The use of leaf mulch as a soil cover is effective in improving yield and soil fertility. The field experiment was conducted during 2010 and 2011 to study the effect of plant spacing (30 cm × 30 cm and 45 cm × 30 cm) and four mulches {pine needles (Pinus roxburghii), poplar leaf (Populus deltoides), silver oak (Grevillea robusta) tree leaf mulch and unmulched control} on growth, yield, qual...

today, due to the problems caused by herbicide application, there is a strong interest in developing alternative methods of weed control. to study the effects of soil solarization, barley straw mulch on weed flora, a field experiment was conducted at research station of faculty of agriculture, ferdowsi university of mashhad during the growing season of 2007-2008. this experiment was based on a ...

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is a significant fruit crop cultivated worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions. However, its cultivation often constrained by limited water availability soil moisture stress, which may significantly affect yield quality. This study aimed to explore the effects of irrigation levels straw mulch on growth under drip system. The experiment encompassed six treatments:...

Nematode communities were monitored for three years in a citrus soil ecosystem in Central Florida under various agricultural regimes comparing standard vs. reduced-input practices. Differences in agricultural regimes consisted of two fertilization levels, two irrigation levels, and two types of ground cover under the tree (herbicide vs. mulch). While some nematodes were affected sporadically by...

Soil erosion is a growing challenge for agricultural production in Northern China. To explore the effect of variation in stubble height and mulching biomass on soil erosion caused by wind, we conducted a field experiment using a quadratic rotation combination design. Results showed that the quantity of straw mulch was the dominant factor affecting soil erosion, and stubble height was of seconda...

The objective of this series of studies was to investigate the use of compost and mulch materials in erosion control and stabilization projects. The first phase of the study primarily looked at the impacts of surface blankets of twelve different compost and mulch materials on total solids (TS) loss and water quality and found that mulch blankets produced runoff with the lowest TS and nutrient c...

Polyethylene mulch with a reflective silver stripe and a yellow summer squash, Cucurbita pepo L., trap crop were tested alone and in combination as tactics to reduce densities of Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring eggs and nymphs, and incidence of bean golden mosaic geminivirus on snap bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. Egg densities were consistently higher on squash than on bean, but egg densiti...

Vegetable production is heavily dependent upon high off-farm inputs of polyethylene (plastic) mulch, nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides. Such a production practice potentially contributes to the unintentional environmental pollution with fertilizer and pesticides as well as water run off and soil erosion. This raises serious environmental concerns for human and animal health. The integration of...