Comparative effects of organic and conventional apple orchard management on soil chemical properties and plant mineral content under Mediterranean climate conditions

dc.contributor.advisor	Gasparatos, Dionisios	en
dc.contributor.advisor	Γασπαράτος, Διονύσιος	el
dc.contributor.author	Ρούσσος, Πέτρος Α.	el
dc.contributor.author	Roussos, Peter A.	en
dc.contributor.author	Χριστοφιλοπούλου, Ε.	el
dc.contributor.author	Christofilopoulou, E.	en
dc.contributor.author	Χαϊντούτη, Κωνσταντίνα	el
dc.contributor.author	Haidouti, Constantina	en
dc.date.accessioned	2015-05-22T13:25:31Z
dc.date.available	2015-05-22T13:25:31Z
dc.date.issued	2011-11-01
dc.identifier.uri	http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-95162011000400008
dc.identifier.uri	http://62.217.125.90/xmlui/handle/123456789/6405
dc.rights	CC0 1.0 Παγκόσμια	*
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/	*
dc.title	Comparative effects of organic and conventional apple orchard management on soil chemical properties and plant mineral content under Mediterranean climate conditions	en
heal.type	journalArticle
heal.keyword	Soil organic matter	en
heal.keyword	Organic farming	en
heal.keyword	Leaf nutrients	en
heal.keyword	Apple orchard	en
heal.recordProvider	Γεωπονικό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών/Επιστήμη Φυτικής Παραγωγής	el
heal.publicationDate	2011-11-01
heal.bibliographicCitation	Gasparatos, D. Comparative effects of organic and conventional apple orchard management on soil chemical properties and plant mineral content under Mediterranean climate conditions, Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 11 (4), p.p.105-117, Chilean Society of Soil Science, 2011	en
heal.abstract	The effects of conventional and organic management systems on soil chemical properties and leaf nutrients under Mediterranean conditions were studied over a 2-year period on adjacent commercial apple orchards in Southern Greece. The soil in both orchards was characterised as a clay loam-clay and was uniform in morphological and physical properties. The results indicated no significant differences in soil chemical properties between the different management systems, including soil organic matter (SOM), pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and C/N ratio. However, soil samples from the conventional orchard exhibited significantly higher values (p< 0.01) of electrical conductivity (EC) and higher concentrations of K, Ca, Na, Cu and Zn, which were likely the result of chemical fertiliser application. Despite the fact that organic systems promote the accumulation of soil organic matter and fertility over time through the use of organic sources, in our study, the SOM values declined, suggesting that the type and the rate of organic matter input in the organic orchard were insufficient. The leaf nutrients, with the exception of P and Ca, were within the sufficiency range in both management systems. The present findings did not provide evidence of major differences in the leaf macronutrient content between conventionally and organically grown apple trees. Nevertheless, our leaf analysis revealed higher concentrations of Zn in the conventionally grown trees and opposite results for Cu, probably due to the extensive use of copper-containing fungicides in organic orchards in Greece.	en
heal.publisher	Chilean Society of Soil Science	el
heal.journalName	Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition	el
heal.journalType	Open Access