Results indicated that among the mulches, various growth and yield attributes like plant height, leaf area index, crop growth rate, number of bolls per plant, and 100 boll weights were higher in plastic and minimum in straw mulch followed by cultural mulch and chemical mulch. Treatments used in the experiment were as follows: i.e., (i) normal irrigation, (ii) rotary hoeing, (iii) wheat straw as mulch, and (iv) wheat straw + rotary hoeing. These include a decrease in carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, less reliance on farm machinery and equipment, and an overall reduction in fuel and labor costs. Outcomes of the study showed the significant effect of germination and seedling survival in relation to the pits with surface plantings using no mulch material (Kacinski 1951). Some other scientists carried out the mulch experiments, and their outcomes were also in line with the early study of mulched trees performed better than the control treatment (Balvinder et al. Do not over . Suited for poorly drained soils. Mulch materials reduce the evaporation losses, in this way enhancing the water retention in soil and helpful in reduction of weed species. Some researchers found that organic mulches attract pests, and some scientists found that organic mulches are used as repellent of pests (Anderson 2002). There are some general instructions for selecting plastic mulch in various ecological conditions as shown in Table 2. The nitrogen is utilized by the micro-organisms leaving behind the carbon in soil which will cause the deficiency of nitrogen in soil, and this would be indicated by the chlorosis in plants (Chalker-Scott 2007). 529-543. Hortic. Fast forward a few months and any grass and weeds below will have rotted down, while earthworms will work to gradually incorporate the organic matter into the soilbelow. 2003; Smith and Skroch 1995). Consequently, mulch materials provide a healthy atmosphere for crop plants which optimize the vigorous growth and development of plants that may remain safe from the pathogenic organisms (Turchetti et al. 114:307316. Tree Planters Notes 28:69, Moursy FS, Fatma A, Mostafa N, Solieman Y (2015) Polyethylene and rice straw as soil mulching: reflection of soil mulch type on soil temperature, soil borne diseases, plant growth and yield of tomato. Mulch materials are not so costly as compared to other synthetic materials in terms of soil heath and the overall performance of crop plants. Soc. %PDF-1.6 % This research has not received any funding. Disk (and/or Field Cultivate) 80:270276. J. Amer. Different rates of wheat straw mulches were used, i.e., (i) 4, (ii) 3, (iii) 2, and (iv) 1tons ha1 basis were used. 525:425426, Lamont WJ (2005) Plastics: modifying the microclimate for the production of vegetable crops. 45:483486, Hoitink HAJ, Krause MS (1999) Control of nuisance and detrimental molds (Fungi) in mulches and composts. 2002). Residue USFS Research Paper LS-6, St. Paul, MN, 23pp. Tillage is the mechanical manipulation of the soil with the purpose of: Managing crop residue. ADS Sowing operations are difficult with ordinary equipment. Stubble breaks down easily. tomentosumMariesii in pine bark-amended soil. 90 0 obj <>stream J. Arboric. Any advise on what to do? Table of Contents. Shredding may be needed for residue flow. Google Scholar, Ather MN, Idrees NM, Ayub M, Tanveer A, Mubeen K (2013) Effect of different weed control practices and sowing methods on weeds and yield of cotton. h[mo8+NqAJ;.lw"iJ;m:!9>zt&hC 7hK$WPFB# F+F%%. Google Scholar. Mulches can potentially reduce weed infestation and evaporation losses and enhance the percolation and retention rate of soil. Wood mulches do not generally combust fast. Very low density of weeds (20m-2) was observed in sugarcane trash mulch followed by coir pith, water hyacinth, rice straw, and saw dust, and highest in control (225m2) treatment. Black polyethylene mulch caused the bacterial soft rot disease as compared to woodchips or bark mulch (Davis 1994). In 1941, deep mulches were also used for trees and shrub plantation (Pirone 1941) because these deep-type mulches give protection to drought stress such as frost injury and freezing damage of crop plants in harsh environmental conditions. P*1c;u ! Just FYI, cardboard is full of fire-retardant chemicals. Zheji. 9:711, Long CE, Thorne BL, Breisch NL, Douglass LW (2001) Effect of organic and inorganic landscape mulches on subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) foraging activity. Under some conditions, the practice of stubble mulching may reduce soil losses from intense rains to only a portion of . For example, a mulch of small stones usually only needs to be an inchdeep. Tropic. All other growth- and yield-related parameters were also high in mulched treatment in relation to other plots of experiment. Some contradictory results were also obtained from different studies which showed that there is no transfer of diseases by using the diseased mulch as infected maple trees. Prod. Sci. )Becc.,Washingtonia robusta H. Wendl. Warms the soil in spring, allowing the gardener to plantdays or weeks before the soilwould normally beready. 13: 153-157. 238:273280, Koski R, Jacobi WR (2004) Tree pathogen survival in chipped wood mulch. (2004) conducted a field experiment to observe the effects of various mulches on cotton growth-, yield-, and weed-related parameters. J. Arboric. Environ. Various studies exhibited that the effect of salts toxicity was reduced with mulching (Ansari et al. The highest plant height (105.8cm), leaf area index (5.088), and seed cotton yield (2430kgha1) was observed in mulched plots with drip irrigation. Besides synthetic mulches, some of the other types of mulches have also been observed as inefficient in soil temperature regulation. 8:154157, Donnelly JR, Shane JB (1986) Forest ecosystem responses to artificially induced soil compaction. (2013) evaluated the effects of increasing rate of wheat straw mulch on the conservation of soil moisture content. (2002),and Bryson et al. Research studies conducted on mulch in 1942 revealed that the trees which are grown with mulch materials grew up better than the un-mulched trees (Hopp and Posey 1942). Mulching with the aim of maximum colonization of microbes will also be helpful for the biological control of many harmful pathogens (Entry et al. 86:987994, Rokich DP, Dixon KW, Sivasithamparam K, Meney KA (2002) Smoke, mulch, and seed broadcasting effects on woodland restoration in Western Australia. J. "$kDA[lAllb@5k*c0|D$tH'50AD. But there are some evidences of rapid flaming of farmyard wastes (Buggeln and Rynk 2002). However, increased reliance may be placed on herbicides with some conservation tillage systems. Turf and various grasses compete with the main plants (Kraus 1998; Fausett and Rom 2001). Typical Operations Tree Planters Notes. 11:785794, Jacobs KA (2005) The potential of mulch to transmit three tree pathogens. Using woodchips and compost in forest areas can make complex with the copper metal and convert it into the form which is not toxic for proper growth of crop plants (Kiikkila et al. Kamal I, Gelicus A, Allaf K (2012) Impact of instant controlled pressure drop (DIC) treatment on drying kinetics and caffeine extraction from green coffee beans. Zamurrad M, Tariq M, Shah FH, Subhani A, Ijaz M, Iqbal MS, Koukab M (2013) Performance based evaluation of groundnut genotypes under medium rainfall conditions of Chakwal. 43:228230, Balasubramanian D, Arunachalam K, Arunachalam A, Das AK (2013) Effect of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) mulch on soil microbial properties in lowland rainfed rice-based agricultural system in Northeast India. J. Eco. However, some people do not like mulch materials; instead, they prefer bare soil because they consider the mulch as messy (Chalker-Scott 2007; Kader et al. Pak. Whenever we apply mulch material, we should consider the flammability of mulches in regions where there is hazard of fire occurrence (Chalker-Scott 2007). Dry mulchesincluding sawdust, woodchips, peat moss, and dry strawcan be a fire hazard. Little erosion control. Plant. Eco. Phyto. It has been estimated that presence of weeds could result in loss of water up to 25% due to evapotranspiration (Harris et al. Tech. Mulches having high nitrogen content increase the yield of crop plants (Tilander and Bonzi, 1997). The use of landscape mulches prevents the death of newly transplanted plants even in unfavorable environmental conditions, e.g., saline (Ansari et al. The literature review shows that application of mulches has been addressed; however, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study in which advantages and disadvantages of mulches in agriculture and the environment have been comprehensively reviewed. Res. Many studies demonstrated that the application of mulch could keep the soil cool during very hot climatic conditions (Kader et al. 38:379383. It was being referred that Austrian pine might be vulnerable to the pathogen. However, the plastic mulches are not commonly used for the mitigation of salts (Sun et al. Hortic. Forest. The organic and living mulches possess numerous beneficial impacts on soil quality in terms of enhancing nutrients levels. In addition, conservation tillage methods have been shown to improve soil health, reduce runoff, and limit the extent of erosion. Stubble mulching is a system of farming primarily developed in the arid and semiarid areas. Environ. Tree Planters Notes 30:2223. New concepts of Verticillium wilt disease of maple. 2. Technol. 45:13211328, Ayyadurai P, Poonguzhalan R (2011) Critical period of crop-weed competition in zero-till cotton. J. Tropic. Northeastern Weed Sci. Hortic. Die. Environ. Some species of Thuja are used as a chemical repellent for many pests like moths of clothes, killing cockroaches, and repelling ants, carpet beetles, and termites (Chalker-Scott 2007). 12:p38, Kuhns LJ (1992) Efficacy and phytotoxicity of three landscape herbicides with and without a light mulch. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. Tillage aims to create a loose and crumbly soil surface and consists of the primary (mechanical) weed management technique. Jord.J. The maximum cotton yield and water saving was obtained in bed and furrow planting method with polythene plastic mulch. I planted my garlic 2 weeks ago in NE PA. Kader et al. Removing surface compaction and rutting. . We comply with the Federal Trade Commission 1998 Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). ), Light-colored, wood-based mulches, like sawdust or fresh wood chips, can steal nitrogen from the soil as they break down. Res. J. Bot. In 2002, plastic mulch was spread on an area of 15 million hectares in China (Xing et al. Soil & Water Management Narrow leaves plants like grasses are not affected as severe as the broad leaves plants or dicot species (Schumann et al. Keeps plants clean and off the ground, especially tomatoes and melons, to avoid plantdisease. Agric 69:365373, Masaka J, Dera J, Muringaniza K (2019) Dry land grain Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) yield and yield component responses to tillage and mulch practices under subtropical African conditions. Soil. New.Jersey. Mulch tillage is also referred to as reduced tillage, minimum tillage or conservation tillage. An experiment was conducted on oak species with mulching pits in comparison to the control treatment. Stubble-mulch tillage Here, soil is disturbed before planting without burying or destroying. Turf which is mostly used as a competitor cover crop increased the mortality rate of transplants (Downer and Hodel 2001). Contradictory findings also revealed that the woody mulch increased the nutrient level in soil and also in plant foliage (Arthur and Wang 1999; Pfammatter and Dessimoz 1997; Singh and Singh 1999; Szwedo and Maszczyk 2000). Mulched pots lower the soil temperature to about 14% and increased the moisture near to 3% in comparison to those without mulch (control) treatment. Dong BB, Zhu HT, Zhong ZK, Ye GF (1996) Study on ecological effect of the forest land under-crop sowing and mulching of coastland soil by newly planted. J. Henan Agric. There are different contradictions on the combustion of rapid-fire mulch. Some mulches increase the soil temperature as compared to the barren soil or living mulches due to absorption of solar radiation (Montague and Kjelgren 2004). 2001). J. Agric. Soc. 2020); however, when the organic mulches decompose, they quickly come out the soil surface. Synthetic mulches (plastics, fabrics and asphalt) have been reported as inefficient in temperature regulation as these could increase the soil temperature instead of controlling at the favorable level (Duncan et al. J. App. We also use organic mulch including straw, leaf mold, grass clippings, wood chips, and shredded leaves for crops that like itcooler. We do not generally use mulch in the fall, except for in bare, unplanted garden beds to prevent erosion. Asp. Soil temperature moderation. 1990). 79:250253, Bryson CT, Reddy KN, Molin WT (2003) Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus) population dynamics in narrow row transgenic cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and soybean (Glycine max) rotation. Many of the mulch materials by nature have the ability to repel mammals through their special characteristics of odors, thorns, and texture (Chaudhary 2003; Szwedo and Maszczyk 2000). Using herbicides for weed control and planting after one pass of the blade plow reduces or eliminates secondary tillage operations, leaving more residue on the soil surface for soil and water conservation. Inorganic mulches (gravel/stone mulch) when used at a 4-cm depth will avoid the colonization of weed species (Winkel et al. J. Environ. Done correctly, mulching feeds our soils living microorganisms with nutrients and the waste from these tiny microbes creates healthier soil structure for plants, limitingcompaction. Potential plant back problem with atrazine. J. Environ. 78:149161, Ringe JM, Graves DH (1990) Mulches derived from wood: an economic comparison of two materials used to reclaim surface mines. Diseased plants have mulch materials which have pathogens inside. If the plants root grow successfully, then survival of plant is certain. 119:209215. Hrvatski i4 Medunarodni Simpozij Agronoma, Opatija, Hrvatska, 16-20 Veljace 2009, 5962, Einert AE, Guidry R, Huneycutt H (1975) Permanent mulches for landscape plantings of dwarf crape myrtles. Check out the Michigan Manure Hauler Certification Program! Geo-eco. Keeping mulch away from the trunk discourages wood-boring insects, gnawing rodents, and decay. The application of plastic mulching in agriculture is getting popular throughout the world, and its usage is increasing day by day. J. Breaks down and feeds the soil (if organic mulch). 2020). A layer of 2 to 3 inches of mulch is enough. Well suited for organic production. 638:7783, Niggli U, Weibel FP, Potter CA (1988) Unkrautregulierung in einerDauerkulturdurchBodenbedeckungmitorganischenMaterialien (Weed control in a perennial crop using an organic mulch). For instance, pine bark mulching increased the soil surface temperature which affected the nearest leaves to transpire more water through the leaves (Zajicek and Heilman 1994). Weve had to pick up all the old wood mulch and bring it to the burn dump. 2005; Zink and Allen 1998). Improves the structure of clay soils and the moisture-holding capacity of sandysoils. 2019). In a newly established crop, plants or tree turfs should be replaced by organic mulch. 29:317321, Stinson JM, Brinen GH, McConnell DB, Black RJ (1990) Evaluation of landscape mulches. Nurseryman. Uni. Long planting window. Haul manure? Less winter wind erosion from roughened surface. Zbornik Radova 44. However, without mulch, I ended up with a weedy jungle, as a working mom the time to weed never seemed to happen. In moist soils, particularly those with higher clay contents, a blade plow may cause soil smearing below the blade, thereby limiting its use as a spring tillage implement. 3. ), integrated nutrient management in farming systems in Southeast Asia and Australia: Proceedings of an International Workshop. Organic mulches have been observed as more helpful for the reclamation of soil and induce the desalinization of soil (Dong et al. You have posted a much important information on mulch and looking more of your blog!! Cost of preplant operation. This residue management tool is considered mulch tillage by the Natural . It is thought that composts and residues which are used as mulch if not properly decomposed carry the seeds of various weed species (Chalker-Scott 2007). In 1948, sawdust was used as a mulch material in gardens and it was noticed that sawdust caused root rot disease in many plant species (Matthews 1948). Properly composted mulch materials should be used always if un-composted materials would be used they will be the reason of pathogen transmission (Fraedrich and Ham 1982; Koski and Jacobi 2004; Niggli et al. Spade full of bark chippings to be used as mulch underneath raspberrybushes. Moreover, it has been observed that living mulch and organic mulch materials are far better in maintaining the favorable soil temperature compared to other mulch materials (Walsh et al. Res. J. Arboric. Good short - term cash crop. Organic mulches which are applied at a higher depth have the ability to reduce weed species as compared to those applied at shallow depths (Horowitz and Thomas 1994; Kuhns 1992; Zaragoza et al. Com. Manage cookies/Do not sell my data we use in the preference centre. 1988). Soil. Sometimes, slow-decomposing mulch materials like bark mulch can make nutritional problem for fast-growing tree species due to low production of plant root biomass (Davis 1994). A research study was conducted on plastic mulch with fertilizer as an addition, and outcomes showed an increased death rate of transplanted plants (Houle and Babeux 1994). Fruit. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Guj. Reduces water loss from the soil surface, which helps maintain soilmoisture. Hortic. For the optimization of overall plant performance, stones and gravels are not considered as better materials as the organic ones (Samra and Singh 1998; Seckler and Tejwani 1983; Singh and Saggar 1997). Blair (eds. According to Borst and Woodburn (1942), using a thin layer of 0.6 inches of mulch could reduce the erosion of about 86%. A narrow chisel of 510 cm width is worked through the soil at a depth of 15- 30 cm leav- ing all plant residues on the surface. At its simplest, mulch is anymaterial that covers the soils surface. However, it can be concluded from the literature that mulches are a cheap source to reduce weed populations and to conserve the soil moisture contents to a substantial level. In nature, mulch is simply fallen leaves and plant debris. Blade plowing is typically a summer fallow operation after small grain harvest. Communications de la quatrieme conference internationale IFOAM (pp. Increased dependence on herbicides. 1. Bio. Reasons for Strip-till Manage. Production 22:148155, Goulet F (1995) Frost heaving of forest tree seedlings: a review. Good mulch has characteristics of deepness which inhibit the weeds and promote the healthy plants and soil. Brooklyn Botanical Garden Records. Improves plant health and growth (due to fewer weeds andmore consistentmoistureand soiltemperature). Organic or live mulches are most favorable than the gravel or stone mulches for proper seed germination (Montano et al. Harris RW, Clark JR, Matheny NP (2004) Arboriculture: integrated management of landscape trees, shrubs, and vines, 4th edition. Srinivasalu and Rao (2000), Virk et al. chisel + disc harrow + sowing, rotary tiller + sowing and direct mulch sowing. 2003), and it was drawn out that rubber mulch has the ability to combust fast than rest of the mulches used in the experiments. Muhammad Aown Sammar Raza. Compost is organic mulch which is full of nutrients, fertile the soil, and is not an excellent mulch to control the weeds (Maclean et al. Blade plowing is typically a summer fallow operation after small grain harvest. Soil Preparation: How Do You Prepare Garden Soil for Planting? Fores. J. Arboric. Early research at Kansas State University found a decrease in water infiltration and soil particle size after just one pass. J. No incorporation. Keeps soil from splashing onto leaves; keeping soil off leaves reduces plant diseases. 1982), and pinus sticks debris was used to control runoff and erosion losses successfully (Rothwell 1978). Builds soil structure and health. (2010) studied the impacts of wheat straw mulching on soil water conservation and physical properties. Merwin IA, Stiles WC (1994) Orchard groundcover management impacts on apple tree growth and yield, and nutrient availability and uptake. Visit our complete Gardening for Everyonehub,where youll find a series of guidesall free! Black plastic mulch is the cheapest and is easy to handle in field conditions than all other mulches. 23:1922, Bowen KL, Young B, Behe BK (1995) Management of black spot of rose in the landscape in Alabama. 130: 6268. Ind. The main problems associated with stubble-mulch tillage and planting in crop residue are: (a) machine operat ing difficulties, i.e., clogging, adjust ments, and drilling and planting through bunched residues, (b) weed control, (c) preserving sufficient resi due to control erosion when residues are meager, (d) toxic effects of mulch, and (e) This acid can also destroy the seedlings and shallow-rooted plants though it has no effect on established plants (Harris et al. In reply to I planted my garlic 2 weeks by Janet (not verified), Garlic overwinters. Similar to zero tillage, a wide sweep and trash bars are used to clear a strip and a narrow planter shoe opens a narrow furrow into which seeds are placed. Utiliz. 1998). Samarappuli L, Yogaratnam N (1984) Some aspects of moisture and soil conservation in rubber plantations. In the real world, there are no significant effects of mulches in causing acidity in soil (Chalker-Scott 2007). Agro. 0 2.6 Zero tillage (or no-tillage) Planting the seed into the stubble of the previous crop without any tillage or soil disturbance. Soil. Int. 87:8592, Duncan RA, Stapleton JJ, McKenry MV (1992) Establishment of orchards with black polyethylene film mulching: effect on nematode and fungal pathogens, water conservation, and tree growth. McCambridge WF, Morris MJ, Edminster CB (1982) Herbage production under ponderosa pine killed by the mountain pine beetle in Colorado (Vol.416). It was concluded that less weed densities in plastic mulch were due to higher weed control efficiency of the plastic sheet. Sci. Mulch materials immediately break the speed of water in hilly areas and increase the infiltration rate of soil, and to maintain the slope stabilization, engineering techniques must be used instead of merely dependent on mulching method (Chalker-Scott 2007). Findings of the research study showed that the germination and growth of weeds were very less under cereal mulch, herbicides, and inter-row cultivation as compared to control treatment. DilBaugh et al. In fact, I was so passionate about the product I joined the company! RI contributed to the conceptualization and analysis and wrote the paper. Sci. Montague T, Kjelgren R (2004) Energy balance of six common landscape surfaces and the influence of surface properties on gas exchange of four containerized tree species. Maecka I, Blecharczyk A (2008) Effect of tillage systems, mulches and nitrogen fertilization on spring barley (Hordeum vulgare). New.Forests. Spaulding and Hansbrough (1943) investigated that the needles which suffered from blight disease worked as mulch on the surface for the better growth of tree species. Therefore, the judicious maintenance and regulation of soil temperature is a very critical factor for optimum plant growth. Google Scholar, Ansari R, Marcar NE, Khanzada AN, Shirazi MU, Crawford DF (2001) Mulch application improves survival but not growth of Acacia ampliceps Maslin, Acacia niloticaL. Correspondence to Volume 1, Part 2. Mulch depth and seedling age are necessary for the proper establishment and survival of transplanted seedlings. 234:233237, Pair JC (1994) Adaptability of evergreen rhododendrons to the great plains as influenced by landscape exposure. The seedlings or small seeds are most vulnerable to the mulch materials than the established plants. 4:391394, Maynard AA (1998) Utilization of MSW compost in nursery stock production. Biological Life 65:3. 24:413. Sci 11(4), Foreman GL, Rouse DI, Hudelson BD (2002) Wood chip mulch as a source of Verticilliumdahliae. Some earlier studies showed a number of damaging effects caused by mulches (Bedford and Pickering 1919). Agric. J. Arboric. 5:1228, Anderson JT, Thorvilson HG, Russell SA (2002) Landscape materials as repellents of red imported fire ants. In the same way, more weed control effectiveness was present in sugarcane trash (91%), coir pith (84%), water hyacinth (77%), rice straw (65%), and saw dust (52%) in comparison to control treatment. Any system that ensures a maximum retention of crop residues . Significant increase in seed cotton yield was observed in plots that were kept weed free during first 80 DAS. No more volcano mulching around trees! 23:p73, Horowitz M, Thomas JM (1994) Couverture du sol pour la gestion des mauvaises herbes (Soil cover for weed management). Once youve had several freezes (often around Thanksgiving or after), thenapply winter mulch around the base of any tender perennial plants or new plants. 1996). 9:6794, Green TL, Watson GW (1989) Effects of turf grass and mulch on establishment and growth of bare root sugar maples. Zamurrad et al. In spring, mulch locks in moisture, suppresses weeds, and feeds the soil. Its important to apply enough mulch in winter to keep the frozen ground completely covered so the plant remains dormant until spring no matter what type of warm or cold spellsoccur. Less erosion with more residue. Agro. Timeliness considerations. Leaves of arborvitae, eucalyptus, pine, and poplar are mostly used for removing these heavy metals from the soil solution (Salim and El-Halawa 2002). South.Afric. Some cover crops and ground cover are also supportive for lessening of weed seed germination and their establishment (Griffiths and Fairhurst 2003). Decline in the use of such chemicals will be in favor of farmers in the sense that no money is used for such chemicals and also the non-use of chemicals will be in favor of beneficial soil organisms population and the environment (Chalker-Scott 2007). 2019). Low-nutrient-rich organic mulches which are coarse in nature when applied in thick layers lessen the weeds more effectively than the herbicides (Cahill et al. In situ mulch, formed from the residue of a dead or chemically killed cover crop left in place (Wilson 1978a, b), is generally becoming an integral component of mulch tillage techniques. Take care NOT to put mulch next to the trunks of trees or crowns of plants, as thisinvites bark-gnawingrodents. J. Environ. Happy Blogging. (Photos above from Drew Lyon, PHREC, Scottsbluff), Tillage Systems Soils are another source of pathogen transmission. J. Agromet. J. Ecobiol. J. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Soil. When wood chips were made from this type of pathogenic trees, there was no spread of pathogen occurred in healthy trees (Dochinger 1956). Now we dont know what to put down in our flower beds. Bark of some trees and wood chips are thought to be the main source of acidification. J. Hortic Technol. Soil physical properties and tree diameter growth. 21.4% more cotton yield was attained in mulched treatment as compared to un-mulched treatment. The extreme temperature condition under early growth stages of plants may cause the plants to go under stress conditions as newly established roots are not able to uptake the proper amount of water and essential plant nutrients (Chalker-Scott 2007). Hortic. 31:811812, Fraedrich SW, Ham DL (1982) Wood chip mulching around maples: effect on tree growth and soil characteristics. Two methods for sowing crops in stubble mulch tillage are, 1. J. Mechanical weed control method + mulching controlled more broad leaves (10.3%) and narrow leaves weed (4.8%) as compared to the manual weeding. Destroys soil structure. Production A few of the potential advantages of mulching have been presented in Fig. 5157. Watering is efficient,and maintenance of a large area is made mucheasier. Catena. Science Society 4:6570, Saikia US, Kumar A, Das S, Pradhan R, Goswami B, Wungleng VC, Ngachan SV (2014) Effect of mulching on microclimate, growth and yield of mustard (Brassica juncea) under mid-hill condition of Meghalaya. Sci. 9:347359, Fetri M, Ghobadi ME, Ghobadi M, Mohammadi G (2015) Effects of mulch and sowing depth on yield and yield components of rain-fed chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Various research studies showed that use of woody mulch neither caused the nitrogen deficiency in soil nor the chlorosis in crop plants (Greenly and Rakow 1995; Pickering and Shepherd 2000). Ridge Plant 14:221227, CAS 71-74. Water moves more readily into soil covered with mulch instead of running off. . Well-tilled seedbed. 2019). The organic mulches consist of animal and plant residues. 1975; Fraedrich and Ham 1982), while at normal/warm temperature in chilling days (Kudinov 1972; Kader et al. Agric. 2:420422, Samra JS, Singh SC (1998) Evaluation of an Acacia niloticabased silvipasture system on degraded land of Shivalik foothills. A lot of researches have been conducted on this fact with amazing results. 1988; Buban et al. 4:132, Jordan A, Zawala LM, Gill J (2010) Effects of mulching on soil physical properties and runoff under semi-arid conditions in southern Spain. They are not capable of differentiating between the desired plant and weed species. Vasilakoglou et al. A research study of 6years gave the similar results that when butt rot or canker diseased mulches were applied to the healthy plants there was no transmission of pathogen found. 1996; Calkins et al. In 8 of 40 locations having finer-textured soils, Ontario researchers saw a 3 to 5.4 bushel per acre increase (Salford RTS).