Living mulch and organic fertilization to improve weed management, yield and quality of broccoli raab in organic farming

The experiment, carried out in Puglia, Southern Italy on transplanted broccoli raab (cv. Grossa fasanese), evaluated four soil management systems (SMSs): Trifolium subterraneum and T. repens used as living mulch, undisturbed weedy, and conventional tillage. For each SMS, four rates of nitrogen and phosphorous (NP0, NP1, NP2, and NP3) were supplied, using an organic fertilizer. The aims of this research were: (i) to investigate the influence of living mulch on both weed infestation and broccoli raab production; (ii) to evaluate the effects of organic fertilization by applying different rates of nitrogen and phosphorous on yield and quality of broccoli raab.