Purpose To study the effects of different weed management methods on soil water content changes in citrus orchards in Guangxi, providing a theoretical basis for improving the management level of citrus planting.
Methods Two weed management methods were set, which were named grass-proof cloth mulching (GPM) and natural grass mowing (NGM) with field experiment, and the conventional herbicide spraying treatment was taken as the control (CK), soil moisture monitoring sensor was used to detect the soil water content of different treatments in the 0-60 cm soil layer, and the characteristics of soil water content changes in each treatment during the citrus annual growth period was analyzed.
Results The rainfall in citrus orchard mainly concentrated from October 2020 to February 2021. The average water content of soil in the 5 cm soil layer was strongly affected by the rainfall under each treatment, and showed great fluctuations. The soil water content with GPM treatment had the greatest change, which was from 29.2% to 45.0%. Soil water content in all soil layers was increased under GPM and NGM treatment except 20 cm soil layer. GPM and NGM treatments could significantly increase the average water content of 40, 60 and 0-60 cm soil layers at the flower bud differentiation, flowering and fruit setting, and young fruit stages, but had no significant effect on the average water content in 5 and 20 cm soil layers. GPM and NGM treatments could also significantly increase the average water content in the soil layer of 5, 40, 60 and 0-60 cm at the fruit expansion, color transformation and maturation. In the whole growth period of citrus, GPM and NGM treatments increased the average water content of 60 cm soil layer by 5.2%-7.4% and 5.0%-7.4% compared with CK treatment, respectively.
Conclusion GPM and NGM can increase soil water content, and have a good effect on soil water storage and soil water conservation. They are recommended as a weed management method of citrus orchard in Guangxi.
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