The effect of cover crops on composition and diversity of weeds in an apricot orchard

Abstract

Apricot, Turkey's exports is the important role played by fruit, the weeds are the main factors that cause problems in the apricot orchards. This study was carried out in Malatya between 2014-2016 in order to determine the effects of cover crops on the control of weeds that cause problems in these areas and also on species distribution, diversity and dominance. As annual winter cover plants in the study: Vicia villosa Roth (hairy vetch), Vicia pannonica Crantz (Hungarian vetch), V. pannonica + Triticale (V.pannonica 70% + Triticale 30%) mixture and Phacelia tanacetifolia Bentham (lacy phacelia) and Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (buckwheat) was used as a summer cover plant. Weed diversity index (H) and Simpson's dominance index (Sd) values were also calculated in the study. In addition, applications were subjected to canonical discriminant analysis. The highest value of the weed diversity index (H) in the two-year period was obtained from the weed control plots. It has been determined that perennial weeds (Convolvulus arvensis and Sorghum halepense) are the dominant species in cover plants and there are also differences between practices. It has been determined that annual weeds are generally suppressed and their diversity has decreased significantly in the plots except for F. esculentum. The results obtained from the canonical discriminant analysis showed that the highest numbers of weed species in the 1st and 2nd years were found in the weedy control plots and that the cover crops suppressed the weeds.