USE OF COVER CROPS FOR WEED SUPPRESSION IN HAZELNUT (CORYLUS AVELLANA L.) IN TURKEY.

Weed management is critical in hazelnut (Corylus avellana) production. Weeds reduce nutrient availability, interfere with tree growth, and reduce hand-harvesting efficiency. Field experiments were conducted to test effects of cover crops as alternative weed management strategies in hazelnut. The cover crop treatments consisted of Trifolium repens L., Festuca rubra subsp. rubra L., Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Vicia villosa Roth. And Trifolium meneghinianum Celmand fallow with no cover crop. Control plots such as weedy control, herbicide control and mechanical control were added as reference plots. The lowest weed dry biomass was obtained from Vicia villosa plots, and there were no significant differences among all other cover crop treatments. The highest cover crop dry biomass was measured in the Trifolium meneghinianum plots. Regarding the effect of cover crops on hazelnut yields, the lowest yield was ob- tained from weedy control plots, while the highest yield was obtained from F. arundinacea plots. This research indicated that cover crops could be used as living mulch in integrated weed management programs to manage weeds in the hazelnut orchards.