COMPARISON OF TWO WEEDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN A HIGH DENSITY APPLE ORCHARD

This paper present preliminary results from a trial performed in a 12 years high density apple orchard focused on the study of two most common weeds management systems and their effects on apple tree growth and yield. Conventional weed management has a long tradition based on the use of herbicides for weed control. The public's negative perception related to the excessive use of chemical products in orchards, the negative effects on the health and biodiversity of the soil, herbicide resistance, put farmers in a situation of needing an effective strategy of weed control. Mowing the vegetation has proven to be both a practical and successful solution that can be adopted not only in conventional crop systems, but also for organic crops.