Abstract Soil management is a practice that influences the development of fruit trees. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different soil cover/mulching types on weed control and on the early development of pear trees Hosui cultvar. The experiment was conducted in two consecutive cycles: 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. Treatments consisted of the following soil covers in pear tree planting rows: natural cover, ryegrass straw intercropped with millet, pine sawdust, shading cover (70%), rice husk, Curauá fiber and weeding. Soil infestation by weeds was evaluated in the spring-summer period for two years, as well as the vegetative pear tree development (plant height and diameter and SPAD chlorophyll index). Managements using... |