La gestione del suolo

Abstract

Soil management is one of the key practices that influence vegetative and reproductive activity of the olive tree. Tillage, green covers (permanent or temporary), herbicide applications and mulching are all used in olive growing, although tillage is still the preferred method worldwide. Tillage allows to remove weeds, supply fertilizers easily, store precipitation water, and favours mineralization of organic matter. Yet, tillage promotes erosion in sloping areas with considerable soil losses. Green covers reduce erosion and ease trafficking of machinery when the soil is moist, as it often happens at harvesting. However, permanent green covers increase water consumption and this may be detrimental in arid climates. Herbicide applications and mulching are no so common as tillage or green covers in Italian olive orchards. Herbicides eliminate weeds but have a greater environmental impact than other methods of soil management. Herbicides are often used only along the tree row-combined with intercropping or tillage in the inter-row to reduce chemical inputs in the orchard. Mulching with polyethylene sheets is mainly limited by the cost and difficulty of disposing plastic sheets, whereas mulching with organic material is limited to family-run olive orchards because of shortage of mulching material.