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Open AccessArticle
A Sustainable Approach Based on Sheep Wool Mulch and Soil Conditioner for Prunus domestica (Stanley Variety) Trees Aimed at Increasing Fruit Quality and Productivity in Drought Conditions
by
Manuel Alexandru Gitea
Manuel Alexandru Gitea 1,†,
Ioana Maria Borza
Ioana Maria Borza 1,*,
Cristian Gabriel Domuta
Cristian Gabriel Domuta 1,
Daniela Gitea
Daniela Gitea 2,*,
Cristina Adriana Rosan
Cristina Adriana Rosan 1,†,
Simona Ioana Vicas
Simona Ioana Vicas 1 and
Manuela Bianca Pasca
Manuela Bianca Pasca 2
1
Faculty of Environmental Protection, University of Oradea, 410048 Oradea, Romania
2
Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410028 Oradea, Romania
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Sustainability 2024, 16(17), 7287; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177287 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 24 July 2024
/
Revised: 14 August 2024
/
Accepted: 22 August 2024
/
Published: 24 August 2024
Abstract
In the context of extreme climate change, experts in fruit production face a significant challenge in developing new strategies aimed at increasing the productivity of fruit tree crops. In order to investigate the changes in various horticultural indices (production, tree growth, and development) as well as the quality of plum fruits, sheep’s wool mulch, a cornstarch-based soil conditioner, and a combination of the two were applied in a Stanley plum orchard. In parallel, an experimental control variation was used. The results showed that the methods used had a substantial impact on fruit yield, size, and weight, with the best results obtained when mulching with sheep’s wool and soil conditioner. Plum fruits from mulching with sheep wool + soil conditioner exhibited the greatest total phenol concentration (1.30 ± 0.09 mg GAE/g dw), followed by the reference sample at 1.16 ± 0.09 mg GAE/g dw. The antioxidant capacity assessed using the three different methods provided favorable results for the experimental variant, sheep wool + soil conditioner. The results indicate that using the three experimental versions increased the fruit yield from 27% (sheep’s wool mulch) to 37% (sheep wool + soil conditioner) on average compared to that of the control group, while also improving the fruit quality. The fruit weight increased from 17.26% (cornstarch-based soil conditioner) to 48.90% (sheep wool + soil conditioner) compared to that of the control, and the fruit size increased from 5% (sheep’s wool mulch or a cornstarch-based soil conditioner) to 19% (sheep wool + soil conditioner).
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MDPI and ACS Style
Gitea, M.A.; Borza, I.M.; Domuta, C.G.; Gitea, D.; Rosan, C.A.; Ioana Vicas, S.; Pasca, M.B.
A Sustainable Approach Based on Sheep Wool Mulch and Soil Conditioner for Prunus domestica (Stanley Variety) Trees Aimed at Increasing Fruit Quality and Productivity in Drought Conditions. Sustainability 2024, 16, 7287.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177287
AMA Style
Gitea MA, Borza IM, Domuta CG, Gitea D, Rosan CA, Ioana Vicas S, Pasca MB.
A Sustainable Approach Based on Sheep Wool Mulch and Soil Conditioner for Prunus domestica (Stanley Variety) Trees Aimed at Increasing Fruit Quality and Productivity in Drought Conditions. Sustainability. 2024; 16(17):7287.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177287
Chicago/Turabian Style
Gitea, Manuel Alexandru, Ioana Maria Borza, Cristian Gabriel Domuta, Daniela Gitea, Cristina Adriana Rosan, Simona Ioana Vicas, and Manuela Bianca Pasca.
2024. "A Sustainable Approach Based on Sheep Wool Mulch and Soil Conditioner for Prunus domestica (Stanley Variety) Trees Aimed at Increasing Fruit Quality and Productivity in Drought Conditions" Sustainability 16, no. 17: 7287.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su16177287
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