Effects of different soil management practices on production and quality of olivegroves in Southern Albania

摘要

The experiment was conducted in three consecutive years from 2006 to 2008, in Vlora region, south of Albania, in a 25 years old olive grove, planted with a local cultivar named Kalinjot. The plot was situated in an uniform hill with a sloping gradientof 5 to 6% and a planting density of200 plants ha"1 (7 mx7 m). A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 5 replications and plot size of 245 m2 containing 11 olive trees was used. The weather was dry in the summer with a typical Mediterranean distribution of precipitation from autumn to spring, and no irrigation was conducted throughout the whole experimental period. Several crop management practices were applied: Conventional (no intervention, fallow and grazing), chemical control (glyphosate anddiuron applications) and organic (cover crop and straw mulching). Production of olives per plant (POP), drupe mean weight (DMW), drupe oil content (DOC) and drupe oil acidity (DOA) were recorded for a 3-year period. The different soil management practices influenced the olive production per plant and drupe oil content under the rainfed growing conditions. Compared to common conventional farmer practices, organic soil management practices and chemical control of weeds provided higher yield due to reduced competition of olive tree for soil water reserves, thanks to reduced number of weeds and improved soil physical properties. Organic mulching and mixed leguminous cover crops seems to be the most sustainable practices in terms of yearly production and nature preservation.