Cubiertas Vegetales en Producción Orgánica de Frambuesa: Efectos sobre el Contenido de Nutrientes del Suelo y en el Crecimiento y Producción de las Plantas

a study of the evaluation and selection of cover crops to improve soil management in an organic orchard of raspberry (rubus idaeus l.) was carried out. the evaluated cover crops were: a mixture of subterranean clover (trifolium subterraneum l.) and balansa clover (t. michelianum savi), birdsfoot trefoil (lotus corniculatus l.), white clover (t. repens l.), fescue (festuca arundinacea schreb.), a mixture of white clover and fescue, and a control without vegetation. the trial was conducted in chillán, chile (36°37？ s, 72°00？ w), during two seasons. the experimental design was randomized blocks with four replicates. planting distance between raspberry rows was 3 m, and each experimental plot was 60 m2. covers that included white clover as a single species and white clover in mixture with tall fescue had the highest plant density (828 and 1788 plant m-2, in the second year, respectively), biomass (9.3 and 10.4 t dm ha-1 yr-1, in the second year, respectively) and specific contribution of the sown species (more than 90% contribution of sown species). mixture of annual species did not have a good performance, particularly during the second season. a clear effect of the covers on soil content of nitrogen (n) and potassium (k) was found; however, soil organic matter content and ph were not affected. weed growth was best controlled by the cover crops that included fescue and/or white clover.