in young avocado orchard
Rhodes grass CC in avocado orchard
Introduction
• In the previous meeting we presented the use of rain-fed dry land CC in orchards in Israel and reported our research in a mature apple orchard in the Upper Galilee of Israel.
Apples 2009
Seeding of CC experiment in an apple orchard
CC experiment in an apple orchard
CC experiment in apple orchard
AIM
The aim of our present research is to study the role of cover crop management on weed suppression in a newly planted pear orchard in the Upper Galilee of Israel.
Pears 2009
Materials & Methods Log
2008Nov. 19 - Building of ridgesNov. 20 - Disking of ridgesNov. 27 - CC seeding2009Jan. 05 - CC and weed estimationFeb. 15 - Pear tree plantingMar. 11 - CC and weed estimationMay 03 - CC and weed estimation
Hand spray weeds in Standard management treatmentsApr. 19 - CC and weed estimation
Mowing of all controlsJun. 17 - CC and weed estimationJul. 29 - CC and weed estimationAug. 27 - CC and weed estimation
1. Natural weed cover- Mowing2. Standard management- Herbicide spraying and mowing3. Oat CC 4. Oat CC + tree row mulch5. Oat+Vetch CC6. Oat+Vetch CC + tree row mulch7. Triticale8. Triticale+ tree row mulch