In this two part A Lighter Touch podcast series, the benefits and challenges of establishing understory planting in summerfruit orchards is explored. The first episode Why Plant Beneath the Trees? explains why the project began, how it was established and what the project partners hoped to achieve.
The podcast dives into questions asked through the three-year Summerfruit NZ- A Lighter Touch understory project – what would happen if the ground beneath orchard trees became more than just a place to mow grass or control weeds? Could it become habitat for beneficial insects? Could it contribute to healthier soils? Could it help growers reduce mowing and pesticide use?
In the second episode Results, Lessons and the Road Ahead the podcast delves into the results from the demonstration orchards, the challenges relating to management systems and infrastructure and how the project learnings have been shared to help other growers evaluate whether understory planting is something they might trial in their orchards.
Across the two episodes we hear from members of the project team and three Central Otago growers who demonstrated this concept in their commercial orchards.
Resources and more information:
Summerfruit understory project resources are on the ALT website, and include a plant species guide, which provides a quick identification guide to the plant species used in the understory mix, and two soil testing guides. One focuses on how to interpret a soil test, while the other discusses how to carry out a Visual Soil Assessment.
Download these guides:
Following the final season of the project monitoring, the growers involved shared their experiences and impressions in case study resources, including photo diaries of the establishment of the understory planting, and visual soil assessments from their orchards.
Download the case studies:
Watch the Summerfruit under-canopy planting project- the grower experience wrap up video on ALT YouTube channel here. For more information see the project page here.
Resources developed from the Biodiverse planting in perennial crops project, in which citrus orchards were used as the model crop production system can be downloaded here. A podcast on this project can also be listened to (EP6: Redesigning orchards - Agroecology, conversation biocontrol and their use in perennial crops and EP7: Project spotlight - Biodiverse planting for citrus orchards.)
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