was fertilized once per year with slow-release fertilizer: 42.5 g of 24N–2.6P–9.1K on 15 Aug. 2003, 56.7 g of 16N–1.7P–6.6K on 14 June 2004, and 56.7 g of 24N–0.9P–6.6K on 5 July 2005. Each tree was mulched with 5 to 8 cm of wood chips from the trunk
planted in 2006. Trees were given one of four ground cover management treatments to control competitive vegetation: 1) wood chip mulch (WC), 2) municipal green compost (GC) mulch, 3) shredded discarded white paper (SP) mulch, and 4) mow-and-blow (MB) of
, the plants were excavated to a depth of 0.4 m using a shovel, washed, and divided into leaves, shoots, woody canes, the crown, and roots. All tissue samples were oven-dried (to a constant weight) at 70 °C before analysis, weighed, chipped and mulched
.9 L) was combined with one commercially available package of compost (≈500 g) containing wood chips, sawdust, rock, minerals, fungal ingredients, humus, and vermicompost (KIS 5-gal compost tea brewing kit from Keep It Simple, Inc.). The compost
activity ( Schnurer et al., 1985 ; Wardle, 1992 ). Peck et al. (2011) demonstrated that additions of OM in the form of wood chips to the orchard floor increased microbial biomass carbon, but additions of composted chicken litter did not, indicating that
fertilizer (J.R. Peters, Allentown, PA) throughout the growing season to promote vigorous growth and ensure seed set ( Blake and Struve, 2007 ). The planting area was kept free from weed competition with wood chip mulch and post-emergence herbicides. Seeds