Bagasse Mulch Research Articles

Soil Physicochemical Properties and Caper (Capparis spinosa L.) Growth in Response to Various Mulches

ABSTRACT One of the sustainable and the most effective methods for controlling wind erosion is protecting the ground surface by mulching and vegetation cover. This study was done to assess the effect of organic and inorganic mulches and also compaction levels on soil properties and growth characteristics of caper plants, as one of the important shrubs to combat desertification in hot-humid areas. Results suggested that sugarcane bagasse and palm waste compost mulches significantly increased soil organic carbon (OC), nutrients (available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), and moisture, and decreased soil electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and temperature. Petroleum mulch increased soil penetration resistance (69.50 kPa) and temperature (25.50). Petroleum and cement-slag mulch, and also their combination (petroleum-cement mulch) decreased soil moisture to the minimum extent. For either compaction level, using petroleum mulch increases penetration resistance. Compaction decreased soil moisture by 0.96% and increased total neutralizing value (TNV) and bulk density (BD) by 1.52% and 0.31 g cm−3, respectively. For either compaction level, soil porosity increased with the application of sugarcane bagasse mulch and palm waste compost. Using sugarcane bagasse mulch and palm waste compost increased stem length, leaf number, above ground and root weight, and shoot to root ratio of caper plant. Soil temperature (a = −0.70, R2 = 55.70%, P ≤ 0.001), EC (a = −0.87, R2 = 42.49%, P ≤ 0.001) and penetration resistance (a = −1.32, R2 = 17.03%, P ≤ 0.01) decreased with increasing soil moisture. BD (a = −1.20, R2 = 37.08%, P ≤ 0.001) decreased with increasing soil OC. Findings suggested the significant effect of organic mulches on improving some soil properties and growth characteristics of caper plants.

Soil Chemical Properties and Agronomic Response of Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) Due to Long Term of No-Tillage Practice and Bagasse Mulch Application

Intensive tillage will continuously reduce soil quality, characterized by decreased soil C-organic. Low soil C-organic indicates the disturbance of soil fertility. More conservative soil management experiments have been done for seven years to restore the soil quality for sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) productivity. This research aimed to study the effect of the tillage system, bagasse mulch, and their interactions on soil chemical properties and sugarcane agronomic response. The research was conducted on a Split Plot of five groups. The main plot was the tillage system consisting of intensive tillage and no-tillage, while the subplot was the bagasse mulch consisting of bagasse mulch and no-bagasse mulch. This study found that in sugarcane cultivation, no-tillage system was beneficial for soil P-available, sugarcane length, and sugarcane ripening; bagasse mulch was beneficial for soil C-organic and also soil P-available. The no-tillage system to increase P-available can be combined with bagasse mulch or no-bagasse mulch, but the no-tillage system combined with no-bagasse mulch increases the percentage of gap in sugarcane cultivation.

Soursop production under supplementary irrigation and mulching in the semiarid region of Brazil

ABSTRACT Irregular rainfall in the semiarid region of Brazil and in the world exerts a limiting action on agricultural production, in general, including fruit species. Under these conditions, irrigation is the input that keeps the production system both economically and socially viable. This study was carried out from 2012 to 2014, in the municipality of Remígio, Paraíba State, Brazil, aiming at evaluating the production of ‘Morada’ soursop cultivated under rainfed and irrigated conditions, in soil with and without mulch, in two harvests. The treatments were distributed in randomized block design with three replicates in a 2 × 3 × 2 factorial scheme, corresponding to non-irrigated plants (0 mm water depth) and plants irrigated weekly (17.2 mm water depth) in soil without mulching, with cover crop residues, and with a sisal bagasse mulch in the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 crop years. In the soil without mulching, irrigation increased yield from 5.3 to 34.7 t ha-1 in the first harvest and from 9.4 to 57.7 t ha-1 in the second harvest. The association between irrigation and mulch with sisal residue promoted the highest yield. The use of mulch of sisal residue increased the number and mean mass of fruits, production per plant and yield of ‘Morada’ soursop compared to the soil without mulch and covered by crop residues.

Pengaruh Ketebalan Mulsa Ampas Tebu Dan Interval Penyiraman Terhadap Pertumbuhan Tanaman Sukun (Artocarpus communis Forst)

Breadfruit (Artocarpus communis Forst) is a plant that has many benefits, which is able to support the welfare of the community. To cultivate these plants required effective and efficient techniques. This study aims to determine the effect of bagasse mulch thickness and intervals of watering to growth of breadfruit. This study used a complete randomized design (RAL) with 2 factors. The first factor is the thickness factor of bagasse mulch (T) which consists of control/without treatment (T0), thickness 1 cm (T1), thickness 3 cm (T2) and thickness 5 cm (T3) and the second factor is watering interval (S) consisting of daily watering (S1), 1 time in 3 days (S2) and 1 time in 6 days (S3). The observed parameters were height increase (cm), diameter (cm), number of leaves (strands), length of root (cm), upper water content of plants (shoot)(%) and moisture content (root)(%). The results showed that there is a real effect on the growth of breadfruit with the treatment of various of bagasse mulch thickness to height increase, diameter, number of leaves, length of root, and upper water content of plants. And the treatment of watering interval showed the real effect on the parameters of height increase, diameter, number of leaves and length of root.

Revealing the alkaline characteristic evolution of bauxite residue under biomass fermentation

Biomass fermentation has been proposed as a simple and economical strategy to alleviate the high alkalinity of bauxite residue. This study investigates the neutralization of bauxite residue following the application of biomass as an alkali modifier by natural fermentation. Fresh bauxite residue samples were collected from Pingguo refinery (Aluminum Corporation of China). Samples were treated with straw mulching (SC), straw mixing (SM), bagasse mulching (BC), and bagasse mixing (BM), respectively. Treatments were analyzed for pH, EC, metal cations, and soluble alkali (OH−, Al(OH)4− and CO32−). The mineral phase and Na speciation were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (Na-XANES). Optimum application rate for either straw or bagasse was 20% (w/w), reducing leachate pH from 10.26 to 8.56. During biomass transformation, the alkaline mineral grossular was completely dissolved, while calcite and cancrinite were dissolved to a lesser degree. No treatment changed the spatial distribution of Na+, but the basic anions (OH−, CO32−, and Al(OH)4−) were significantly reduced. Following treatment application, soluble alkali in the residues was significantly reduced while the alkaline minerals were slightly dissolved. This was determined as the main cause for the decrease in residue pH.

Long-term organic mulching and no-tillage practice increase population and biomass of earthworm in sugarcane plantation

This research aimed to study the effect of no-tillage and bagasse mulching on the population and biomass of earthworm in sugarcane plantation for six years application. The experiment was conducted in 2010 (plant cane, 1st period); the first sampling in July 2011; plant cane, period in August 2014 and the last in August 2016 (ratoon 1, 2nd period) at sugarcane plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. The treatments were soil tillage as the main plot i.e. (conventional tillage and no-tillage) and bagasse mulch as the sub-plot i.e. 80 mg bagasse ha−1yr−1 in 2010–2014 and 70 mg bagasse ha−1 in 2015, and with no bagasse mulch. The results showed that in the first sampling, from July 2011 to July 2013, all treatments did not significantly affect earthworm population and biomass. On ratoon 3rd, application of bagasse mulching started to show a significant effect on it, in which revealing significantly higher of earthworm population and biomass than that in without bagasse mulch. In 2015–2016, the effect of bagasse mulching on earthworm population was more pronounce than that in control treatment. Treatment of no-tillage after six years application gave higher population of earthworm than that of conventional tillage after six year application.

Produktivitas Tebu (Saccharum officinarum L.) Asal Bibit Bud Chips (Ujung, Tengah, Pangkal) Akibat Aplikasi Mulsa Bagasse

The use of bud chip seeds in meeting the needs of quality seeds in an effort to increase the production and yield of sugar cane. The use of bagasse will be a source of nutrients for plants, so that the optimum cane growth and increase sugar cane production. The objective of this study was to obtain the highest yield between bud chip position, bagasse mulch dose, and to know the interaction between bud chip budding treatment with bagasse mulch treatment on sugar cane rendement.. This research was conducted in teaching farm of Politeknik Negeri Lampung from June 2016 until February 2017. The experiments were performed using Randomized Block Design (RBD) in factorial pattern consisting of two factors. The first factor is the position of bud chips consisting of 3 levels i.e. top, middle, and base. The second factor is bagasse mulch dosage consisting of 4 levels i.e. 0 ton.ha -1 , 3 ton.ha -1 , 6 ton.ha -1 , and 9 ton.ha -1 . The result of this research showed that the position of bud chips on the top stem has an effect on the number of stem and the productivity of sugarcane compared to the midle and base stem position. The position of bud chips treatment result showed no effect on the yield of sugarcane. The dose of bagasse 3 ton.ha -1 , 6 ton.ha -1 , and 9 ton.ha -1 showed no effect on the stem diameter, the number of stem, and the rendement of sugarcane, but affected by the dose mulch of bagasse 0 ton. ha -1 . The dose of bagasse 3 ton.ha -1 showed the best effect on the number of stem per row and the productivity of sugarcane compared to all bagasse mulch treatments. There was no interaction between the treatment of sugarcane bud chips and mulch bagasse on all observation variables. Keywords: bud chips, bagasse mulch, sugarcane yield

Abundance of Soil Arthropods under Reduced Tillage and Bagasse Mulching in a Sugarcane Plantation in Central Lampung, Indonesia

Abundance of Soil Arthropods under Reduced Tillage and Bagasse Mulching in a Sugarcane Plantation in Central Lampung, Indonesia

Respons Bibit Bud Chips Batang Atas, Tengah, dan Bawah Tebu (Saccharum officinarum L.) terhadap Aplikasi Dosis Mulsa Bagasse

There are many benefits of s ugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum L.) as a sugar source to fulfil human staples food . The use of sugarcane b ud chips is one of cultivation technology in order to achieve national sugar self-sufficiency program. B agas s e m ulch kep t soil moisture and increased organic matter in the soil that has positive impact on sugarcne growth. The experiment was conducted in Teaching Farm of the State Polytechnic of Lampung, from November 2015 until April 2016. The experiment us ed Randomized Block Design (R BD ) in factorial pattern, consisting of two factors. The first factor is the treatment of bud chips position consisting of 3 levels i . e . top bud chip, middle bud chip, and bottom bud chips. The second factor is the bagasse mulch treatment consist ing of 4 levels i.e. control, 3 ton.ha -1 , 6 ton.ha -1 , and 9 ton.ha -1 . The objectives of the study were to obtain optimal growth among bud chips, optimal bagasse mulch, and to know the interaction between the bud chips position and the bagasse treatments. The results showed that the top bud chips were better than middle bud chips and bottom bud chips. The optimal rate of bagasse mulch was 3 ton.ha -1 . There was an interaction between the treatment of sugarcane bud chips and mulch bagasse on leaf length and soil moisture growth. Keywords: bagasse mulch, bud chips, sugarcane seedlings Permalink: http://jurnal.polinela.ac.id/index.php/AIP/article/view/648

Comparative Performance of Sugarcane Bagasse and Black Polyethylene as Mulch for Squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) Production

Louisiana processed 11.7 million mt of sugarcane in 2016, producing 1.47 million mt of raw sugar and an estimated 3.5 million mt of bagasse. Sugarcane bagasse is the fibrous material remaining after removing the sucrose, water, and other impurities (filter mud) from the millable sugarcane. Typically, Louisiana sugarcane mills burn a portion of the bagasse to heat boilers to steam power the mill for grinding and sugar processing. The balance of the bagasse is stored at the sugar mill where it accumulates in immense piles. Research was conducted in 2015 and 2016 to investigate the use of sugarcane bagasse as a natural mulch for vegetable production. The field experiment compared sugarcane bagasse mulch, black plastic mulch, and no mulch (control) for suitable mulching treatments for squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) production. The black plastic mulch produced significantly greater marketable fruits/plant, fruit number, and total yield (kg/ha) across years compared to the sugarcane bagasse mulch. The sugarcane bagasse mulch and the no mulch control were not significantly different for these same parameters. Black plastic also produced heaver fruit (g/fruit) than the sugarcane bagasse mulch and the control in 2015. The black plastic mulch produced greater yields due to the greater cumulative growing degree days (CGDD) received compared to the sugarcane bagasse mulch and no mulch control. The sugarcane bagasse mulch tended to mitigate temperature extremes by serving as a soil insulator. Future research should investigate the potential deleterious impact, if any, of the sugarcane bagasse on soil microbes, C/N ratio, soil pH, and allelopathy, which might adversely influence cucurbit growth.

Penerapan Sistem Olah Tanah dan Pemulsaan Pada Tebu untuk Pengendalian Nematoda Parasit Tumbuhan Dominan

Conventional tillage system practices for a long time can reduce soil qualities because of soil erosion, soil compaction and depleting of soil organic matter. Conservation tillage such as No-tillage system can be applied as an alternative technique to rehabilitate soil degradation problems.. This research is a part of a long term study of soil rehabilitation that was conducted from 2010 till now, in PT GMP, Central Lampung. Sampling of nematodes was done on April 2013 when the second ratoon RGM 00-838 variety of sugarcane was 9 months old. The aim of this research was to study the effect of tillage and mulching systems on the abundance of several dominant plant parasitic nematodes. Split plot experimental design was applied on this research. Tillage system as the main plots consisted of intensive tillage and no-tillage systems, while mulching system as the sub-plots consisted of no-mulch and mulching with 80 ton ha-1 of fresh bagasee. Nematodes were collected from 0-20 cm deep of soil and extracted by sieving and centrifugation with sugar solution methods at the Plant Pest and Disease Laboratory, University of Lampung. The results of this research showed that there were eleven plant parasitic and seven free-living nematode genera inhabited the PT GMP sugarcane plantation. The three plant parasitic nematode genera dominant were Hoplolaimus, Xiphinema, and Hemicriconemoides. No-tillage system effectively reduce the abundance of Xiphinema and , mulching with bagasse reduced the abundance of Hemicriconemoides. Meanwhile, mulching on No-tillage system more effective to reducing the abundance of Hoplolaimus compared to intensive tillage system. This results suggested that the No-tillage with bagasse mulching system was one of alternative techniques to control plant parasitic nematodes pest of sugarcane plantation. Keywords : Tillage, mulching, sugarcane, plant parasitic nematodes, abundance.

Shifts in the composition and potential functions of soil microbial communities responding to a no-tillage practice and bagasse mulching on a sugarcane plantation

This study examined the effect of conversion from a conventional tillage (CT) to a no-tillage (NT) practice and of bagasse mulching (M) on soil microbial community composition and potential functions, using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and shotgun metagenome sequencing. Our results showed that both the NT and the M treatment increased microbial PLFAs. The shotgun sequencing results suggested that the functional profiles are more resistant to agricultural managements than to community compositions, which supports the hypothesis of the functional redundancy of soil microbial communities. However, some metabolism-related sequences were significantly affected by different treatments. The percentage of sequences related to metabolism of carbohydrates, especially saccharide groups, was significantly higher in the CT soils than in NT and M soils, which may be linked to lower carbon (C) availability in CT soils. Compared with CT, the NT had higher alpha diversity and more sequences related to DNA metabolism, which may be associated with higher nutrient availability. On the other hand, the M treatment decreased the percentages of sequences related to the metabolism of amino acids and derivatives, which may be due to the limited nitrogen (N) because of the high C/N ratio of bagasse. We also observed interaction effects of the NT and M treatments; although both the NT and M treatments increased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria, this variable in NT + M soils was not higher than in each single treatment. Overall, our findings suggest that the microbial communities change their composition and functionality in response to the NT and M treatments, and these shifts have the potential to affect important soil processes that sustain crop productivity, such as C sequestration and major nutrient cycles.

Diversity of Fungi on Decomposing Leaf Litter in a Sugarcane Plantation and Their Response to Tillage Practice and Bagasse Mulching: Implications for Management Effects on Litter Decomposition

To minimize the degradation of soil organic matter (SOM) content in conventional sugarcane cropping, it is important to understand how the fungal community contributes to SOM dynamics during the decomposition of sugarcane leaf litter. However, our knowledge of fungal diversity in tropical agroecosystems is currently limited. Thus, we determined the fungal community structure on decomposing sugarcane leaf litter and their response to different soil management systems using the internal transcribed spacer region 1 (ITS1) amplicon sequencing method afforded by Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (PGM). The results indicate that no-tillage had positive effects on the relative abundance of Zygomycota and of some taxa that may prefer a moist environment over conventional tillage, whereas bagasse mulching decreased the richness of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and had positive effect on the relative abundance of slow-growing taxa, which may prefer poor nutrient substrates. Furthermore, a combination of no-tillage and bagasse mulching increased the abundance of unique OTUs. We suggest that the alteration of fungal communities through the changes in soil management practices produces an effect on litter decomposition.

Soil Microbial Biomass and Diversity Amended with Bagasse Mulch in Tillage and No-tillage Practices in the Sugarcane Plantation

Biomass residues in plantation farms and process industries still have valuable materials and can be recycled as other materials. Gunung Madu Plantation (GMP) in Lampung Province, Indonesia where this study was observed had used bagasse as mulch 80 tons (wet weight) per hectare. This study observed the effect of tillage and bagasse much on soil microbes in sugarcane plantation. Each treatment was used in conjunction with or without bagasse mulch in a split-plot experimental design. Previous study showed bagasse mulch had increased litter fungal biomass and communities in the soil. However soil microbial community structure has not been comprehensively investigated. Quinone profile method was used to analyze the community structure amended with bagasse mulch in the sugarcane plantation. Quinone profile method reflectively estimated the microbial biomass and the diversity. The no-tillage with bagasse mulch had the highest microbial biomass (1.026μmol kg-1 dry soil) compare to the no-tillage without bagasse mulch, the conventional tillage with bagasse mulch and the conventional tillage without bagasse mulch. The Diversity index (DQ) and Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H) was also the highest in the no-tillage amended with bagasse mulch. Therefore mulch treatment in combination with no-tillage is an effective residue management of biomass residue to improve soil quality.

No tillage and bagasse mulching alter fungal biomass and community structure during decomposition of sugarcane leaf litter in Lampung Province, Sumatra, Indonesia

Soil fungi are the predominant decomposers of soil organic matter (SOM). To manage SOM in tropical agricultural soils, it is important to understand the effects of agricultural management on fungal communities and their decomposition of organic matter. Our study site was located in a sugarcane plantation in Lampung Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The objectives of this study were to determine the following: (1) the effect of conversion from conventional tillage to no-tillage farming and the application of bagasse mulch on fungal biomass, community structure, and the relative ratio of fungal to bacterial biomass (F:B); (2) the combination effect of no-tillage with bagasse mulch on these fungal parameters; and (3) possible links between these fungal parameters and the decomposition rate of sugarcane leaf litter. We measured fungal biomass and F:B by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, and we evaluated fungal molecular diversity and community structure by modified terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) profiling. Fungal biomass was 2-fold greater with no-tillage and 2.5-fold greater with added bagasse mulch relative to conventional (tillage without mulch) plots. On the other hand, no-tillage also increased bacterial biomass and fungal OTU (operational taxonomic unit) richness, whereas bagasse mulch increased the F:B and inhibited a specific fungal OTU. Under a combination of no-tillage and bagasse mulch, the fungal biomass was 1.7-fold greater than in conventional plots, indicating that the combination did not have an additive effect on fungal biomass. The litter mass loss rate was negatively correlated with fungal biomass, and bagasse mulch suppressed the mass loss approximately 20% less than in the conventional plots. However, the mass loss rate in no-tillage plots did not differ from that in conventional plots. Overall, our results indicated that no-tillage and bagasse much increased litter fungal biomass and altered the fungal communities, and these changes were reflected in the litter decomposition and soil C dynamics. Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between litter decomposition and fungal species identity.

The Influences of Organic Mulches on Soil Moisture Content and Temperatures : A Case Study of Tapioca Wastes Application

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of organic mulching on soil temperature and moisture content. An experiment was conducted in a pineapple plantation at Lampung province, Indonesia from July 2001 to September 2002 using tapioca wastes and rice husk. There were 5 treatments namely: control/no mulch, rice husk mulch, cassava bagasse mulch, cassava peel mulch, and black polyethylene film mulch. The results showed that the soil temperatures of the surface layers under cassava bagasse and black polyethylene film mulches slightly increased with the increase in air temperature, while rice husk and cassava peel mulches decreased the heat convection into soil surface by retaining the incoming solar radiation heat within mulches layers. However, soil temperature regimes were greatly ameliorated by the mulching materials and that enhanced water absorption by pineapple, therefore the total wet biomasses and yields were improved. Cassava bagasse mulch enhanced effective rainfall during rainy season, better than the other mulching materials.

Production of iceberg lettuce using mulches

Mulches bring several benefits to lettuce cultivation. This work evaluated the effect of mulches on the cultivation of iceberg lettuce, cv. Lucy Brown. The treatment plots were: 1- no mulch and no weed control (control); 2- no mulch and weed control every 15 days; 3- sugarcane bagasse mulch of 2 cm thickness; 4- black plastic mulch; 5- double-faced plastic mulch (silver/black). Data were collected in regard to plant cycle when in the field, amount of chlorophyll in the leaves, productivity (individual weight per head) and amount of nutrients absorbed by the leaves. Double-faced plastic mulch provides the highest productivity and the highest values for the amount of chlorophyll, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, boron and iron accumulation in the leaves.

Revegetation of a scalded saline discharge zone in central Queensland. 1. Selection of tree species and evaluation of an establishment technique

Species selection trials using 38 tree species were undertaken on salinised, waterlogged land [watertable within about 1 m of soil surface, electrical conductivity (ECw) about 30 dS/m, surface soil (0-0.1 m) EC1.5 about 10 dS/m] in coastal central Queensland. Casuarina glauca and C. obesa gave best survival and growth, while Eucalyptus camaldulensis and C. cunninghamiana gave good initial survival but succumbed to salt and waterlogging stress after several years. The role of soil mounding and mulching for the establishment of C. glauca was investigated in a factorial experiment involving 2 levels of soil mounding (nil, 0.15 m) and 4 mulch conditions (nil, hay, black plastic, white plastic), and in a second experiment involving bagasse, soil amendment with calcium, and the installation of a double ridge in the mound. The low u soil mounding had little effect on plant survival or growth, or soil conductivity; however, mulching greatly influenced these parameters (e.g. about 2 years after a summer planting, tree survival, tree growth, and surface soil conductivity in a plastic mulch treatment was 566, 210, and 60%, respectively, of values of the no-mulch treatment, with a mean tree height of about 3 m in the plastic mulch treatment). Plastic mulch was recommended over hay or bagasse mulch for short-term (<2 years) increase in plant survival and growth (e.g. 15 months after a summer planting, height of plants established in plastic mulch rows was 124% of that in hay-mulched rows). The incorporation of a small trough in the crown of the bed was found to improve plant growth significantly (tree height in troughed mounds 120% of that in untroughed mounds, 15 months after planting), but did not improve establishment. Soil amelioration with lime, gypsum, or dolomite at 3.0 t/ha did not improve plant growth. A further trial at another salinised site confirmed the success of the plastic mulch-crown trough technique, relative to conventional preparation techniques (i.e. ripping).

A Media and Fertilizer Study in Anthurium1

Abstract A study was conducted on Anthurium andreanum Lind, cv Ozaki Red testing sugarcane bagasse, wood shavings, black cinder, black cinder base with bagasse mulch, and tree fern chips, media and fertilizer levels of 448, 196, and 370 kg N-P-K/ha per yr at 1, 2, and 3 × rates. Media ranking from best to poorest for flower production, flower stem length, and flower size were: sugarcane bagasse, wood shavings, black cinder base with bagasse mulch, tree fern chips and black cinder. The low fertilizer rate gave as good or better results in flower production as the high rates. The 2 × rate produced slightly longer flower stems and larger flowers than 1 × or 3 × rate. Flower production decreased with age of plant, but both stem length and flower size increased.

CRUSTING OF RIVER ESTATE SOIL, TRINIDAD, AND ITS EFFECT ON GASEOUS DIFFUSION, PERCOLATION, AND SEEDLING EMERGENCE

SummaryThe River Estate Loam in Trinidad is micaceous. It is weakly structured and prone to surface crusting which results in decreased gaseous diffusion, infiltration‐ percolation, and seedling emergence. Mulching with ‘Encap’ (a liquid petroleum product) increased infiltration but not seedling emergence whereas ‘Krilium’ (sodium polyacrilonitrile) was more effective in improving seedling emergence. Bagasse mulch had a beneficial effect on infiltration but in common with pen manure was not very effective in aiding seedling emergence. Thin section examination showed that the uncrusted soil had an open structure with a large volume of pores, but, on crusting, the particles became densely packed with negligible air‐spaces. Soil particles on die surface of the crust showed some degree of orientation but below the surface there was no such tendency, although particles coalesced with negligible air‐spaces. The liquid petroleum mulch prevented crust formation and maintained a stable soil structure.