Completed project
Impact of improved inter-row management on productivity, soils and greenhouse gas emissions in apple and cherry orchards (MT12047)
Publication date: February 5, 2019
Delivery Partner: Applied Horticultural Research
Perennial tree cropping systems have two dependent components: the treeline and the inter-row. The treeline area contains the plants and the majority of crop roots, and it is where cropping inputs such as fertilizers and water tend to be directed. Processes are more dynamic in the highly-managed treeline and so it receives more attention by orchardists.
Both the treeline and the inter-row have significant potential benefits for apple and cherry productivity as well as potential to sequester carbon in soils and reduce nitrous oxide emissions, two important greenhouse gas emission mitigation options.
In this project, which ran from 2013 to 2016, two orchard floor practices were evaluated for greenhouse gas emissions as well as effects on soil and productivity.
The trials were carried out on a commercial apple orchard at Orange, NSW and a cherry orchard at Young, NSW. Trial conditions were:
The inter-row was managed either as the Control with a mown grass sward maintained or Scrape with no grass cover and all organic matter input removed from the inter-row. Greenhouse gas impacts were assessed by measuring soil nitrous oxide emissions together with any changes in soil carbon. Productivity was assessed through fruit yields and quality.
The key learnings from the project are:
The researchers recommended that growers manage irrigation and nitrogen fertiliser applications to match plant requirements in order to reduce nitrous oxide emissions while still producing high yields.
Read the researchers’ fact sheet on reducing nitrous oxide emissions
This multi-industry project was a strategic levy investment in multiple Hort Innovation Funds
© 2026 Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited.
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