Black Plastic Mulch Research Articles

Mulch Treatment Effect on Weed Biomass and Yields of Organic Sweetpotato Cultivars

Weeds are a challenge, particularly in organic agriculture, due to restrictions on the application of synthetic herbicides and chemicals. A preliminary cultivar evaluation trial of organic sweetpotato was conducted in 2015 at Tennessee State University certified organic farm. Three mulches: wheat straw, pine needle, and black plastic mulch, along with a control (no mulch), were evaluated for their weed management abilities in a sweetpotato field. Four cultivars of sweetpotato were planted in 0.91 m wide mulch beds with 0.3 m row spacing anddrip irrigated with four replications. Data was collected during the growing season on the dry weight of weeds that emerged in a quadrat and yield components at harvest. Results of two-way ANOVA revealed that mulch treatments affected the weed biomass, weed density, and cull yields. Though the use of mulches had no significant effect on other yield components of sweetpotato in this study; it was beneficial for weed management.

Effect of the type of coverage and some types of organic and chemical fertilizers in the growth and yield of potato plant Solanum tuberosum L.

نفذت التجربة في أحد الحقول الاهلية في محافظة ديالى، تمت الزراعة في العروة الخريفية بتاريخ 15 أيلول لعام 2013 وتمت عملية قلع الدرنات في 25 كانون الأول 2013. استخدمت درنات صنف البطاطا ريفيري الرتبة Elite-، ونفذت تجربة عاملية وفق تصميم القطاعات العشوائية الكاملة Design Randomized Complete Block بعاملين وبثلاثة مكررات واختبرت الفروق بين المتوسطات بحسب اختبار L.S.D عند مستوى احتمال 0.05 العامل الأول التغطية M تضمن معاملتين (M1: التغطية بمخلفات محصول الحنطة وM2: التغطية بالبلاستك الاسود). والعامل الثاني التسميد F تضمن أربع معاملات (F0: المقارنة بدون إضافة،:F1 الأسمدة الكيميائية وحسب الموصى بها (200و240و600) كغم/ هكتار لكل من K2SO4 وP2O5 واليوريا بالتتابع، F2: سماد أغنام مخمر بتركيز 5% وF3: رش الحماض الاميني البرولين بتركيز200 جزء في المليون) يتبين من نتائج البحث تفوق معاملة التغطية بالبلاستك الاسود (M2) في نسبة البزوغ الحقلي (100.00)% عدد سيقان النبات (4.26) ارتفاع النبات (62.84)سم معدل وزن الدرنة (143.60) غم حاصل النبات الواحد (961.75) غم والحاصل الكلي (38.47) طن/هكتار أما صفة عدد الدرنات لم تختلف معنويا عن معاملة التغطية بقش الحنطة وفي معاملات التسميد تفوقت معاملة التسميد بالحامض الأميني البرولين (F3) في عدد سيقان النبات (4.87) ارتفاع النبات (65.16)سم معدل وزن الدرنة (159.80) غم حاصل النبات الواحد (1158.16) غم والحاصل الكلي (46.33) طن/هكتار أما نسبة الانبات لم تختلف معنويا عن معاملة التسميد بسماد الأغنام واظهرت معاملات التداخل تفوق التداخل بين التغطية بالبلاستك الاسود والتسميد بحامض البرولين (M2F3) في عدد سيقان النبات (4.86) ارتفاع النبات (70.77)سم عدد الدرنات (7.60) معدل وزن الدرنة(164.58) غم حاصل النبات الواحد (1251.81) غم والحاصل الكلي (50.07) طن/هكتار عدا صفة نسبة الانبات

Effectiveness of Alternative Control Methods for Tithonia diversifolia on Water Yam (Dioscorea alata) Plot

Tithonia diversifolia has become a significant agronomic problem to optimum arable crop production in Nigeria which has necessitated effective and timely control if the good yield is expected on infested soil. This study compared the performance of water yam under different weed control methods on Tithonia infested plot at Ogunba village near Baaya-Oje in Surulere Local Government area of Ogbomoso, Oyo State during the 2015 growing season. Eight (8) control treatments were evaluated namely: Weed control with Atrazine, Diuron, 2 hoe weeding, 3 hoe weeding, Black plastic mulch, grass mulch, Diuron + Atrazine + Plastic mulch (IWM) and unweeded plot. The three (3) hoe weeding and the unweeded plot served as the control treatments. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized complete block design with three replicates. Yam setts were planted at a spacing of 1 m x 1 m to give a population of 10000 plants/ha. Atrazine and Diuron were applied at the rate of 2.5 kg a.i/ha, 2 hoe weeding was done at 3 and 6 weeks after planting (WAP), 3 hoe weeding was done at 3,6 and 9 WAP, while grass mulch was applied at the rate of 5 tons/ha. In IWM, Atrazine and Diuron were applied each at the half recommended rate (1.25 kg/ha) before applying plastic mulch. The treatments were applied pre-emergently on a rain wetted soil after planting. Data were collected on growth and yield parameters of yam as well as on Tithonia weed population and dry matter yield. Results showed that weed control methods significantly (P < 0.05) influenced water yam yield. The highest tuber yield (21 tons/ha) in plastic mulch was comparable to IWM (20 tons/ha), 3 hoe weeding (19 tons/ha) and 2 hoe weeding (18 tons/ha). Grass mulch (16 tons/ha), Diuron (15 tons/ha), Atrazine (14 tons/ha) were also not significantly (P > 0.05) different. Thus, it may be concluded that plastic much is the most efficient of the methods for weed control in yam. The implication of this finding is discussed.

Interactive effect of FYM and mulching on productivity and water use efficiency of squash melon (Citrullus vulgaris var. fistulosus) grown with supplemental irrigation in hot arid region of Rajasthan

Squash melon (Citrullus vulgaris var. fistulosus Steward) is a rainfed crop in arid region but in these areas, the rainy days are very less. Due to this reason, the farmers could not get desired yield. Hence supplemental irrigation with water conservation practices is required for getting the economic return from this crop. Hence an experiment was conducted at ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Bikaner, Rajasthan to study the effect of three mulching treatments (No mulching, straw mulching (2.5 tonnes/ha) using local shrub Leptadenia pyrotechnica and black polyethylene plastic mulching of 25 micron thickness) and four FYM doses (0, 20, 30 and 40 tonnes/ha) on growth, yield, WUE and economics of Squash melon grown with supplemental irrigation during kharif seasons of 2012 and 2013. Vine length, numbers of fruits per plant and yield of squash melon were significantly influenced by FYM, mulching and their interaction during both the years of experiment. Application of FYM caused significant improvement in squash melon yield up to 30 tonnes/ha. Averaged across mulching treatments, application of FYM @ 20, 30 and 40 tonnes/ha resulted 47.8, 79.5 and 88.4% higher yields compared to control. Application of mulch brought significant improvement in yield and yield components and the response of mulch varied with the level of FYM application. Plastic and straw mulching resulted 26.6 and 48.6% higher yield over no-mulch treatment. Straw mulch recorded the longest vine length, the highest numbers of fruits per plant and yield. The highest yield was recorded with application of 30 tonnes FYM /ha combined with straw mulch.

Used plastic materials as mulches: An alternative to conventional black plastic mulch for small and marginal farmers

The return of ladies finger (okra) to the joint effect of drip irrigation and mulches is very encouraging. The most common types of mulch are the black plastic mulch (BPM), which is commercially produced by industry but does create environmental problems and increased cost of production particularly for small and marginal farmers. On the other hand, food materials and fertilizers etc. are available and sold in plastic bags. Can we make REUSE of these plastic bags in preparing low cost mulching system for small and marginal farmers? With this in view a field experiment was carried out during the year 2017 at Department of Soil and Water Engineering, Swami Vivekanand College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology & Research Station, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. The research experiment was performed in a split plot design on clay loam soil during summer season (February to May) for growing okra. Levels of irrigation were assigned based on crop evapotranspiration (ETc). The effect of four irrigation levels viz. 60% ETc, 80% ETc, 100% ETc and 120% ETc with drip under black plastic mulch (BPM) and different types used plastic material as mulch viz. used reddish rice bag mulch (RBM), used whitish wheat flour bag mulch (WFBM), used white fertilizer bag mulch (FBM) were studied for moderating the temperature, moisture conservation, weed restriction, yield, water use efficiency and cost economics also. Temperature measurement was done with Digital Soil Thermometer at a depth of 7.6 cm and 12 cm at 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. It reflects that used plastic mulches are moderating the temperature at par as BPM. Soil moisture measurement was done with Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) at 7.6 and 12 cm. Average moisture content under BPM, WFBM, RBM and FBM at 7.6 cm was found to be 27.5%, 25.5%, 26.5% and 26.4% respectively, while it was found to be 23.8%, 21.8%, 22.7% and 22.4% respectively at 12 cm depth. Maximum weed population control (96%) was recorded with BPM followed by used RBM (82%), used FBM (80%) and used WFBM (76%) respectively. The benefit cost ratio was also worked out and found to be higher (2.09) under 120% ETc with BPM as compared to 120% ETc with used RBM (1.86), 120% ETc with used WFBM (1.82) and 80% ETc with used WFBM (1.81). Highest Crop Water Use Efficiency (42.38 kg ha−1 mm−1) was found at 60% ETc with BPM as compared to 80% ETc with BPM (36.72 kg ha−1 mm−1), 80% ETc with used BPM (34.17 kg ha−1 mm−1) and 80% ETc with used WFBM (31.58 kg ha−1 mm−1). From the point of view of initial investment and water saving the 80% ETc with used WFBM is a better choice for small and marginal farmer as the return (1.81) is also closer to the other treatments.

Effects of Nonwoven Polypropylene Covering during Overwintering on Growth and Bulb Yield of Intermediate-day Onion

This study evaluated the effects of a nonwoven polypropylene (NPP) covering during overwintering with different mulch types and transplant times on bulb onion growth and yield of intermediate-day onions (Allium cepa L.) during the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 growing seasons. Field experiments were conducted using a split-split plot design with three replicates. Treatments included main plots containing different mulch types (transparent plastic mulch, black plastic mulch, or bare ground), subplots with different transplanting times (20 Oct., 5 Nov., and 20 Nov.), and sub-subplots containing two onion cultivars (Sunpower and Katamaru). NPP was used to cover all plots on 1 Dec., and it was removed on 28 Feb. Mean daily air temperatures during transplanting and root establishment were 2.6 °C higher during the 2015/2016 growing season compared with the 2016/2017 season. NPP covering on bare ground increased soil temperature by 2.1 °C compared with no treatment. Soil water potential with transparent and black mulches and NPP continued to be more than −10 kPa until early March. Number of leaves, and root and leaf weight were significantly greater during the 2015/2016 growing season than during the 2016/2017 growing season; there were also significantly greater for onion plants grown with transparent plastic mulch than for those grown with black plastic mulch or no mulch on 4 Apr. and 5 May. Marketable bulb yield was lower during 2015/2016 (32.0 Mg·ha−1) than during 2016/2017 (38.5 Mg·ha−1); this was due to the increased unmarketable bulb yield, with 33.2 Mg·ha−1 bolters and 3.9 Mg·ha−1 doubled bulbs during 2015/2016 compared with 3.9 Mg·ha−1 bolters and 0.3 Mg·ha−1 doubled bulbs during 2016/2017. Marketable bulb yield of ‘Katamaru’ (38.9 Mg·ha−1) was greater than that of ‘Sunpower’ (31.6 Mg·ha−1). Marketable bulb yield increased with later transplanting times, and onions grown with black plastic mulch achieved the highest bulb yield (43.0 Mg·ha−1), followed by transparent mulch (34.7 Mg·ha−1) and no mulch (28.0 Mg·ha−1). When the temperatures from early November to early December were similar to the 30-year average temperatures, marketable bulb yield could increase with the NPP covering, especially for onions grown with black plastic mulch or no mulch when transplanted from late October to early November.

Comparison of safe weed control methods with chemical herbicide in potato field

BackgroundMulching and manual or mechanical hoeing are the backbone of weed control strategies in organic agriculture. So, two field experiments were established in the village of Kafer El-Khawazim, Talkha district, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt, during the winter seasons of 2017 and 2018. The experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the safe weed control methods of mulching and manual hoeing in comparison with metribuzine herbicide on potato plants and associated weeds.ResultsThe results indicated that the treatment of black plastic mulch was the superior treatment in controlling broadleaved, grassy, and total weeds as compared to other treatments under study. Metribuzin herbicide came in the second rank in controlling broadleaved weeds. Concerning to grassy and total weeds, banana leaf and cheeseweed straw mulches follow the black plastic mulch ideal treatment. The results also revealed that the use of black plastic mulch and banana leaf mulch followed by cheeseweed straw mulch led to the highest significant increase in growth characteristics and tuber yield of potato plants. This in turn correlated with a significant increase in tuber contents of phosphorus, potassium, and carbohydrate percentage than unweeded control treatment.ConclusionBlack plastic mulch followed by banana leaf mulch and cheeseweed straw mulch were the ideal safe treatments in controlling total weeds. This in turn reflected on potato plants by scoring the maximum values of yield characters as compared to unweeded check.

Metalized-striped Plastic Mulch Reduces Root-zone Temperatures during Establishment and Increases Early-season Yields of Annual Winter Strawberry

Black plastic mulch is used predominantly for winter strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) production in Florida because of its warming effects. However, black plastic mulch can increase heat stress during establishment, especially when growers advance planting dates (e.g., late September) to improve earliness. Consequently, we designed a new plastic mulch film that has a metalized center stripe with black shoulders. We hypothesized that metalized-striped mulch can minimize heat stress during establishment, while maintaining the warming effects of black mulch during winter. We conducted field trials over two seasons to evaluate black mulch, fully metalized mulch, and metalized-striped mulch using two cultivars differing in heat stress tolerance and fruit production patterns: ‘Florida Radiance’ and ‘Florida Beauty’. The effect of plastic mulch type on plant growth and yield was generally consistent across both seasons. Compared with black mulch, metalized-striped mulch reduced afternoon root-zone temperature (RZT) by up to 3.1 °C and reduced the duration of heat stress conditions (RZT > 30 °C) by 119 hours across October and November, but exhibited equivalent soil warming during winter. Yield increases by metalized-striped mulch compared with black mulch ranged from 19% to 34% in the early season (November–January), 6% to 20% in the late season (February–March), and 12% to 26% over the entire season. Statistical significance was detected for the 2016–17 early-season yield and when yield data were expressed on a weekly basis. Compared with black mulch, metalized-striped mulch improved fruit number significantly without affecting fruit weight or canopy area, suggesting that heat stress on black mulch negatively affects flower and fruit development more than plant growth. Weekly fruit yield data indicate that metalized-striped mulch can produce greater yields than fully metalized mulch. Metalized-striped mulch is an easily implementable strategy for reducing establishment heat stress and improving fruit earliness in subtropical winter strawberry production regions.

On-farm Evaluation of Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed System with Plastic Mulch for Brinjal Crop

An on-farm experiment was conducted on farmers’ field in two villages of Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh to evaluate the effectiveness of mulched and non-mulched furrow irrigated raised bed(FIRB) system over farmers’ practice of check basin irrigation for brinjal crop. The system performance was assessed in terms of crop physiological parameters, water saving, yield, water productivity and cost of cultivation. Mulch significantly affected the physiological parameters of crop like plant height, number of branches, girth, root depth, leaf area and fruit weight. Results revealed that the water savings under furrow irrigated raised bed system without mulch (T2) and with mulch (T3) was 167.7 mm (31.2 %) and 237.0 mm (44.1 %), respectively, as compared to farmers’ practice (T1). Significantly higher brinjal yield (21.29 t.ha-1) was observed in T3, which was 26.7 % higher over T1. Higher yield and comparatively lesser application of irrigation water resulted in significantly high water productivity (88.49 kg.ha-mm-1) in T3 as compared to T1 (31.34 kg.ha-mm-1). The average benefit-cost ratio (BCR) for the treatments T1, T2, and T3 were 2.21, 2.58 and 2.62, respectively. Furrow irrigated raised bed cultivation of brinjal with black plastic mulch is recommended to the farmers of central Uttar Pradesh to achieve twin objectives of improved crop yields and increased water productivity.

Effects of Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation on Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in Paraguay

The effects of anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) on Sclerotinia sclerotiorum sclerotia viability was tested in four field trials in Paraguay. Plots were amended with wheat bran (20.2 Mg/ha), molasses (10.1 Mg/ha), or wheat bran (20.2 Mg/ha) plus molasses (10.1 Mg/ha), saturated with water, and covered with black plastic mulch for 3 weeks. Control plots were not amended but were saturated and either covered (anaerobic control) or maintained uncovered (aerobic control). Tubes painted with iron oxide paint were placed in soils to assess soil reducing conditions. Sclerotia were buried 6 cm deep in treated and control soils along with temperature data loggers. After 3 weeks, the viability of sclerotia was significantly lower in all ASD-treated soils (4 to 52%) compared with the aerobic control soil (100%), regardless of the carbon source used. Sclerotial viability was also significantly reduced compared with anaerobic controls at three sites, depending on the carbon source used. A significant negative correlation between soil reducing conditions and sclerotia viability was observed at all sites. Wheat bran and molasses are widely available and inexpensive in Paraguay, and ASD with these carbon sources provides smallholder South American vegetable farmers with a new option for sustainable management of Sclerotinia and potentially other soilborne pathogens.

Effect of Irrigation and Mulch Materials on Growth and Yield of Wheat

An experiment was carried out in Agronomy field of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka to find out the performance of wheat (var. BARI Gom 27) as influenced by time of irrigation and different mulch materials during 2015-2016. Four levels of irrigation viz. control, one irrigation at CRI (crown root initiation) stage, one irrigation at flowering stage and two irrigations each at CRI + flowering stage; and four different mulch materials viz. control, rice straw, rice husk and plastic sheets were considered as treatment variables. The experiment was laid out in a split- plot design with three replications, assigning irrigation to main plot and mulch materials to sub plots. Results showed that time of irrigation and different mulch materials had significant effect on plant characters, yield and yield components of wheat. Two irrigations given at CRI + flowering stage resulted with significantly higher plant height, number of spikelets spike-1, number of grains spike-1, 1000- grain weight, grain yield, straw yield and harvest index over one irrigation and control plots. Among mulch materials, black plastic mulch resulted with significantly higher grain yield of wheat. The highest grains (4.15 t ha-1) and straw yields (4.25 t ha-1) were obtained with two irrigations at CRI and flowering stage with black plastic mulch for achieving higher productivity.
 Bangladesh Agron. J. 2018, 21(1): 71-76

Effect of mulch materials on soil physico-chemical properties and the performance of castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) in rivers state, Nigeria

Mulches are known to conserve soil moisture, provide organic matter, protect soil and improve the soil as a growing environment. A field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of various mulch materials viz. dry oil palm bunch, saw dust and dry elephant grass at 25, 50 and 25 tons ha-1, respectively along with black plastic mulch on some soil physical and chemical properties and the performance of castor bean plant (Ricinus communis). All the mulches were applied to a mulch thickness of 5cm in this study. Results showed that pH values, organic carbon content and total nitrogen were all significantly improved by mulching. Bulk density values were reduced to 1.10 - 1.18gcm-3 across all treatments, when compared to the control at 1.33gcm-3. At 6 WAP, plastic mulching increased number of leaves from 16 to 40 leaves per plant and capsule weight from 63.1 to 161.3g/plant; when compared with the control.

Pengaruh Penggunaan Mulsa terhadap Pertumbuhan dan Hasil Tanaman Sawi (Brassica juncea L.) pada Jarak Tanam yang Berbeda

Menurunnya produktivitas tanaman dapat disebabkan oleh faktor lingkungan. Kurangnya ketersediaan air, hara, perolehan cahaya serta kompetisi yang terjadi antar tanaman pada jarak tanam yang lebih rapat maupun kompetisi tanaman dengan gulma dapat mengakibatkan pertumbuhan tanaman yang tidak maksimal sehingga berdampak pada hasil produksi yang kurang. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penggunaan mulsa dengan beberapa jarak tanam yang berbeda terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil tanaman sawi. Penelitian dilaksanakan dengan menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok Lengkap (RAKL) Faktorial yang diulang sebanyak 4 (empat) kali. Faktor pertama adalah jenis mulsa terdiri dari tiga taraf yaitu M0: tanpa mulsa, M1: mulsa plastik hitam perak, M2: mulsa jerami. Faktor kedua adalah jarak tanam yang terdiri dari tiga taraf yaitu JT1: 20x25 cm, JT2: 30x25 cm, JT3: 40x25 cm. parameter pengamatan terdiri dari tinggi tanaman, jumlah daun, luas daun, panjang akar dan bobot segar tanaman. Analisis data dilakukan dengan menggunakan software SAS dengan analisis varian (Anova) pada taraf 5%. Apabila hasil analisis varian menunjukkan adanya beda nyata antar perlakuan, analisis dilanjutkan dengan uji jarak ganda Duncan (DMRT). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Pemberian mulsa jerami dengan jarak tanam 30x25 cm antar tanaman menunjukkan pengaruh yang lebih baik dengan nilai yang lebih tinggi yaitu jumlah daun 13,50 helai, luas daun 63,13 cm2, panjang akar 8,18 cm dan bobot segar tanaman sebanyak 210,00 gram/tanaman dibandingkan dengan perlakuan lainnya.

Weed Control Efficacy, Growth and Yield of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) as Affected by Alternative Weed Control Methods

Two field experiments were conducted to assess the response of growth, yield and quality of potato crop as well as weed control efficacy (WCE) to different colours (blue, white and black) of plastic mulches, biodegradable (plastic and rice straw) mulches, infrared transmitting (IRT) plastic mulch and natural herbicides (acetic acid 20% (AA), citric acid (CA) 10% and AA 10% + CA 5%) in comparison with hoeing, metribuzin herbicide and unweeded check. At 90 days after planting, black and biodegradable plastic mulches recorded WCE significantly higher than hoeing treatment with values of 98.1% and 93.8%, respectively, compared with 83.1% for hoeing. High WCE was recorded by AA 20% (90.7%), rice straw (90.4%), white (89.6%), IRT (88.1%) and blue (83.7%) plastic mulches and AA 10% + CA 5% (80.5%) which were similar to hoeing treatment. The lowest WCE (70.2%) was obtained by CA 10% treatment. The highest plant shoot fresh weight was recorded in biodegradable and black plastic treatments. Weed infestation in the unweeded plots reduced marketable yield of potato by 57.8%. All plastic and rice straw treatments produced total and marketable yields similar to hoeing treatment. The increase of marketable yield under synthetic and biodegradable mulches ranged from 118.6 to 155.1%. Application of AA 20% and the mixture of AA 10% + CA 5% achieved tuber yields similar to metribuzin herbicide. Biodegradable plastic recorded the largest tuber volume and the lowest physiological disorder yield. The highest starch content was recorded in black plastic and rice straw mulch treatments. It was concluded that mulches and natural herbicides may provide alternative safe weed management methods to hoeing and/or synthetic herbicides in potato crop, especially for new reclaimed areas and organic farms.

White-striped plastic mulch reduces root-zone temperatures during establishment and increases early season yields of annual winter strawberry

Early-season yields are critical to winter strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) production in Florida and other winter and spring production regions around the world. Although advancing planting dates is a common practice to improve earliness, it can increase heat stress during establishment, especially on black plastic mulch. This problem could be addressed by adding a white center stripe to black plastic mulch. The white center stripe should cool the root zone during establishment while the black bed shoulders remain exposed to the sun to warm the soil during the winter. We conducted three field trials across two seasons to compare black plastic mulch (black mulch) to black plastic mulch with a white center stripe (white-striped mulch) using three cultivars (Florida Radiance, Florida Beauty, and Florida Brilliance). Bare-root transplants were planted on 26 Sept. in 2015 and 29 Sept. and 17 Oct. in 2016. Compared to black mulch, white-striped mulch reduced root-zone temperatures (10-cm depth) under the white stripe by up to 4.5 °C in November, while maintaining the same soil warming capacity on the bed shoulders throughout the growing season. White-striped mulch treatments resulted in increased growth, earliness, and yields, although the magnitude of improvement depended on cultivars and seasonal weather conditions. Early-season ambient temperatures were unusually high in the 2015–16 trial and the 2016–17 later-planted trial. In these two trials, white-striped mulch increased early yields by 20%–31% across cultivars. In the 2015–16 trial, white-striped mulch also increased canopy area by 11% during the early harvest period and root biomass by 26% at the end of the trial. Because late-season yields were unaffected in all trials, white-striped mulch only improved total yields for the second planting of 2016–17. By contrast, cultivar-specific effects were only observed for the first planting of 2016–17, in which white-striped mulch improved early and total yields of ‘Florida Radiance’ by 46% and 28%, respectively, compared to black mulch. Our results suggest that white-striped mulch is an easily implementable strategy for improving earliness of winter strawberry production in warm climates.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Yield and Yield Components as Affected by Mulching at Teda, Centeral Gondar, Ethiopia

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular salad crops and occupies the largest production area among salad crops in the world. However, production of lettuce can be limited due to lack of improved production techniques. Farmers in northwestern Ethiopia didn’t apply mulching for lettuce. A field study was conducted at Teda in 2018 to evaluate the effect of different mulching materials on yield and yield component of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under irrigation. Five mulching materials used as a treatment viz: white plastic, black plastic, teff straw, chickpea straw and control (without mulch). The treatments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Application of mulching increased leaf width, leaf number, plant height, biological yield, root volume, dry matter and plant height. The highest and lowest yield was recorded for black plastic mulch and no mulch, respectively. The study revealed that the black plastic is the best mulching material among the organic and inorganic once for the production of lettuce in the study area.

Effect of plastic mulch on crop yield and land degradation in south coastal saline soils of Bangladesh

The experiment was conducted during dry season of 2016 and 2017 at farmer's field of Kalapara Upazila of Patuakhali district, Bangladesh to develop tools to reduce salinity impact in maize and to reduce salinity induced land degradation. There were five treatments in the experiment having three different color plastic mulch (blue, black and white) and rice straw mulch and a non mulch control (bare soil) treatment. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments white, blue and black plastic film mulch, and rice straw much had 149%, 109%, 78% and 25% grain yield increase in 2016, and 173%, 117%, 99% and 47% in 2017 over control, respectively. The white plastic mulch treatment had 4 °C and 3.5 °C higher temperature over rice straw mulch treatment and 2.0 °C higher than the control treatment in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The black plastic mulch had 0.2 and 1.0 °C, and rice straw mulch had 2.0 and 1.5 °C lower temperature than control in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Use of plastic mulch significantly reduces electrical conductivity of soil. In non-mulch treatment sulfur content was extremely high; plastic mulch rather helps to decrease the excess availability of sulfur. The overall results suggest that use of plastic mulch would be a suitable tool for enhancing maize production maintaining good soil health in saline soils.

English

In South Texas, most of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) crops are produced on plastic mulch due to the elevated temperatures and solar radiations. The study objectives were to; determine the suitable planting dates for increasing tomato varieties production under different planting dates in early spring and late winter, and evaluate the influence of using the plastic mulch (black and white. In the Spring season, nine tomato varieties (four rounds and five roma) were grown. The round varieties were the Torero, Mykonos, Shourouq, and TAM Hot-Ty, and the roma varieties were Prunus, Rio Grande, Seri, DRP-8551, and SV8579TE. The best five varieties from the spring season and two more varieties were selected for evaluation in the fall including; SV8579ET, Mykonos, DRP-8551, TAM-HOT-T4, Shourouq, Tycoon, and Everglade. All the tomato varieties were evaluated during the Spring season under three different planting dates (from late-February till late-March) and three mulching treatments (black, white plastic mulch, and bare soil); and during the fall season during two planting dates (from early to mid-September) and two mulching treatments (black and white plastic mulch). Higher average marketable yields were observed in the spring season than the fall season. The best varieties during the spring season were DRP-8551, SV8597TE, Shourouq, and Seri with yields ranging from 68,630 to 57,237 kg/ha, whereas the best varieties in the fall; were DRP-8551, SV8597TE, and Tycoon with yields ranging from 47,123 to 60,674 kg/ha. In both seasons, white plastic mulch resulted in higher yields compared to the black and bare tomato yields.    Key words: Planting dates, plastic mulch, tomato yield.

Effects of non-living mulches and metribuzin on yield and yield components of tomato (Lycopersicon escolentum cv. CH)

ABSTRACT- To compare the effects of six types of non-living mulches (wheat straw, sawdust, coco peat, peat moss, transparent and black plastic) with metribuzin on yield and yield components of tomato cv CH and the weed control efficiency, a study was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at School of Agriculture, Shiraz University in 2012. Plots without mulch (weedy and weed free) were considered as control. The highest and the lowest tomato dry weight accumulation was observed in the black plastic mulch (728.98 g m-2) and weedy treatment (126.22 g m-2), respectively. The highest number of fruits (marketable plus unmarketable fruits) per plant (208.33) under black plastic mulch treatment was observed at harvest time. Tomato yield in plots covered with transparent plastic and black plastic were 20.93, 8.31 kg m-2, respectively and were significantly different from those treated with herbicide (6.06 kg m-2). Weed control efficacy evaluation showed that black (82.23%) and transparent (86.23%) plastic were not significantly different from metribuzin (84.59%). Application of non-living mulches produced tomatoes of higher quality and quantity.

Vegetable Amaranths for Summer Greens Production in the Northeastern United States

In 2016, 10 vegetable amaranth (Amaranthus sp.) varieties were evaluated for fresh greens production in the northeastern temperate climate. Yield, cv, and leaf-to-stem ratios were reported for the eight varieties of edible amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor), one of slender amaranth (Amaranthus viridis), and one of green amaranth (Amaranthus hybridus). All plants were grown using drip irrigation and black plastic mulch under 0.8-mil clear slitted low tunnels. Ten plants of each variety were tested in a randomized complete block design with four replications; the study was repeated seven times over the season, but the seventh planting was excluded from analyses because of frost damage. There was a significant interaction of planting date and variety on yield (P < 0.001), but some varieties were consistently high yielding. ‘Green Pointed Leaf’ and ‘Miriah’ had the greatest yields overall, did not differ significantly from the highest yielding varieties in any planting, and were notably high yielding in early- and late-season plantings. The effect of variety on yield was reduced in the high ambient temperatures of midsummer. ‘Green Callaloo’ was high yielding with poor leaf-to-stem ratio; a dwarf variety, ‘White Leaf’, was low yielding but excelled in leaf-to-stem ratio. ‘Red Callaloo’ and ‘Red Garnet’ had consistently low yields, and generally low but variable leaf-to-stem ratios. Production and marketing strategies to be considered in addition to performance measures are discussed.