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Tag: Soil Health

29 Aug 2025
Mulch
By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , , ,

Effect of Various Mulching Materials on Crop Production and Soil Health in Acid Lime

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of mulching on acid lime during 2014-2015 in Randomized Block Design with 9 treatments and 3 replications. The highest increase on plant height (6.63 %), canopy spread in E-W (9.90 %) and N-S (7.60 %) direction was recorded by polythene mulch with black side facing upward (T8 ). The treatment also had a significant influence on yield and yield attributing parameters where T8 recorded the highest number of fruits per plant (163.0), fruit weight (50.22 g) and fruit yield per plant (7.81 kg) while dry grasses mulch (T2) recorded highest number of fruits per branch (7.50) and fruit retention (44.71 %). With respect to quality parameters of fruit, T8 recorded highest total sugar (0.40 %) and reducing sugar (0.61 %) while significant increase on titratable acidity (6.93 %) and ascorbic acid content (33.46 mg/100g) was observed in T2.

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28 Feb 2023
Cover Crops
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News ,

Improve soil health with cover crops

Cover crops support soil health by increasing soil carbon – organic matter – which stimulates microbial activity and improves soil structure.

The impact of cover crops on soil health was discussed at a workshop facilitated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) held at Oak Valley in Grabouw in August. Ivan Jansen van Rensburg from Barenbrug described eight soil-health benefits of cover crops: sequestering carbon, supporting microbes, suppressing diseases, fixing nitrogen, suppressing weeds, preventing erosion, building structure, and improving aeration and infiltration. Different cover crops have different strengths, so diversity is important. For example, radish roots muscle into the soil, breaking up compaction, enabling water movement. But Jansen van Rensburg pointed out that the finer roots of cereals are as useful as the large roots of radishes.

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27 Feb 2020
Soil Health
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , ,

Soil Health in Orchards

Orchard soil health, or soil quality, is the capacity of soil to support productive trees over time without negatively affecting the surrounding environment. Soil health is influenced by interacting biological, physical, and chemical properties of soil. Active soil biological communities mineralize nitrogen, create soil structure, and compete with plant pathogens. Physical properties of soil determine its ability to store and release nutrients; accommodate water entry, storage, and movement; provide sufficient oxygen for roots and microbes; and moderate environmental stress. Chemical aspects of soil health include nutrient presence and availability, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), salinity, and the presence of any contaminants, such as heavy metals or persistent pesticide residues.

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