Türkiye Tarımsal Araştırmalar Dergisi (Jun 2020)
The Effects of Some Cover Crops on Yield and Fruit Quality in Persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.)
Abstract
This study was carried out in Samsun province between 2013 and 2014 to investigate the effects of some cover crops, used for weed control in the persimmon orchards, on yield and quality of the fruits. The study was conducted according to the randomized complete blocks design with four replications. The research was carried out with 9 different applications; cover crop plots with Trifolium repens, Festuca rubra rubra, Festuca arundinacea and a 40 + 30 + 30 percent mixture of these species, Vicia villosa, Trifolium meneghinianum, mechanical control plots, herbicides control plots and weedy control plots. As a result of the research, it was determined that the applications affected the persimmon yield. The highest yield per decare was obtained from V. villosa plots with 1617.5 kg da-1, while the lowest yield per decare was obtained from weed control plots with 355.7 kg da-1. The highest fruit size of 69.0 mm was obtained from herbicide control plots, whereas the lowest fruit size was obtained from F. rubra rubra plots with 45.2 mm. Two groups were obtained for fruit width. F. arundinacea, F. rubra rubra, and herbicide control plots were in the higher group with 74.7 mm, 71.5 mm, and 71.3 mm of fruit width respectively. As for the shape index, the highest rate of 1.15 was observed at the T. meneghinianum plots and the lowest rate of 0.80 was observed at the F. arundinacea plots. The highest fruit weight of 165.5 g was obtained from the F. arundinacea plots and the lowest fruit weight of 109.9 g was from the plots with the mixture of T. repens, F. rubra rubra, F. arundinacea. Water-soluble dry matter (WSDM) rates were found to be the highest for the plots with the mixture of T. repens, F. rubra rubra, F. arundinacea with a value of 21.2%, whereas the lowest WSDM rates were obtained from V. villosa plots with a value of 18.3%. According to the results of the study, it has been determined that the cover crops can be recommended as an alternative in weed control agents since they do affect the yield and quality in persimmon orchards.
Keywords
