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1,477 Results Found

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,045 Views
23 Pages

30 October 2025

Machine harvesting of cotton in Xinjiang has significantly improved harvesting efficiency; however, it has also resulted in a considerable increase in residual mulch content within the cotton, which has severely affected the quality and market value...

  • Review
  • Open Access
32 Citations
9,787 Views
24 Pages

The Use and Recycling of Agricultural Plastic Mulch in China: A Review

  • Hongguang Yang,
  • Zhichao Hu,
  • Feng Wu,
  • Kai Guo,
  • Fengwei Gu and
  • Mingzhu Cao

20 October 2023

The use of plastic film for mulching cultivation is an important agricultural production technology, which plays an important role in achieving agricultural yield increase and farmers’ income increase. China’s use of plastic mulch ranks f...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
4,524 Views
20 Pages

Agricultural white pollution is a pressing concern in China. However, the efficiency and rationality of the government’s subsidies for mulch film management remain ambiguous. To formulate reasonable policies for mulch film management and optimi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,579 Views
16 Pages

Effects of Plastic Mulch Residue on Soil Fungal Communities in Cotton

  • Wenyue Song,
  • Hongqi Wu,
  • Zequn Xiang,
  • Yanmin Fan,
  • Shuaishuai Wang and
  • Jia Guo

Plastic mulch plays a crucial role in agricultural production in arid and semi-arid regions, positively impacting crop yields, salt suppression, and seedling protection. However, as the usage of plastic mulch extends over time, residue accumulation b...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
5,110 Views
13 Pages

The Effect of Wool Mulch on Plant Development in the Context of the Physical and Biological Conditions in Soil

  • Katalin Juhos,
  • Enikő Papdi,
  • Flórián Kovács,
  • Vasileios P. Vasileiadis and
  • Andrea Veres

3 February 2023

Mulching techniques can comprise a solution that better utilizes precipitation and irrigation water in such a manner that mitigates soil degradation and drought damage; however, there are still gaps in the literature with regard to the effect of the...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
4,111 Views
15 Pages

Effect of Straw Mulch on Soil Evaporation during Freeze–Thaw Periods

  • Junfeng Chen,
  • Xue Xie,
  • Xiuqing Zheng,
  • Jing Xue,
  • Chunyan Miao,
  • Qi Du and
  • Yongxin Xu

15 August 2019

Reducing soil evaporation is important to alleviate water shortages in arid and semi-arid regions. The objective of this work was to reveal the effect of straw mulch on soil evaporation based on field experiments during a freeze–thaw period in...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
6,770 Views
17 Pages

Effects of Different Mulch Types on Farmland Soil Moisture in an Artificial Oasis Area

  • Linlin Ye,
  • Yuanxiao Xu,
  • Guofeng Zhu,
  • Wenhao Zhang and
  • Yinying Jiao

27 December 2023

Different types of mulch are often used in agricultural production to enhance soil moisture and improve crop yields. The question of which mulch provides superior water retention in arid regions, where water resources are scarce, is a major concern f...

  • Article
  • Open Access
39 Citations
9,168 Views
15 Pages

13 April 2019

Weeds are a challenge, particularly in organic agriculture, due to restrictions on the application of synthetic herbicides and chemicals. A preliminary cultivar evaluation trial of organic sweetpotato was conducted in 2015 at Tennessee State Universi...

  • Review
  • Open Access
27 Citations
7,892 Views
19 Pages

Film mulching technology has greatly improved the efficiency of agricultural production. However, it also causes environmental problems such as soil contamination. Biodegradable mulch films, which represent environmentally friendly alternatives, pres...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,250 Views
21 Pages

Model Optimization and Application of Straw Mulch Quantity Using Remote Sensing

  • Yuanyuan Liu,
  • Yu Sun,
  • Yueyong Wang,
  • Jun Wang,
  • Xuebing Gao,
  • Libin Wang and
  • Mengqi Liu

12 October 2024

Straw mulch quantity is an important indicator in the detection of straw returned to the field in conservation tillage, but there is a lack of large-scale automated measurement methods. In this study, we estimated global straw mulch quantity and comp...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
3,371 Views
19 Pages

28 September 2023

Mulch has been considered effective for saving water and promoting plant growth. However, little has been investigated about the effect of mulch from recycled shredded paper under different soil moisture conditions on spinach growth. A pot-grown Koma...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,999 Views
14 Pages

A Preliminary Determination of Mechanical and Suspension Properties of Waste Mulch Film and Cotton Stalk

  • Kai Guo,
  • Mingzhu Cao,
  • Hongguang Yang,
  • Weiwen Luo,
  • Mingyang Qin,
  • Feng Wu,
  • Fengwei Gu and
  • Zhichao Hu

In order to provide basic data and a theoretical basis for waste mulch film crushing and separation equipment, the mechanical and suspension properties of waste mulch film and cotton stalk were determined in this study. In the mechanical properties t...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
8,976 Views
17 Pages

Living Mulch Performance in a Tropical Cotton System and Impact on Yield and Weed Control

  • Vinay Bhaskar,
  • Robin R. Bellinder,
  • Antonio DiTommaso and
  • Michael F. Walter

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a major crop in the Vidarbha region of central India. The vertisol soils on which much of the cotton is grown have been severely degraded by the tropical climate, excessive tillage and depletion of organic matter. Li...

  • Article
  • Open Access
51 Citations
6,720 Views
14 Pages

Effect of Long-Term Biodegradable Film Mulch on Soil Physicochemical and Microbial Properties

  • Mingming Zhang,
  • Yinghao Xue,
  • Tuo Jin,
  • Kai Zhang,
  • Zhili Li,
  • Chitao Sun,
  • Qinghua Mi and
  • Quanqi Li

7 March 2022

Biodegradable mulches have become the focus of attention, as pollution caused by leftover plastic mulch material becomes increasingly severe. However, the impact of biodegradable mulches to the soil needs to be further investigated. An experiment was...

  • Review
  • Open Access
73 Citations
18,889 Views
25 Pages

Agricultural plastic mulching is an important horticultural process for increasing crop yields because it preserves soil moisture, soil temperature, and nutrients, and avoids the need for weed herbicides. However, there are risks to using plastic mul...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
3,046 Views
14 Pages

Evaluation of Biodegradable Mulch Films on Melon Production and Quality under Mediterranean Field Conditions

  • Mohamed Houssemeddine Sellami,
  • Ida Di Mola,
  • Lucia Ottaiano,
  • Eugenio Cozzolino,
  • Luisa del Piano and
  • Mauro Mori

11 September 2024

This study examines the effects of biodegradable mulches on melon production and quality in a Mediterranean environment, specifically focusing on Mater-Bi and Ecovio in comparison to conventional (low-density polyethylene) LDPE mulch. Biodegradable m...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
6,828 Views
7 Pages

Intercropping provides several benefits to the agro-ecosystem and plays an important role in Integrated Weed Management (IWM). In this study, we investigated the impact of living mulch in cereal crops on weed density and grain yield. Seven field expe...

  • Article
  • Open Access
16 Citations
3,266 Views
16 Pages

9 October 2022

The influence of different mulching measures on soil moisture, soil temperature, and crop growth was investigated during the jujube growing season in rain-fed jujube orchards using micro-plot experiments. The mulching treatments included clean tillag...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
36 Citations
7,322 Views
12 Pages

Living Mulch with Selected Herbs for Soil Management in Organic Apple Orchards

  • Md Jebu Mia,
  • Ewa M. Furmanczyk,
  • Joanna Golian,
  • Joanna Kwiatkowska,
  • Eligio Malusá and
  • Davide Neri

The establishment of living mulches in organic orchards could potentially improve the orchard biodiversity and, when specific plant species are selected, provide additional eco-services and functions, including adequate weed management. This study wa...

  • Review
  • Open Access
130 Citations
16,680 Views
29 Pages

Polymers Use as Mulch Films in Agriculture—A Review of History, Problems and Current Trends

  • Zinnia Mansoor,
  • Fideline Tchuenbou-Magaia,
  • Marek Kowalczuk,
  • Grazyna Adamus,
  • Georgina Manning,
  • Mattia Parati,
  • Iza Radecka and
  • Habib Khan

22 November 2022

The application of mulch films for preserving soil moisture and preventing weed growth has been a part of agricultural practice for decades. Different materials have been used as mulch films, but polyethylene plastic has been considered most effectiv...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,329 Views
15 Pages

Effects of Biodegradable Mulch Films with Different Thicknesses on the Quality of Watermelon Under Protected Cultivation

  • Haikang Zhao,
  • Xidong Wang,
  • Penghui Jin,
  • Jihua Zhou,
  • Yan Wang,
  • Wentao Dong,
  • Huiqing Ren,
  • Bingru Li and
  • Wenwen Gong

4 October 2025

Biodegradable mulch films (BDMs) have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional polyethylene (PE) films in modern horticulture, yet the effect of film thickness on crop performance remains inadequately understood. In this study, a two-year f...

  • Article
  • Open Access
35 Citations
4,911 Views
19 Pages

Agri-Biodegradable Mulch Films Derived from Lignin in Empty Fruit Bunches

  • Kittitat Sirivechphongkul,
  • Nutchapon Chiarasumran,
  • Maythee Saisriyoot,
  • Anusith Thanapimmetha,
  • Penjit Srinophakun,
  • Kesinee Iamsaard and
  • Yao-Tung Lin

1 October 2022

Mulch films increase soil temperature, maintain soil moisture, improve water and fertilizer absorption, and reduce weed growth. This work studied a mulching film made using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and lignin extracted from empty fruit bunches (EFBs)....

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
4,114 Views
15 Pages

6 April 2023

This study aimed to address the crop growth and development issues caused by environmental factors in the area of the Liupan Mountains in Ningxia. In this area, there is a large temperature difference between day and night due to drought and low rain...

  • Article
  • Open Access
435 Views
28 Pages

Identification of Plastic Mulch in Cotton Fields Using UAV-Based Hyperspectral Data and Deep Learning Semantic Segmentation

  • Qingyao Zhao,
  • Shenglin Li,
  • Fukui Gao,
  • Huifeng Ning,
  • Dongke Dai,
  • Pengyuan Zhu,
  • Nanfang Li,
  • Yinping Song,
  • Caixia Li and
  • Hao Liu

15 February 2026

Plastic mulching is widely used in arid and semi-arid cotton systems to improve soil hydrothermal conditions and water–nutrient use efficiency. However, residual mulch and its potential contribution to microplastic inputs pose growing environme...

  • Article
  • Open Access
22 Citations
7,625 Views
16 Pages

19 August 2016

Surface energy balance (SEB) is a basic principle for all of the atmospheric circulation models, and surface soil heat flux (G0) is an important component of energy balance. Plastic mulch is widely used in arid regions and alters land surface process...

  • Article
  • Open Access
26 Citations
4,116 Views
16 Pages

1 June 2019

Water shortage is a main limitation of crop growth and yield in drought northwest China, which is an important area of seed maize growth. Plastic film mulch is widely adopted to reduce soil evaporation (E) and conserve water resources, which changes...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
2,873 Views
13 Pages

Assessing Biodegradable Mulch Duration and Nutsedge Suppression during Late Summer Cucumber Production in Mississippi and Louisiana

  • Kathryn Fontenot,
  • Heather Kirk-Ballard,
  • Christine Elizabeth Harris Coker,
  • Ronald Strahan,
  • Isabel Bacas and
  • Robert Michael Ely

Environmental concerns as well as labor costs associated with the use of polyethylene plastic mulch have turned producers’ focus to alternative mulch treatments. A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate nutsedge control, mulch degradation, and c...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
4,320 Views
17 Pages

Development and Evaluation of Biodegradable Weed Control Mulch Mats from End-of-Use Cotton Waste

  • Huantian Cao,
  • Kendall Ludwig,
  • Kelly Cobb,
  • Carmyia Scott,
  • Yan Jin,
  • Bridget Knight,
  • Mary Burrichter and
  • Hongqing Shen

18 August 2024

This research used end-of-use cotton apparel to develop mulch mats, a type of agrotextiles. The researchers collected and sorted end-of-use garments to obtain cotton textile waste. These end-of-use garments were deconstructed to obtain shredded texti...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,615 Views
15 Pages

Film mulching agriculture in arid areas is faced with pollution caused by film mulching, and currently mainly adopts the mechanized recycling of mulch film. However, residual mulch film in the soil will bind with soil under the farming environment, w...

  • Review
  • Open Access
6 Citations
4,238 Views
19 Pages

Does the Incorporation of Biochar into Biodegradable Mulch Films Provide Agricultural Soil Benefits?

  • Kesinee Iamsaard,
  • Nuttapon Khongdee,
  • Raweerat Rukkhun,
  • Charoon Sarin,
  • Pantip Klomjek and
  • Chanin Umponstira

6 December 2024

The pollution caused by plastic mulch film in agriculture has garnered significant attention. To safeguard the ecosystem from the detrimental effects of plastic pollution, it is imperative to investigate the use of biodegradable materials for manufac...

  • Article
  • Open Access
9 Citations
3,321 Views
15 Pages

Is Cattle Manure Application with Plastic-Film Mulch a Good Choice for Potato Production?

  • Chaobiao Meng,
  • Fengxin Wang,
  • Bernard A. Engel,
  • Kaijing Yang and
  • Youliang Zhang

11 September 2019

Using manure in potato production has been considered for its potential environmentally friendly effects. Two years of field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of different kinds of fertilizer and soil surface treatments on potato gro...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
3,291 Views
11 Pages

Biodegradation Studies of Biobased Mulch Films Reinforced with Cellulose from Waste Mango

  • Miguel Angel Lorenzo Santiago,
  • J. Rodolfo Rendón Villalobos,
  • Silvia Maribel Contreras Ramos,
  • Glenda Pacheco Vargas and
  • Edgar García Hernández

10 October 2024

Excessive use of plastic mulches has triggered a series of environmental problems, primarily due to the large volumes generated and their low or non-existent degradability. For this reason, materials with similar characteristics to synthetic mulches...

  • Proceeding Paper
  • Open Access
277 Views
9 Pages

Yield Stability of Selected Potato Cultivars Under Mulch and Fungicide Applications Across Different Environments

  • Nosipho Precious Minenhle Phungula,
  • Sandile Thamsanqa Hadebe,
  • Lucky Sithole,
  • Morgan Nadioo and
  • Nomali Ziphorah Ngobese

Smallholder farmers’ yields fluctuate yearly due to the variability of climate, resources, and diseases. The study aimed to assess genotypes-by-environment interactions under different management practices using additive main effects and multip...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
813 Views
14 Pages

5 November 2025

Plastic mulch is widely used in organic strawberry production but raises sustainability concerns due to its persistence, disposal challenges, and contribution to microplastic pollution. This study evaluated the potential of high-residue cover crops a...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,166 Views
13 Pages

A Comparative Plant Growth Study of a Sprayable, Degradable Polyester–Urethane–Urea Mulch and Two Commercial Plastic Mulches

  • Cuyler Borrowman,
  • Karen Little,
  • Raju Adhikari,
  • Kei Saito,
  • Stuart Gordon and
  • Antonio F. Patti

The practice in agriculture of spreading polyethylene (PE) film over the soil surface as mulch is a common, global practice that aids in conserving water, increasing crop yields, suppressing weed growth, and decreasing growing time. However, these fi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,089 Views
18 Pages

Design and Test of a Sliding Cutting Device for the Plastic Mulch Waste

  • Mengyu Guo,
  • Bin Hu,
  • Xin Luo,
  • Chenglin Yuan,
  • Yiquan Cai and
  • Luochuan Xu

2 March 2023

Agricultural mulch waste that is mechanically recycled has a high resource value. It has been found that the mulch is tightly entangled in the crop straw, forming a knotted feature that prevents further resource utilization. Traditional cutting tools...

  • Review
  • Open Access
86 Citations
6,983 Views
12 Pages

21 October 2020

Growers are interested in biodegradable alternatives to petroleum-based polyethylene mulch film (PEM). However, many growers cite limited knowledge about biodegradable mulch films (BDMs) as a significant barrier to adoption. Agronomic field tests of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
2,792 Views
26 Pages

12 January 2024

The performance and degradation of nonwoven mulches made from viscose, jute, hemp fibers, and their blends with PLA fibers, subjected to field conditions, are investigated. This research explores the possible substitution of traditional agricultural...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
4,164 Views
14 Pages

Safety of Oilseed Rape Straw Mulch of Different Lengths to Rice and Its Suppressive Effects on Weeds

  • Jinwen Zhu,
  • Wen Liang,
  • Siyu Yang,
  • Huifu Wang,
  • Chunhua Shi,
  • Shuo Wang,
  • Weijun Zhou,
  • Qiang Lu,
  • Faisal Islam and
  • Antonio DiTommaso
  • + 1 author

1 February 2020

Rice is widely grown after harvesting of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in many countries. Experiments were carried out under greenhouse and field conditions to assess the impact of oilseed rape straw mulch on rice and paddy weeds. Oilseed rape mul...

  • Article
  • Open Access
28 Citations
5,432 Views
16 Pages

Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Plastic Mulch Films on Soil Nutrient, Yields and Soil Microbiome in Three Vegetable Fields

  • Xi Shan,
  • Wei Zhang,
  • Zhongliang Dai,
  • Jianbin Li,
  • Weiwei Mao,
  • Fangwei Yu,
  • Jinjun Ma,
  • Shenyun Wang and
  • Xiaoping Zeng

17 February 2022

Plastic film mulching is a common practice to increase vegetable yields. However, the effects of plastic mulch films on different vegetable fields remain largely unknown. In the current study, biodegradable mulch films (BDMs) and polyethylene mulch f...

  • Article
  • Open Access
34 Citations
4,868 Views
14 Pages

In response to the problems of the poor degradability and mechanical properties of liquid mulch, natural non-toxic polymer compound corn starch and sodium alginate were used to prepare fully biodegradable liquid mulch. The preparation conditions of t...

  • Review
  • Open Access
4 Citations
6,102 Views
23 Pages

25 March 2025

Agricultural plastic mulch film, valued for its superior heat insulation and moisture retention, is widely used globally but has led to significant microplastic accumulation in soils, threatening agricultural ecosystems. This paper reviews its develo...

  • Article
  • Open Access
17 Citations
4,517 Views
13 Pages

The Effect of Mulch Materials on Selected Soil Properties, Yield and Grape Quality in Vineyards under Central European Conditions

  • Patrik Burg,
  • Alice Čížková,
  • Vladimír Mašán,
  • Aleksandar Sedlar,
  • Arkadiusz Matwijczuk and
  • Jiří Souček

7 August 2022

The results of this study provide overall information on the verification of the effect of applying two different mulching materials of an organic origin to the soil surface in the area between rows of grape vines in vineyards on selected physical an...

  • Article
  • Open Access
42 Citations
6,686 Views
15 Pages

Degradability and Properties of PBAT-Based Biodegradable Mulch Films in Field and Their Effects on Cotton Planting

  • Qi Liu,
  • Yue Wang,
  • Jialei Liu,
  • Xiaowei Liu,
  • Yanyan Dong,
  • Xin Huang,
  • Zhichao Zhen,
  • Jun Lv and
  • Wenqing He

2 August 2022

Biodegradable mulches (BDMs) are considered promising alternative green materials to achieve the substitution of polythene (PE) films to reduce plastic pollution. However, whether the BDMs are sufficiently effective to promote cotton production as PE...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
2,946 Views
15 Pages

15 July 2020

Straw mulching is an effective agricultural technology to reduce soil water loss in arid and semi-arid areas. Herein, the soil temperature and soil water content of bare land (LD) and 5 cm (JG5), 10 cm (JG10), 15 cm (JG15), 20 cm (JG20) and 30 cm (JG...

  • Article
  • Open Access
22 Citations
5,244 Views
14 Pages

Kura Clover Living Mulch: Spring Management Effects on Nitrogen

  • Jonathan R. Alexander,
  • Rodney T. Venterea,
  • John M. Baker and
  • Jeffrey A. Coulter

2 February 2019

Kura clover living mulch (KCLM) systems have the potential to provide ecosystem services in intensively managed cropping systems while supplying soil mineral nitrogen (N) to the growing cash crop. Living mulch management relies on strong spring suppr...

  • Communication
  • Open Access
3 Citations
3,724 Views
11 Pages

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Loose and Compressed Wood Chip Mulch in Field-Grown Blueberries—A Preliminary Study

  • Kwame Sarpong Appiah,
  • Siaw Onwona-Agyeman,
  • Richard Ansong Omari,
  • Naomi Horiuchi,
  • Elsie Sarkodee-Addo,
  • Edward Benjamin Sabi and
  • Yoshiharu Fujii

26 January 2023

Blueberry production in the field faces several challenges, including competition from weeds and soil suitability. Different mulch types are widely used in blueberry cultivation to control weeds, conserve moisture, and mitigate soil erosion. However,...

  • Article
  • Open Access
155 Views
20 Pages

Managing weeds and improving soil health are priorities for South Dakota vegetable farmers. Clover (Trifolium spp.), used as a living mulch within and along cash crop rows, may aid in weed suppression and prevent soil erosion. However, prior research...

  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
4,154 Views
10 Pages

Living Mulch Management Spatially Localizes Nutrient Cycling in Organic Corn Production

  • Peyton Ginakes,
  • Julie M. Grossman,
  • John M. Baker and
  • Thanwalee Sooksa-nguan

Kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum) is a perennial living mulch species that can be used in conjunction with zone tillage to reduce nitrogen pollution, maintain ground cover, and provide nitrogen to crops. In such systems, kura clover is maintained betw...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
2,398 Views
16 Pages

Characterization and Performance Evaluation of Liquid Biodegradable Mulch Films and Its Effects on Peanut Cultivation

  • Jie Shi,
  • Shaoli Wang,
  • Zhongxue Yang,
  • Baoyan Li,
  • Ruijue Chen,
  • Fanzhi Bu,
  • Binghui Luan,
  • Baoyou Liu and
  • Peiqiang Li

31 August 2024

With the development of material science and increasing awareness of ecological environmental protection, liquid biodegradable mulch films (LBDMs) have garnered significant public interest. In this research, new LBDMs were developed using hydrophobic...

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