Effects comparation of different mulching methods on soil in pitaya orchards.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of different mulching treatments, and to serve as a theoretical foundation for mulching practices in pitaya orchards of Hainan, China. In this study, the physicochemical properties, enzyme activity and also the structure and abundance of the soil microbial community were examined after a year's treatment. The results show that black fabric mulch and nature grass mulch significantly improved the soil water content, whereas its pH value was significantly reduced by purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) mulch and black fabric mulch as compared to the control. Nature grass mulch increased soil organic carbon to a greater extent than control, coconut chaff mulch and also nature grass mulch significantly increased the content of alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen, nature grass mulch and black fabric mulch increased the content of available potassium more significantly than purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) mulch and control. Treatments of nature grass mulch and purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) mulch increased the activities of soil enzymes in the soil. The abundance of bacteria was highest in nature grass mulch and purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) mulch, and the four mulch treatments helped to increase the richness of soil fungi more than control. The results show that all these types of mulch improved the characteristics of the soil compared with control, and nature grass mulch provided the best edaphic environment for pitaya orchards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]