INFLUENCE OF SOIL AERATION ON PECAN TREE PERFORMANCE

Five Texas orchards were selected in Spring 1993 in commercial pecan counties for testing three types of soil aeration equipment. Mechanical aeration spikes were either 20 or 46 cm long, and a pneumatic spike was 20 cm long. The mechanical spikes are on a rolling cylinder that can be manufactured in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHortScience Vol. 30; no. 3; p. 444
Main Authors Chapman, Dan, McEachern, G.R, Sistrunk, Laurence, Lipe, John, Stein, Larry, Storey, J.B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.06.1995
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Summary:Five Texas orchards were selected in Spring 1993 in commercial pecan counties for testing three types of soil aeration equipment. Mechanical aeration spikes were either 20 or 46 cm long, and a pneumatic spike was 20 cm long. The mechanical spikes are on a rolling cylinder that can be manufactured in sufficient lengths to fit the tree spacing in different orchards. The pneumatic probe is manually inserted into the soil so that a quick burst of 130-psi air can be delivered to effect soil profile fracturing. The fourth replicated treatment was an nontreated control. There were no differences in trunk diameter increases and yield in 1993 between May-applied replicated treatments. The May treatments and November measurements will continue for two more years to allow for differences in soil aeration to influence growth and yield. Shoot growth measurements will be taken in Spring 1995. Irrigation water has penetrated the soil under aerated trees more readily than in nonaerated controls.
ISSN:0018-5345
2327-9834
DOI:10.21273/HORTSCI.30.3.444b