ABSTRACT

An important management strategy for the development of sustainable agriculture in orchards is the management of ground cover. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the effects of ground cover on fruit yield and quality. We performed a meta-analysis of 580 observations collected from 116 peer-reviewed field studies, to assess the effects of ground cover on fruit yield and quality indicators. Overall, ground cover significantly increased fruit yield, soluble solid content, sugar content, and vitamin C content by 6.98%, 6.77%, 7.83%, and 14.59%, respectively, and significantly reduced fruit acidity by 10.63%. The effects of ground cover on fruit yield and quality were greater in subtropical regions and semi-humid, humid zone. These effects also mostly depended on ground cover types. Cover crops and mulch both significantly improved fruit quality. However, compared to clean tillage practice, legume cover crops substantially enhanced fruit yield while non-legume cover crops significantly decreased fruit yield. This effect was attributed to greater soil moisture and fertility with legume cover crops. Our analysis synthesized the scientific evidence on ground cover management to help orchard managers and policy makers improve orchard fruit yield and quality.

摘要

果园可持续农业发展的一个重要管理策略是地被植物的管理。然而，关于地被植物对水果产量和质量的影响存在知识空白。我们对从 116 项经过同行评审的实地研究中收集的 580 项观察结果进行了荟萃分析，以评估地被植物对水果产量和质量指标的影响。总体而言，地被植物显着提高了果实产量、可溶性固形物、糖含量和维生素C含量，分别提高了6.98%、6.77%、7.83%和14.59%，显着降低了果实酸度10.63%。地被覆盖对果实产量和品质的影响在亚热带地区和半湿润、湿润地区更大。这些影响也主要取决于地被植物类型。覆盖作物和覆盖物都显着提高了水果质量。然而，与清洁耕作相比，豆科覆盖作物显着提高了果实产量，而非豆科覆盖作物显着降低了果实产量。这种影响归因于豆类覆盖作物的土壤水分和肥力更高。我们的分析综合了地面覆盖管理的科学证据，以帮助果园管理者和政策制定者提高果园果实的产量和质量。