NITROGEN BALANCE OF ORCHARDS INFLUENCED BY SOIL MANAGEMENT

Investigation in several orchards in South West Germany have shown that due to a higher content of decomposable organic matter, the rate of mineralization under grass was always higher (230–320 kg ha^-1) than in the same soil under clean cultivation (160–210 kg ha^-1). Nevertheless, the actual content of mineral nitrogen under grass was only sometimes higher than under clean cultivation. Differences depended upon changes in the balance between the production and consumption of mineral nitrogen. In

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