‘Mulching – Important Intercultural Operation’ during crop production

 

‘Mulching – Important Intercultural Operation’ during crop production

  

A mulch is a layer of natural or artificial material applied to the surface of soil. Reasons for applying mulch include conservation of soil moisture, improving fertility and health of the soil, reducing weed growth etc. During intercultural operation crushing or loosing of upper surface of soil also called natural mulch.

mulching in the crop bed, Culture's Story

What Is Mulching?

Mulching is the process during intercultural operations of land under cultivation. This process to cover bare soil under cultivation to improve the condition of the soil underneath.

Benefits and advantages

1.      To reduce weeds by blocking sunlight which helps to reduce cost of production

2.      By weed control automatically reduce insect pests because weeds are host plant of insect pests.

3.      Reducing water requirements by preventing evaporation which helps to reduce irrigation cost.

4.      To keep the soil cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Which maintain optimum temperature of soil

5.      To modify the soil pH overtime.

6.      To defend the soil from structural damage that results desertification, iciness or unfertile land.

7.      To maintains soil wet therefore making nutrients more available to plants

8.      Reduces soil compaction which helps to availability of air for root zone

9.      Prevents crusting of soil surface for that reason improving absorption and percolation of water into the soil

10.   Reduces and minimizes soil erosion because of rain and wind

11.   By decomposition of natural and organic mulch can also provide a supply of nutrients to the soil helping in improving soil structure and tilth.

12.   To make plants less susceptible to soil-borne disease

 

Disadvantages of mulching

• Due to warm moist condition diseases/pests are spread of. In nursery such condition appears damping-off disease.
• Use of polythene mulch creates anaerobic condition that may lead to root dieback. Under such condition, severe oxygen starvation occur.
• Mulches of crop waste may carry seeds of various weeds which may spread along with mulch in the cultivated field.
• Mulch in the arid region during rainy season, restrict seed germination, grow damping-off disease and counter successful crop production.
• Low growing plants are suppressed by mulching.
• In sub-tropical area, dry mulches cause of fire hazard.

 

PURPOSE OF MULCHING

1. Conservation of soil moisture 

Surface moisture evaporation can prevent by mulching. It, helps to create forces to pull water from subsoil. Mulching further reduces loss of moisture by breaking up the flow of air across the soil surface. Mulching minimizes soil compaction, and help ensure permeability of soil, prevents excessive run-off, checks soil erosion and consequently favors percolation of water in sub-surface layers of soils.

2. Regulation of soil temperature 

Mulching prevents relies of the heat absorbed and thus maintains average soil temperature slight higher than that of un-mulched soil all the year because it acts as an insulation layer over the surface of the soil. During summer, mulches prevent direct hit of soil surface and thus the average maximum soil temperature under mulched field remain lower. Mulching has its role in minimizing freezing in soil which is a haunting problem especially in temperate region. It minimizing almost equal to its thickness, applied over the surface of soil.

3. Suppression of weed growth 

Well known to all that, almost all plant species requires light to keep themselves alive. Mulches prevent light into soil surface, without light the weed did not able to survive with their major competitor of crop. Small, low growing and less vigorous weeds are very easy to control by spreading mulch.

4. Prevention of soil erosion 

Mulches help prevent the erosion of soil because it minimize areolation effect on surface soil. It also prevents loss of sol brought about by rain splashes. Mulching improves physio-chemical characteristics of soil if followed continuously year after year over a particular piece of land and thus minimizes vulnerability of otherwise light textured soil to soil erosion.

5. Control of pest and disease 

Many pests and pathogens are removed from the host plants when certain kind of mulches is applied. Neem cake and its kernel, cow dung, horse manure, poultry liter etc. are effective against many soil dwelling pests and pathogens. The incidence of mildew disease is minimized following moisture retaining mulching. Warm and moist conditions maintained under mulch favor the growth of many beneficial microorganisms which may have predatory role in counteracting the pest survival.

There are three types of mulching as –

living mulching, Culture's Story

Living mulch:

Living mulch is usually a plant species that grows densely and low to the ground, such as clover. Living mulches can be planted before or after a crop is established. It is important to kill, till in, or otherwise manage the living mulch so that it does not compete with the actual crop.

Organic Mulching, Culture's Story

Organic mulches:

Such materials as straw, bark, and composted plant branch and leaves, neem cake, horse waste, poultry litter, compost yard materials as mulches can provide effective weed control.

Inorganic Mulching, Culture's Story

Inorganic mulches:

Materials such as black/silver color polyethylene have been used as mulches in crop production systems. Many types of stone, crushed rock also used as inorganic mulches. During weeding time crushing and loosing of topsoil also naturally make a kind of inorganic mulch comes natural processes. Now a day’s polyethylene mulch is popular to farmers in developed countries. In many research stations in developing countries, polyethylene mulch is being used.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulch

https://heeraagro.com/what-is-mulching-agriculture-mulching-paper/

http://www.greengoldlandscapinginc.com/what-mulching-how-mulch-your-garden/