Life Sciences Commons^™

Establishing Peach Trees For Organic Production In Utah And The Intermountain West, Jennifer R. Reeve, C. M. Culumber, Brent Black, Andrew Tebeau, Corey Ransom, Diane Alston, M. Rowley, Thor Lindstrom

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Adequate weed control and nutrient supply are critical for successful establishment of fruit trees. This is of particular concern in organic orchard establishment. In order to determine the best approach for establishing peach trees (Prunus persica L.) organically in climates characterized by hot dry summers and cold winters such as the North American Intermountain West, seven organic and three integrated and conventional treatment combinations were established in two first leaf orchards at the USU Kaysville Research Farm, Utah, in 2008 and 2009. Treatments consisted of different tree-row and alleyway mulch and fertilizer combinations. Compost or conventional fertilizer (16-16-16 and …