Abstract

Conservation agriculture (i.e., minimized soil disturbance and permanent soil covering) and living mulches represent two agroecological practices that can improve soil fertility, spontaneous flora, and beneficial insect communities. This research studied the effect of these practices in a young olive orchard in the Mediterranean area. Two Sicilian olive cultivars (‘Nocellara del Belice’ and ‘Nocellara etnea’) were used for the field experiment; inter-row minimum and zero tillage and four species of aromatic plants as living mulch along the row were tested. Spontaneous flora and beneficial insect communities, as well as tree growth, were monitored. The inter-row management did not influence the spontaneous flora dynamics. The species adopted for living mulch showed a very different degree of development and soil cover; 69 insect species (pollinators and predators) belonging to five orders (Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Neuroptera, and Coleoptera) and 17 families were recorded. The growth of the olive trees was not affected by the conservative strategies.: In the inter-row, the growth of the spontaneous flora was limited by the high temperatures during the summer. Among the living mulch species, sage and lemongrass guaranteed an almost full soil cover, reducing the need for weed management along the row, as well as increasing the beneficial insects without influencing the young tree growth.

Highlights

  • One of the main goals established by the European Commission during the period 2019–2024 is to lay the foundation for making the European Union the first climate-neutral continent by 2050

  • This research studied the effect of these practices in a young olive orchard in the Mediterranean area

  • The complete list of the 69 recorded species of beneficial insects, as well as their relation to the spontaneous flora or the consociated ones, in the studied olive orchard is reported in Tables 1 and 2

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Summary

Introduction

One of the main goals established by the European Commission during the period 2019–2024 is to lay the foundation for making the European Union the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Concerning the agricultural sector, this objective will be reached by a drastic reduction in farm input (fertilizers, chemical pesticide, hormones), reducing the nutrient losses and preserving and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity [1]. This policy is mandatory considering the ongoing climate change and its impact on agriculture (increase in average temperature and risk of extreme natural events such as floods and droughts) and the land degradation process (erosion, salinity, soil borne diseases) occurring in large areas of the world and the subsequent loss of biodiversity. In this scenario, agricultural sectors need to increase the crop efficiency, since the land availability and productivity will play a central role for the maintenance of several rural contexts [4]

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