Synergy between Zeolites and Leguminous Cover Crops Improved Olive Tree Performance and Soil Properties in a Rainfed Olive Orchard
Sandra Martins,
Cátia Brito,
Ermelinda Silva,
Alexandre Gonçalves,
Margarida Arrobas,
Ermelinda Pereira,
Manuel Ângelo Rodrigues,
Fernando M. Nunes,
Carlos M. Correia
Affiliations
Sandra Martins
CITAB—Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Cátia Brito
CITAB—Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Ermelinda Silva
MORE—Collaborative Laboratory Mountains of Research, Brigantia Ecopark, 5300-358 Bragança, Portugal
Alexandre Gonçalves
MORE—Collaborative Laboratory Mountains of Research, Brigantia Ecopark, 5300-358 Bragança, Portugal
Margarida Arrobas
CIMO—Centro de Investigação de Montanha, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Ermelinda Pereira
CIMO—Centro de Investigação de Montanha, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Manuel Ângelo Rodrigues
CIMO—Centro de Investigação de Montanha, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Fernando M. Nunes
CQ-VR—Food and Wine Chemistry Laboratory, Chemistry Research Centre—Vila Real, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Carlos M. Correia
CITAB—Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Soil degradation and climate change are threatening the sustainability of Mediterranean olive orchards, typically grown under rainfed conditions and conventional soil tillage. Thus, implementing sustainable soil management practices is crucial to preserve soil health and mitigate the negative effects on plant performance. In this study, we assessed the effects of conventional tillage (T), an early maturing and self-reseeding annual legume cover crop (LC) and its combination with natural zeolites (ZL) on plant physiological performance, tree nutritional status, crop yield, and soil physicochemical and microbiological properties. Although both LC and ZL enhanced the photosynthetic activity, tree nutritional status, soil moisture and olive yield relative to T, ZL was clearly more efficient at improving some soil health indicators, namely at the 0–10 cm soil layer, once soil acidity decreased and Kjeldahl N, extractable P and B, cation exchange capacity and microbiological activity increased, as evidenced by the higher concentrations of easily extractable and total glomalin-related soil protein, microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass quotient, and actinomycetes. Therefore, using natural zeolite with leguminous cover crops appears to be a promising strategy of sustainable soil management in rainfed olive orchards, as it is able to provide numerous ecosystem services.
