The Use of Hydromulching as an Alternative to Plastic Films in an Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus cv. Symphony) Crop: A Study of the Economic Viability

Abstract

The use of mulching in agriculture suppresses the weeds around crop plants, enhances the nutrients status of soil, controls the soil structure and temperature, and reduces soil water evaporation. Excessive use of low-density polyethylene mulches is contributing to the accumulation of high amounts of plastic wastes, an environmental problem for agricultural ecosystems. Fragments of plastic from such wastes can be found in soils, in water resources, and in organisms, including humans. The objective of this work was to study the economic viability of the use of different hydromulches in an artichoke crop. Three blends were prepared by mixing paper pulp (recycled from used paper) and cardboard (from paper mills) with different additives: wheat straw (WS), rice hulls (RH), and substrate used for mushroom cultivation (MS). These were compared with low-density polyethylene (Pe), a treatment without mulching on bare soil where hand weeding was performed (HW), and a treatment without mulching on bare soil where herbicide was applied (H). The results indicate that the use of hydromulch in an artichoke crop represents a good alternative for reducing plastic waste in agriculture. The net profits of the hydromulch treatments (MS, WS, RH) were higher than for HW and H, and slightly lower than for Pe. The most profitable treatment was Pe (€0.69 m−3), followed by RH (€0.59 m−3), WS (€0.58 m−3), MS (€0.47 m−3), HW (€0.36 m−3), and H (€0.32 m−3). A sensitivity analysis showed a probability of negative results of 0.04 in Pe, 0.13 in SM, 0.08 in WS, and 0.07 in RH, so the probability that the grower will make a profit is greater than 0.9 with the use of mulch (except mushroom substrate) or polyethylene.

Hydromulches suppress weeds and maintain fruit production in organically managed strawberry systems

“…Application rates for HMs vary between 2,243-5,059 kg of dry matter ha -1 (Vaughn et al, 2013;Ricks et al, 2020). Materials previously evaluated for HM feedstock include straw, wood fiber, cotton (Gossypium arboreum L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) fibers (Ricks et al, 2020); barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) straw, rice (Oryza sativa L.) husk, rests from mushroom production, and wood chips (Moreno et al, 2022); corn (Zea mays L.) starch, glycerol, keratin hydrolysate, corn gluten meal, corn zein, egg shells, and isolated soy (Gloeb et al, 2023); and recycled paper, and cardboard (Loṕez-Marıń et al, 2021).…”

The Interaction between Hydromulching and Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Improves Escarole Growth and Productivity by Regulating Nutrient Uptake and Hormonal Balance

“…Recently, several authors have reported the benefits of the use of hydromulching, a new semiliquid soil cover formulation, which is based on different biological additives from crop residues [ 34 , 35 ]. Furthermore, the positive effect of the use of different types of hydromulches on plant yield in artichoke plants has been demonstrated [ 36 ]. Very recently, Romero-Muñoz et al [ 20 ] have shown a direct implication of the hormonal balance regulation on the growth enhancement of hydromulched escarole plants under drought conditions.…”

The Economic Productivity of Water in Agriculture based on Ordered Weighted Average Operators

“…Various indicators measure water productivity. Among these are production per cubic meter consumed or income per cubic meter [2]; but the most representative indicator is the income obtained per euro of water consumption by a farmer. However, it is evident that this information is not always available, so it will be necessary to resort to the use of surveys where the high subjectivity inherent in these estimates must be considered [3].…”