Abstract
Planting sod beneath peach trees to control excessive vegetative growth was evaluated from 1987 to 1993 in three field studies. Peach trees were established and maintained in 2.5-m-wide, vegetation-free strips for 3 years, and then sod was planted beneath the trees and maintained for 5 to 7 years. Reducing the vegetation-free area beneath established peach trees to a 30- or 60-cm-wide herbicide strip reduced total pruning weight/tree and weight of canopy water shoots in many years. Fruit yield was reduced by reducing the size of the vegetation-free area in some, but not all, years; however, yield efficiency (kg yield/cm2 of trunk area) was not reduced in two studies, and in only 1 year in the third study. Planting sod beneath peach trees increased available soil water content in all years and yield efficiency based-evapotranspiration (kg yield/cm soil water use + precipitation) in some years compared to the 2.5-m herbicide strip. Reestablishing sod beneath peach trees has the potential to control vegetative growth and may be appropriate for high-density peach production systems where small, efficient trees are needed.
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