Cs. Tan et Rec. Layne, IRRIGATION AND GROUND COVER MANAGEMENT EFFECT ON SOIL-TEMPERATURE IN A MATURE PEACH ORCHARD, Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 73(3), 1993, pp. 857-870
The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of two irrigation (
trickle vs. no irrigation) and two ground cover treatments (temporary
cover vs. permanent sod) on soil temperature in a mature peach [Prunus
persica (L.) Batsch] orchard on Fox sand. The soil temperatures at th
e surface, 5, 10 and 20 cm depths were monitored continuously all-year
during 1987 and 1988. Irrigation reduced the fluctuations in soil tem
perature during summer and winter. The average daily soil temperature
in nonirrigated plots during the summer was as high as 34-degrees-C at
the soil surface and 28-degrees-C at the 20-cm depth, while correspon
ding temperatures in irrigated plots were 28 and 26-degrees-C, respect
ively. The average daily soil temperature in nonirrigated plots withou
t snow cover during the winter was -12-degrees-C at the soil surface a
nd -5-degrees-C at the 20-cm depth, while corresponding temperatures i
n irrigated plots were -6 and -1-degrees-C, respectively. The effect o
f irrigation on soil temperature was greatly diminished by snow cover.
The soil temperatures at all depths remained around 0 to -2-degrees-C
for both nonirrigated and irrigated plots under snow cover, even when
the minimum air temperature dropped to -15-degrees-C. The permanent s
od cover provided some protection against cold although this effect wa
s masked by snow cover. In the summer, the permanent sod cover reduced
average daily soil temperature by 1.5 and 1-degrees-C at the 10 and 2
0 cm depths.