In Arid Regions, Forage Mulching between Fruit Trees Rows Enhances Fruit Tree Light and Lowers Soil Salinity

Shuai Zhang, Tingting Liu, Wenwen Wei, Lei Shen, Xiuyuan Wang, Tayir Tuertia, Luhua Li and Wei Zhang ()
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Shuai Zhang: College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Tingting Liu: College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Wenwen Wei: College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Lei Shen: College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Xiuyuan Wang: College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Tayir Tuertia: College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Luhua Li: College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Wei Zhang: College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: Agroforestry is considered a means to provide sustainable and productive agriculture. This work aims to study the effect of fruit-grass agroforestry patterns on the soil moisture, salinity, growth, and yield of fruit trees, as well as to provide a reference for the development of agroforestry complex systems in Northwest China. The study has been designed with two cropping patterns: monocropped apple and apple-ryegrass intercropping. The results showed that compared to monocropped apples, intercropped apples have increased soil moisture content by 33.38–39.02%, net photosynthetic rate by 35.33–42.26%, transpiration rate by 29.62–29.76%, and stomatal conductance by 15.65–16.55% in the 0–60 cm soil layer. Intercrop reduced the total soil salt content by 36.41–38.58%, and the intercellular CO 2 concentration decreased by 5.96–6.61%. In addition, intercropping improves fruit yield and quality by improving the orchard environment and increasing tree height, breast height, north-south crown spread, and east-west crown spread. Therefore, increased yield and quality can be achieved by changing the fruit tree and ryegrass planting method, which is beneficial to the sustainable development of agriculture in Northwest China.

Keywords: apple-ryegrass intercropping; photosynthetic characteristics; soil salinity; soil moisture content; fruit quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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