Bisbee Delicious apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh.) on Mailing 26 rootstock, planted in 1979 on an Osoyoos loamy sand were subjected, commencing in 1981, to five different orchard soil management treatments including full ground cover, early season vegetation control, total vegetation control, black plastic mulching and shallow tillage. All ground cover suppression treatments decreased leaf K and increased leaf Mg, leaf N and yield. With the exception of early season vegetation control, all ground cover suppression treatments decreased leaf P although P was adequate for initial growth. Declines in soil solution Ca, Mg, and K concentration, 1980–1983, were observed regardless of soil management method. Key words: Apples, M.26 rootstock, leaf N, P, K, Ca, Mg, fruit yield