Fundamentals of Horticulture (2+1)

Mulching

• Mulching is the practice of covering the soil around the plants to make conditions more favourable for growth and conserve the available soil moisture.
• In this management system the open soil is put under loose cover of straw, hay, crop residue, leaves, saw dust and plastic.
• It is essentially a surface barrier against evaporation and checks weed growth reducing competition for nutrients.
• This is one of the important soil management practices adopted in certain countries in orchards.
• It offers a number of advantages at the same time suffer from disadvantages too.

Image: Mulching of various crops with different mulching materials

Advantages

1. Conserves moisture by suppressing weed growth, regulating soil temperature and protection from sun and wind.
2. Improves soil structure.
3. Reduces soil temperature fluctuations.
4. Increases soil organic matter level.
5. Controls erosion.
6. Improves water infiltration rate.
7. Improves nutrient availability through better soil condition micro flora.
8. Avoids competition for nutrient and moisture with main crop.
9. Controls weed growth.

Disadvantages

1. High cost.
2. Transportation.
3. Disease and pest infestation through dead plant material.
4. Fire hazards .
5. Roots grow shallow due to the effect through soil temperature and moisture. Therefore, in first year mulching may not be advisable.

• Among all the mulching materials, plastic mulches are becoming popular especially black polythene mulch, where weed control is desired. Mulching is common in tropics especially in crops like banana, citrus, pineapple. Some of the recommendations made for different crops are being presented in the following table.

Table: Recommended mulches for different fruit crops

Sl No.	Crop	Mulch material
1	Banana	Polythene, Straw mulch, Banana trash and Sugarcane trash.
2	Mango	Straw mulch especially effective against spongy tissue.
3	Pomegranate	Sugarcane trash, Paddy husk and Groundnut husk.
4	Ber	Sugarcane trash, Wheat straw, Black polythene, Trash of Sachrarum munja and Local grasses.
5	Sapota	200 gauge black polythene.
6	Grape	Black polythene.
7	Acid lime	Dry leaf mulch.
8	Strawberry	Black polythene, Cut grasses and Pine needles.
9	Guava	Organic mulches.
10	Lemon	Dry grasses and Black polythene.
11	Coorg mandarin	Dry leaf mulch and Weed scraping.
12	Sweet lime	Dry grasses.
13	Date palm	Local weed bui (Aerva persica).
14	Pineapple	Black polythene, Saw dust and Dry leaves.
15	Apple	Oak leaves, Black alkathene and Conifer leaves.