Study on the practice and effect of alleviating apple orchard soil compaction in the Weibei plateau

Long-term planting and the application of chemical fertilizer merely have led to soil compaction in the Weibei plateau, which was not conducive to soil water infiltration and air exchange. The aim of this study was to develop knowledge of drilling and backfill materials effect on soil water content and CO2 emissions. Five treatments consisted of control (no drilling) and drilling with vermiculite, slag, lime and backfill soil buried respectively. During the experiment, soil water content and CO2 emissions were determined for each treatment. The results showed that drilling improved the water permeability of the soil without damaging the root system of fruit trees, and promoted the release of soil CO2. The addition of vermiculite and slag had the best effect on soil water content improvement in the apple orchards. Additionally, soil CO2 emission was closely related to soil water content. Both too high and too low soil water content can limit soil CO2 release. The addition of lime can not only absorb the CO2 in soil inside, but also increase soil calcium storage capacity. Therefore, drilling with lime backfilled may be the optimal practice to alleviate soil compaction in apple orchards in the Weibei plateau.