Clear Plastic Mulch Improved Seedling Emergence of Direct-seeded Pepper

Evaluation of Wavelength Selective Mulch for Pepper Production

Plasticulture studies were continued on bell pepper. Total marketable fruit yields of 4.85, 3.94 and 3.09 tons per acre were obtained from plants grown on silver, white, and black plastic mulches, respectively. Number of fruits produced per plant followed the same trend. Individual fruit weights of 85-117g were not significantly different among treatments. Fruit set as indicated by number of fr...

Ammonia Volatilization from Urea-Application Influenced Germination and Early Seedling Growth of Dry Direct-Seeded Rice

Poor seed germination and early seedling growth associated with urea-induced soil ammonia volatilization are major constraints in the adoption of dry direct-seeded rice. To directly examine soil ammonia volatilization and its damage to seed germination and early seedling growth of dry direct-seeded rice when urea is applied at seeding, two Petri-dish incubation experiments and a field experimen...

How Long Can Roundup ® Residues Stay on Plastic Mulch ?

Pre-sowing Seed Treatments in Direct-seeded Early Rice: Consequences for Emergence, Seedling Growth and Associated Metabolic Events under Chilling Stress

Double direct-seeding for double rice cropping is a simplified, labor saving, and efficient cropping system to improve multiple-crop index and total rice production in central China. However, poor crop establishment of direct-seeded early rice due to chilling stress is the main obstacle to wide spread of this system. A series of experiments were conducted to unravel the effects of pre-sowing se...

Runoff loss of pesticides and soil: a comparison between vegetative mulch and plastic mulch in vegetable production systems.

Current vegetable production systems use polyethylene (plastic) mulch and require multiple applications of agrochemicals. During rain events, runoff from vegetable production is enhanced because 50 to 75% of the field is covered with an impervious surface. This study was conducted to quantify off-site movement of soil and pesticides with runoff from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plots ...