Ecosystem services of organic versus inorganic ground cover in peach orchards: A meta ‐analysis

A schematic view depicting the effects of various ground cover management practices in peach orchards, and their effect on agroecosystem services. NA and NS are abbreviations for not applicable and not significant, respectively. Organic ground cover improves supporting and regulatory services while maintaining fruit yield and quality. While inorganic ground cover increases peach yield, it has less of an impact on supporting and regulatory ecosystem services. AbstractSeveral organic (e.g., compost, hay, straw, grass) and inorganic (e.g., plastic film) ground cover (GC) forms are used in peach orchards worldwide. Yet, there is a lack of quantitative studies on peach orchard ecosystem services comprising fruit yields and quality, soil health indicators, and biological pest control. To fill this knowledge gap, we performed a meta-analysis of 55 peer-reviewed research. Overall, inorganic GC increased peach yields by 7.7  ± 1.8%, while organic GC reduced it, though not statistically significant (p >  0.05), by 1.7 ± 3%. Both forms of GC have enhanced single fruit mass, with a greater increase in inorganic (4.2 ± 1.7%) than in organic GC (1.2 ± 1.2%), and soluble solids content by 5.9 ± 0.9% and 3.2 ± 0.7%, respectively. Inorganic GC did not significantly affect titrat able acid and fruit hardness, while organic GC reduced titratable acid (13.7 ± 2.1%), and fruit hardness (89 ± 2.9%). Soil temperature has increased in orchards with inor...
Source: Food and Energy Security - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: REVIEW Source Type: research