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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #50674
Title: MULCHING FALL-FORMED BEDS AFFECTS BED EROSION AND YIELD OF FALL- OR SPRING-PLANTED VEGETABLES

Author
item RUSSO V M - 6222-05-05
item CARTWRIGHT B - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
item WEBBER C L III - 6222-05-05

Submitted to: Biological Agriculture Horticulture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/6/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Vegetable producers are interested in methods to improve yield and make crop establishment more efficient. A study was conducted for two years (fall through summer) at Lane, Okla., to determine if mulching fall-prepared beds with synthetic or organic materials affected yield of fall- and/or spring-planted vegetables. Fall-prepared beds were left bare or mulched with either synthetic adhesive, chipped kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) with and without adhesive, or plastic. Onion [Allium cepa (L.) Cepa group, cv Walla Walla Sweet] was seeded after bed formation in the fall of 1993 or transplanted in the spring of 1994. Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum L., cv Pip) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. Capitata group, cv Solid Blue 770) were transplanted in both springs. Beds mulched with kenaf and plastic had fewer weeds in the spring than bare or adhesive treated beds. Mulching did not improve yield over nonmulched beds. Because additional costs are involved in mulching, and yields were not improved, mulches are not recommended for fall bed preparation at this location.

Technical Abstract: Fall mulching in preparation of planting may improve vegetable yields. A study was conducted to determine if application of synthetic or organic materials to fall-prepared beds affected yield of fall- and/or spring-planted vegetables. A randomized complete block experiment was conducted for two years (fall through summer) on a Bernow fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic Glossic Paleudalf, at Lane, Okla. Fall-prepared beds were left bare or mulched with either a synthetic adhesive, chipped kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) with and without adhesive, or plastic. Onion [Allium cepa (L.) Cepa group, cv Walla Walla Sweet] was seeded in the fall of 1993 or transplanted in the spring of 1994. Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum L., cv Pip) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. Capitata group, cv Solid Blue 770) were transplanted in spring. Mulching did not consistently affect soil temperature at planting. Spring weed cover on plastic and kenaf, with or without adhesive, mulched beds was ~17% of bare and adhesive-only mulched beds. Crop yields on bare beds were comparable to, or better than, other treatments. Weed control was required on all treatments except plastic. Mulching did not improve yields, but did incurr costs, and had no advantage on fall-formed beds at this location.