Investigations on the efficacies of different mulches for weed control in almond growing areas

The importance of almond cultivation is increasing worldwide, but there are also many factors affecting almond yield. One of these is weeds. Weeds, especially in orchards, share water and nutrients with trees, reduce soil temperature, host diseases and pests, secrete allelopathic substances that can negatively affect development and productivity, and as invasive plant species, they can increase soil erosion and cause ecological changes and damage to biodiversity. Cultural measures, mechanical measures, physical measures, biological measures and chemical measures are applied in the fight against weeds. Drugs used in chemical control are called herbicides. In the fight against weeds in the world and in our country, the use of herbicides comes first due to reasons such as fast results, ease of application and low cost. However, many important problems arise due to overuse of herbicides and errors in herbicide applications. Effects on the environment, human and animal health, problems in agricultural ecosystems, durability problems, etc. These problems are situations that may arise as a result of heavy herbicide use. Therefore, it is important to develop weed control strategies that provide alternatives to herbicide applications. It is important to develop an effective weed control, especially in strategically important cultural plants such as almonds. Within the scope of this study planned for this purpose, it was aimed to compare the effectiveness of some organic and inorganic mulching, mechanical control and chemical control methods against weeds that are a problem in almond fields.