STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT GROUNDCOVER MATTER ON MACRONUTRIENT CONTENT OF LEAF IN APPLE ORCHARD IN EAST HUNGARY

This study investigated the effects of different groundcover materials on soil and plant nutrition. Trees of apple cv. ‘Idared’/MM.106 (Malus domestica Borkh.) were planted into lowland chernozem soil in the spring of 1999. Applied treatments can be divided into two groups: different livestock manures and mulches. Soil strips of 150 cm width were covered either with straw, different livestock manure, black plastic foil, pine bark mulch or were without cover i.e. clean cultivation as a check. Leaf and soil samples were collected for chemical analysis. It was found that all groundcover treatments induced an increase in leaf nitrogen, sulphur and calcium. Leaf magnesium was not affected so obviously by different groundcover treatments. Leaf potassium was not affected by applying different livestock manures, except horse manure but lower in mulch treatments compared to the control. Leaf phosphorous was decreased by treatments except using horse manure. Examination of ratios of nutrients showed that there were disharmonies in the available nutrients supply of soil. The best results were obtained by applying horse manure.