using mulch to decrease and optimize water use, increase yield and fruit quality is known as a practical method. for this purpose, a split-factorial experiment based on complete block design with three replications on two melon cultivars was conducted in torbat-e-jam, iran. interval irrigation treatments in three levels (six, eight and 10 days) were considered as main plot and mulch (rice straw...

ABSTRACT- Over the past 50 years, oil mulching has been a common technique for sand dune stabilization in the southwest of Iran (Khuzestan province). However, concerns over the release of heavy metals from oil mulching have led to the search for alternative mulches that are capable of stabilizing sand dunes without environmental hazards. This study investigates the feasibility of using sugarcan...

This study was conducted to assay the effects of methanol foliar application (0, 10, 20 and 30% v/v) and bed cover (control, white and black covers) on yield and some physiological traits of marigold as a factorial based on RCBD. The results revealed the significant interaction effects of bed cover and methanol foliar application on chlorophyll a content and plant height. The highest plant heig...

Despite evidence for biological control in North America, outbreaks of the invasive soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), continue to occur on soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.). Our objectives were to determine whether natural enemies delay aphid establishment and limit subsequent population growth and whether biological control can be improved by altering the within-fiel...

A field experiment was conducted in a cider-apple orchard to evaluate the effect of six groundcover management systems (pine-bark, plastic and straw mulches, tillage, herbicide and natural soil) on the occurrence of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Eight species of carabids were collected in pitfall traps. The three most common beetles, Steropus gallega Fairmaire (65.8%), Pseudophonus ru...

Absorbent recycled paper products were tested and compared with a sodium polyacrylate gelling agent, Aquatain, for solidifying larval diets of the screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel). A recycled newsprint product, Terra-Mulch, when mixed with water and dietary ingredients produced a diet medium of homogeneous texture that supported larval growth and development comparable to the stand...

Banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) is a major pest in East Africa causing yield losses of up to 14 metric tonnes per hectare annually. A study was conducted in Uganda to determine the effect of mulching on banana (Musa spp. L.) weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), movement relative to pheromone-baited traps. Three treatments were used to create different mulchi...

The effects of different mulch materials applied to compacted and uncompacted soil on the quantity and the quality of deposited earthworm casts were investigated. Biochemical properties and water stability of soil aggregates were compared with the corresponding properties of worm casts. This short-time experiment was conducted in the laboratory, simulating field conditions of mulch management i...