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<p>Lebanese traditional olive cultivation faces many environmental and economic challenges exacerbated by rising production costs during the ongoing economic crisis. Introducing overwinter crops, individually or in mixtures, could provide agronomic and economic benefits. Given the lack of such trials in the eastern Mediterranean, two experiments were conducted in a rainfed traditional olive orchard in North Lebanon. Common cover crops (common vetch and barley) were tested as well as faba bean as a winter vegetable. In winter 2019 vetch and barley were sown separately or as a mixture In winter 2021, a mixture of vetch and barley was tested alongside faba bean as a winter vegetable. In both trials, unplanted plots with spontaneous vegetation served as controls.Olive tree performance was assessed at harvest in December 2019 and through foliar analysis in December 2020 and May 2021. In 2019, intercropping with the mixture vetch-barley improved net biodiversity and increased significantly the crop nitrogen content. The mixture cereal-legume produced similarly in April 2019 (2305 gm<sup>−2</sup> fresh mass) and April 2021 (1978 gm<sup>−2</sup> fresh mass). In 2021, faba bean introduced as a cover crop, produced 10.12 pods.plant<sup>−1</sup> and yielded approximately 684 gm<sup>−2</sup> of green pods. Immature bean stalks harvested in April 2021 exhibited a high moisture content of 81.4% and a low ash content (&lt; 10%) indicating suitability as feed for small ruminants. Cover crops incorporated in April 2019 did not affect olive fruit maturity at harvest in October 2019. But the fruit weight and oil yield were reduced in the barley treatment possibly due to waterlogging in winter 2019. Olive leaves analyzed in October 2020 showed acceptable levels for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, boron and zinc, with potassium being below the recommended threshold. In May 2021, cover crops had no effects on nutrients (N, P, K, Zn, B), except for reduced iron levels in legume treatments, similar to the control. The introduction of cover crops in the eastern Mediterranean olive orchards appear promising particularly with faba bean or vetch/barley mixtures. Other combinations are worth testing over a number of seasons. In addition to their beneficial effects at the agronomic/environmental level (nutrients cycling, increased biodiversity….), while serving as a source of animal feed and income.</p>

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Performance of overwinter cover crops in olive orchards in North Lebanon

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月9日

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  • F. Dandachi,
  • F. El Omar,
  • R. Omar,
  • M. El Riachy,
  • P. Moubarak,
  • T. Atallah

摘要

Lebanese traditional olive cultivation faces many environmental and economic challenges exacerbated by rising production costs during the ongoing economic crisis. Introducing overwinter crops, individually or in mixtures, could provide agronomic and economic benefits. Given the lack of such trials in the eastern Mediterranean, two experiments were conducted in a rainfed traditional olive orchard in North Lebanon. Common cover crops (common vetch and barley) were tested as well as faba bean as a winter vegetable. In winter 2019 vetch and barley were sown separately or as a mixture In winter 2021, a mixture of vetch and barley was tested alongside faba bean as a winter vegetable. In both trials, unplanted plots with spontaneous vegetation served as controls.Olive tree performance was assessed at harvest in December 2019 and through foliar analysis in December 2020 and May 2021. In 2019, intercropping with the mixture vetch-barley improved net biodiversity and increased significantly the crop nitrogen content. The mixture cereal-legume produced similarly in April 2019 (2305 gm−2 fresh mass) and April 2021 (1978 gm−2 fresh mass). In 2021, faba bean introduced as a cover crop, produced 10.12 pods.plant−1 and yielded approximately 684 gm−2 of green pods. Immature bean stalks harvested in April 2021 exhibited a high moisture content of 81.4% and a low ash content (< 10%) indicating suitability as feed for small ruminants. Cover crops incorporated in April 2019 did not affect olive fruit maturity at harvest in October 2019. But the fruit weight and oil yield were reduced in the barley treatment possibly due to waterlogging in winter 2019. Olive leaves analyzed in October 2020 showed acceptable levels for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, boron and zinc, with potassium being below the recommended threshold. In May 2021, cover crops had no effects on nutrients (N, P, K, Zn, B), except for reduced iron levels in legume treatments, similar to the control. The introduction of cover crops in the eastern Mediterranean olive orchards appear promising particularly with faba bean or vetch/barley mixtures. Other combinations are worth testing over a number of seasons. In addition to their beneficial effects at the agronomic/environmental level (nutrients cycling, increased biodiversity….), while serving as a source of animal feed and income.