Compost and Black Polyethylene Mulches Improve Spring Production of Romaine Lettuce in Southern New England

Gheshm, Rahmatallah; Brown, Rebecca

doi:10.21273/horttech04594-20

Cited by 4 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…Our results suggest that the increases in yield found in this and other studies are not a result of increased average soil temperatures, although increased soil temperatures do correlate with increased yields in romaine lettuce (Gheshm and Brown, 2020). Increased yields may be due to increased nutrient availability, particularly nitrate, as plastic mulches prevent leaching following heavy rainfall, and lettuce has been shown to increase yields when nitrate leaching is reduced (Verdial et al, 2001).…”

Section: The Effects Of Mulches Andsupporting

confidence: 47%

The Effects of Black and White Plastic Mulch on Soil Temperature and Yield of Crisphead Lettuce in Southern New England

Gheshm

Brown

2020

hortte

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Annually, Americans consume an average of 24.5 lb of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) per capita, more than half of which is head lettuce. This study examined the impacts of using black and white-on-black polyethylene mulches on three crisphead lettuce cultivars for spring production in the open field, with data collected on the soil temperature and lettuce yields. Black polyethylene, white-on-black polyethylene, and bare ground were compared for effects on soil temperature, lettuce yields, and lettuce head height and diameter. Mean soil temperatures at a 5 cm depth were 18.9 °C under black polyethylene, 17.7 °C under white-on-black polyethylene, and 17.1 °C in bare ground plots. Changes in the lettuce canopy size presented a similar trend over the growing season in all treatments. Both mulch type and cultivar significantly (P < 0.01) affected the canopy growth in head lettuce. Lettuce on black polyethylene mulch grew significantly (P < 0.01) faster than lettuce on white-on-black polyethylene or bare ground. However, the black and white-on-black mulches produced similar yields, averaging 5.76 and 5.71 kg·mˉ2, respectively. Meanwhile, bare ground plot yields were significantly (P < 0.01) lower at 4.57 kg·mˉ2. Cultivar rank order was consistent across treatments, and Crispino and Garmsir at 5.82 and 5.47 kg·mˉ2 fresh weight had significantly higher yields than Nevada at 4.75 kg·mˉ2 (P < 0.01).

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Section: The Effects Of Mulches Andsupporting

confidence: 47%

The Effects of Black and White Plastic Mulch on Soil Temperature and Yield of Crisphead Lettuce in Southern New England

Gheshm

Brown

2020

hortte

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“…Differences were observed with both higher [44], similar [47,52,54], and lower yields [48] when compared to plastic mulches such as polyethylene film or polypropylene fabric. The potential yield-increasing effect of compost mulch can be attributed to factors such as weed suppression, regulation of soil temperature, soil moisture retention, and improvement in soil fertility through nutrient input and microbial stimulation [44,45,47,54,55], which are described in more detail below.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…A frequent topic of research has been the effect of compost mulch on yield. With the same fertilizer application in various vegetable crops, the addition of compost mulch resulted in increased yield compared to the unmulched control [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54]. Compared to other organic mulch materials such as hay, straw, shredded leaves, pine needles, sawdust, wood chips, and corn gluten meal, compost mulch also produced higher yields under otherwise identical conditions [43,47,48,[53][54][55].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the same fertilizer application in various vegetable crops, the addition of compost mulch resulted in increased yield compared to the unmulched control [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54]. Compared to other organic mulch materials such as hay, straw, shredded leaves, pine needles, sawdust, wood chips, and corn gluten meal, compost mulch also produced higher yields under otherwise identical conditions [43,47,48,[53][54][55]. Differences were observed with both higher [44], similar [47,52,54], and lower yields [48] when compared to plastic mulches such as polyethylene film or polypropylene fabric.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared to other organic mulch materials such as hay, straw, shredded leaves, pine needles, sawdust, wood chips, and corn gluten meal, compost mulch also produced higher yields under otherwise identical conditions [43,47,48,[53][54][55]. Differences were observed with both higher [44], similar [47,52,54], and lower yields [48] when compared to plastic mulches such as polyethylene film or polypropylene fabric. The potential yield-increasing effect of compost mulch can be attributed to factors such as weed suppression, regulation of soil temperature, soil moisture retention, and improvement in soil fertility through nutrient input and microbial stimulation [44,45,47,54,55], which are described in more detail below.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Excessive Nitrate Limits the Sustainability of Deep Compost Mulch in Organic Market Gardening

Ruch,

Hefner,

Sradnick

2023

Agriculture

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Market gardening is a widespread practice of bio-intensive vegetable production characterized by direct marketing, small-scale farming structures, high crop densities, and innovative cultivation approaches. Currently, deep compost mulch (DCM) is a popular trend among related growing techniques. The combination of no-till and a permanent mulch of compost aims to improve soil fertility, regulate soil temperature, retain soil moisture, and control weeds. To address the problem of perennial weeds in organic no-till, deep mulch layers of typically 150 mm are used. The amount of compost required and the associated N inputs are immense and carry the risk of environmentally harmful N surpluses that can be lost through nitrate leaching or denitrification. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of compost as mulch and to investigate N dynamics under DCM. For this purpose, a literature review was conducted, and soil inorganic nitrogen (Nmin-N) was measured under on-farm conditions up to a soil depth of 900 mm in a market garden with DCM in Germany for one year. Furthermore, based on the collected data, the different N pathways were calculated using the N-Expert and NDICEA models and simulated for two additional scenarios. Results from field measurements showed a strongly increased N-surplus not taken up by the crops and a shift of Nmin-N to deeper soil layers for municipal organic waste compost (MW), with an average accumulation of 466 kg Nmin-N ha−1 at 600–900 mm depth. N inputs from DCM can be significantly reduced by the use of green waste compost (GW) with low bulk density or wood waste compost (WW) with an additional high C/N ratio.

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Biodegradable plastic mulch films increase yield and promote nitrogen use efficiency in organic horticulture

2023

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Plastic film mulches (PFM) are used extensively due to their ability to increase yield and suppress weed emergence. Their effects on plant-soil-microbial interactions, however, are less well understood. Organic systems rely on the supply of nutrients from organic sources (e.g., manures and fertility-building leys) and where poor N availability often limits yield. The issue is compounded by horticultural crops (e.g., lettuce) with a high N demand, but which are inefficient at recovering N from soil. The effect of PFM on the mineralisation of organic fertilisers and its interaction with other agronomic factors such as planting density is also less well-researched. We hypothesised that biodegradable PFM would be a useful tool to increase the efficiency of N management in organic horticulture by increasing the supply of available N leading to increased crop N uptake and crop yield, and simultaneously reducing N losses during the growing season. We conducted two field experiments under a temperate maritime climate with lettuces grown with either conventional (LDPE) PFM or a polylactic acid-based biodegradable PFM alongside un-mulched controls. The first experiment involved black or white coloured PFMs and two planting densities while the second experiment involved treatments with and without addition of poultry manure. Overall, yields were increased by 39% in both experiments with PFM, while soil mineral N concentrations were up to 5 times higher with PFM than without. Measurements of soil organic matter (SOM) turnover (Tea Bag Index) and soil CO2 efflux indicated a more rapid decay of SOM in the presence of the PFM. The use of PFM also promoted N use efficiency (NUE) by 300% in the presence of poultry manure. Denser planting with PFM resulted in proportionately higher yields. Higher yield and higher N concentrations (5-10%) in crop tissue in mulched plots resulted in higher total N uptake, however, total N uptake was low compared to soil concentrations: mulching with biodegradable PFM resulted in higher residual mineral N than un-mulched plots (77-147 mg kg-1 vs. 19 -70 mg kg-1). Our results are consistent with reduced N losses to the environment during the growing season and increased mineralisation under PFM. In conclusion, our findings support the adoption of PFM for organic horticulture and show that biodegradable PFM perform similarly to LDPE-based PFMs.

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Compost and Black Polyethylene Mulches Improve Spring Production of Romaine Lettuce in Southern New England

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

The Effects of Black and White Plastic Mulch on Soil Temperature and Yield of Crisphead Lettuce in Southern New England

The Effects of Black and White Plastic Mulch on Soil Temperature and Yield of Crisphead Lettuce in Southern New England

Excessive Nitrate Limits the Sustainability of Deep Compost Mulch in Organic Market Gardening

Biodegradable plastic mulch films increase yield and promote nitrogen use efficiency in organic horticulture

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