A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different organic and inorganic mulches on nutrient status and micro-biological activites of apricot orchard soil during the year 2002 and 2003. Among the different orchard floor management practices, grass mulch treatment significantly recorded highest leaf and soil nutrient status, activites of invertase and cellulase enzyme in soil as compared to hand weeded control. However grass mulch in combination with atrazine treatment recorded highest soil fungus, bacteria, nitrogen fixing free living organism and actinomycetes gram per soil as compared to rest of the treatments including hand weeding.
Apricot, Orchard floor management, organic mulch, Soil nutrients, organic carbon, Soil microbiology, Enzyme, invertase, cellulase
