Orchard Management in Sustainable Fruit Production

The purpose of our experiments was to examine the effect of different soil covering matters (livestock manure, straw and crushed pine bark) on the quantity of some microbial groups (total bacteria, aerobic cellulolytic bacteria, microscopic fungi) occuring in soil. During two years samples were taken from a Cider apple plantation at the Fruit Production Research and Advisory Kht, Újfehértó four times a year. We determined the moisture and nutrient content of the soil (Buzás, 1988), and its plasticity according to Arany (Filep, 1995). Total numbers of bacteria on bouillon agar and microscopic fungi on peptone-glucose agar (Ubrizsy and Vörös, 1968) were calculated by the plate dilution method. Number of cellulolytic bacteria was determined on a special liquid culture medium according to Pochon and Tardieux (1972). Moisture content of the soil decreased in the following order: manure, crushed pine bark, straw and control. Numbers of total bacteria, and microscopic fungi increased from the control, through crushed pine bark, straw, to manure. The number of cellulolytic bacteria decreased in order: manure, crushed pine bark, straw and control on average for the four samplings in both years. Based on the results of soil biological examinations, covering matters are suggested to put into practice in the following order: manure, crushed pine bark and straw.