Effect of irrigation and mulching on yield of celeriac in organic cultivation

In the years 2009 -2010 experiments on the influence of irrigation and mulching on yield of celeriac were carried out on certified organic field of the Re-search Institute of Vegetable Crops, Skierniewice. In the experiments three objects of irrigation: drip, mini-sprinkler and without irrigation and tree objects of mulching: mulching with textile biodegradable fleece, red clover mulching and without mulching were compared. In 2010 additionally textile biodegradable fleece enriched in dry red clover was used. Irrigation was applied on the base of soil moisture measurements by irrometers and it was started when water potential reached -20 kPa. Irrigation had a significant effect on the yield of celeriac. In the first year of experiment yield of irrigated celeriac was about 45% higher that non irrigated one. However no differences were found between two different systems of irrigation. In the second year drip irrigation increased yield of celeriac by 16,1% and mini-sprinkler irrigation by 12,1% in comparison to non irrigated object. Similar yield of celeriac was obtained in treatments with textile biodegradable fleece mulching and control without mulching in the first year of experiment. However red clover mulching increased yield of celeriac by 29% as compared to both fleece mulching and control ...

Preliminary study on the use of composted sewage sludge and forest ectohumus for enrichment of soils in the one-year production cycle of european beech seedlings

The influence of fertilization with the compost prepared from treated sewage sludge with bark additive and mulching with the fresh forest ectohumus on the soil conditions, chosen parameters of one-year old European beech seedlings growth as well as the occurrence of soil mites (Acari) with special emphasis of oribatid mites (Oribatida) was investigated in the paper. The trials were carried out in 2008 at forest nursery Białe Błota (Forest District Bydgoszcz) on the rusty soil. The whole area of the experiment was irrigated with the use of stationary sprinkling machine. The soil was characterized by the pH in H2O - 7,41 and that in 1M KCl - 6,88, as well as the low content of available potassium (6,8-7,3 mg K2O 100g-1 of soil) and available phosphorus (8,0 -8,5 mg P2O5 100g-1 of soil). European beech seedlings on plots fertilized with the compost were significantly higher than those grown on plots with mineral fertilization. Influence of mulching - conducted in September - was insignificant on both the studied parameters of one-year old European beech seedlings growth. After the measure of mulching on the adequate plots, the density of mites, especially saprophage oribatid mites. ...

Soil mites (Acari) in the cultivation of strawberries mulched with wood chips

The aim of the research was to determine the population density and group composition of soil mites (Acari), and in particular the species composition of oribatid mites (Oribatida), on strawberry plantations mulched with wood chips. Field studies were conducted in the experimental field of the Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice in 2011-2012. The plots selected for examination were mulched with wood chips as follows: ZC - chips without additives, ZT - chips with the addition of the biopreparation TSB (unidentified Gram-negative rod bacteria), ZG - addition of the biopreparation 7GII (unidentified Actinobacteria). The control plot was a patch of grass near the experimental plots.On the plots examined, the most abundant were oribatid mites, 16.11-18.84 thousand indiv.∙m-2. They accounted for 64.3% of all the mites in the grass patch, but significantly more of them (86.8-89.5%) were found on the strawberry plantations mulched with wood chips. A total of 17 species of oribatid mites were identified on the strawberry plots, but only 9 in the nearby patch of grass. Punctoribates punctum dominated in the grass-covered soil, while the dominant species in the mulched soil were Ramusella mihelcici or Tectocepheus velatus (depending on the experimental combination) .The high abundance and species diversity of ...

Seasonal dynamics of the occurrence of soil mites (Acari) on strawberry plantations mulched with wood chips and in a nearby patch of grass

The study was conducted in the experimental field of the Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, on strawberry plantations mulched with wood chips and in a nearby patch of grass. Seasonal dynamics (in spring, summer, and autumn) of the occurrence of soil mites (Acari), especially of oribatid mites (Oribatida), were studied on 6 occasions during the seasons in 2011-2012.Already in the first season of the study, high numbers of mites - 26.91 thousand indiv. • m-2, were found in the mulched soil of the strawberry plantations. Among these arachnids, the predominant group were oribatid mites (98.2%). The density of mites, especially of the Oribatida, in the wood chips during the vegetative period was more uniform than in the grass patch. The mulch used in the experiment provided favourable environmental conditions for the development of most Oribatida species.There were 12 species of Oribatida found on the strawberry plantations, and 9 in the nearby grass patch. The number of species in the grass-covered soil ranged from 5 to 8 in the successive seasons. In the wood chips, by comparison, there were 7 taxa at the beginning of the study, and at the end of the cycle the number increased to 11. The differences ...

Comparison of seasonal dynamics of mite (acari) aggregation in pine forest litter and pine chips

This paper analyzed seasonal dynamics of mite (Acari) aggregations, with particular attention to oribatid mites (Oribatida), in two different substrates intended for soil regeneration - shredded forest litter from Scots pine forest and pine wood chips. The study was conducted in the years 2011-2012, on microplots established within a belt of trees in a nursery in Białe Błota (Bydgoszcz Forest District). To maintain optimum moisture content, the microplots were hydrated by micro sprinklers as per the guidelines and schedule for the irrigation of nurseries, and mean soil moisture was kept at the level of 5.1-9.9 %. The mites were classified into orders and oribatid mites into species or genera, with regard to juvenile stages. A total of 4,142 mites were determined, including 2,939 oribatid mites.Mite density in the shredded forest litter, intended mainly for soil inoculation with edaphon, was similar in the initial and final period of the study. Mite density in the pine wood chips, intended for mulching degraded soils and providing optimal conditions for mesofauna development, increased over two years of the study. Oribatid mites were the most abundant mites in the analyzed samples. Mean number of their species s in the forest litter was comparable at the ...

Growth dynamic of the scots pine under mulching on the post arable ground in the third year of cultivation

The aim of the study was to evaluate the growth dynamic of Scots pine on the post arable ground under mulch in the third year of cultivation. Planting were carried out on the basis of post arable ground located in the Agro and Hydrometeorology Observatory of the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław. Scots pine plants in the third year of cultivation increased in height from 68.8 cm to 102.5 cm, ie. by 33.7 cm about 49%. The growth rate of pine was the highest in the first part of the growing season (until June 10), when the plant height increased by 30 cm, accounting for about 90% of the total, the annual increment in height. The second biometric parameters studied - the diameter of the trunk - increased in the third year of growing pine from 28.0 mm to 39.9 mm (about 11. 9 mm, ie. about 42%). The growth rate as a trunk diameter was different from that recorded in the case of plant height, because in the first part of the growing pine, wherein the largest increase its height, stem diameter increased by only 29% of the annual growth (ie. about 3.4 mm). ...

USE OF COMPOSTED SLUDGE AND FOREST ECTOHUMUS TO ENRICH SOIL IN TWO- AND THREE-YEAR CULTIVATION OF COMMON BEECH SEEDLINGS

This study examined the effect of fertilisation with compost prepared from hygienised sludge with an addition of pine-tree bark and mulching with fresh forest ectohumus on selected growth parameters in two- and three-year seedlings of common beech and the occurrence of mites (Acari) in soil. The experiment was carried out in 2009-2010 in the Białe Błota forest nursery (Bydgoszcz Forest District) on proper rusty soil. The entire area of the experiment was irrigated with a stationary sprinkler. The beech seedlings on the plots where compost had been used as fertiliser were significantly taller than those growing on the plots where mineral fertilisers had been applied. Mulching increased the height of the seedlings significantly only in the last, third year of the study. The tallest three-year-old seedlings were found on the plots in which both of the tested procedures had been carried out. Neither of the factors under study had a significant effect on the diameter of the root neck in the second year of the nursery cultivation, but they increased it significantly in the third year. Fertilisation with compost with an addition of pine-tree bark increased the number of leaves per plant and the leaf area in two- and three-year-old ...