Response of woodland-planted ramps to surface-applied calcium, planting density, and bulb preparation.
Authors:
Ritchey, K.D. Schumann, C.M. USDA, ARS
Source:
HortScience : a publication of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 2005 Aug., v. 40, no. 5, p. 1516-1520.
NALT Subjects:
Allium tricoccum wild plants wild foods agroforestry understory calcium fertilizers soil amendments site preparation forest soils acid soils soil fertility soil pH plant growth mortality plant density bulbs soil chemical properties West Virginia
Issue Date:
Aug-2005
Abstract:
Concern about over-harvesting wild populations of ramps (Allium tricoccum Ait.) has led to interest in planting ramps as an under-story agroforestry crop. To see if ramps would respond to Ca amendments in an acidic site, we planted three types of ramps bulbs and broadcast slaked lime (3316 kg.ha(-1)) or gypsum (7704 kg.ha(-1)) on a Rayne silt loam (fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Typic Hapludults). After 3 years, surface-applied slaked lime raised Ca levels as deep as the 22.5 to 30 cm layer, which showed an increase of 0.34 cmol(c).kg(-1), and increased pH in the 2.5 to 5.0 cm layer from 3.96 to 4.67. Gypsum application raised Ca concentration in the 22.5 to 30 cm layer from 0.2 in the control to 0.7 cmol(c).kg(-1), but had little effect on pH anywhere in the profile. In plots harvested after 2 years, both amendments increased plant survival and per-plant weight, compared to controls. In plots harvested after 3 years, ramps grown in the slaked lime treatment were heavier than in the gypsum treatment indicating that slaked lime, which raised pH as well as supplied Ca, was probably the better amendment. Single or joined bulbs survived better than bulbs obtained by breaking joined bulbs in two. While more research is needed to overcome limitations to commercial planting of ramps in acidic sites, our data show that Ca application is beneficial to growth and survival of ramps.
