Refers to the careful management of the orchard soil in such a way that the soil is maintained in a good condition suitable to the needs of the tree with least expenses.
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A good system of orchard cultivation should ensure.
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1. Weed control and saving in moisture.
2. Very little disturbance to soil and preventing soil erosion.
3. Reduced cost of cultivation.
Methods of soil management practices:
1. Clean culture (regular ploughing and removal of weeds).
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2. Clean culture with cover crops:
Plant a green manure crop before the monsoon and plough it into the soil towards the end of monsoon season e.g. sunhemp, cowpea, diancha.
3. Mulching:
One of the important soil management practices adopted.
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Crop residues like, straw dust, cotton stalks, leaves, saw dust, pine needles, air dust or polythene film spread in the tree barins.
Main objective is to conserve soil moisture end to control weed.
Advantages:
1. Keeps soil cool in day, warm at night hours.
2. Reduced surface run off.
3. Adds humus to soil.
4. Prevents soil erosion.
5. Fruits are protected and kept clean since they fall on mulches.
6. It allows the absorption of more rain water.
7. It reduces irrigation frequency.
4. Sod: Permanent cover of grass in orchard and no tillage. Useful in sloppy lands for preventing soil erosion. But they compete for soil moisture and available N.
5. Sod mulch: Similar to sod, but vegetation is cut frequently and the cut material is allowed to remain on the ground. Here moisture loss is not like sod. More of available N to the fruit trees should be applied in both the cases to compensate losses caused by vegetation.