Conservation tillage combined with cover crops or mulching may enhance natural enemy activity in agroecosystems by reducing soil disturbance and increasing habitat structural complexity. In particular, weed seed predation can increase with vegetation cover and reduced tillage, indicating that mulches may improve the quality of the habitat for weed seed foraging. The purpose of this study was to...

Vegetables are a rich source of nutrients. Fresh vegetables like French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are known for their high protein content, fibre, water and mineral composition. They are also good source of vitamins like Ascorbic acid and Riboflavin and minerals like calcium and phosphorus. In view of the growing awareness regarding health the French beans are recommended for regular diet as v...

A traditional mulching technique used in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, allows dry farming as well as pronounced water savings in irrigation. It is known to reduce evaporational losses, but is also supposed to enhance the nocturnal condensation of water vapour from the atmosphere. The mulch layer consists of porous volcanic rock fragments abundantly available on the island. The mulched surface is b...

using mulch to decrease and optimize water use, increase yield and fruit quality is known as a practical method. for this purpose, a split-factorial experiment based on complete block design with three replications on two melon cultivars was conducted in torbat-e-jam, iran. interval irrigation treatments in three levels (six, eight and 10 days) were considered as main plot and mulch (rice straw...

ABSTRACT- Over the past 50 years, oil mulching has been a common technique for sand dune stabilization in the southwest of Iran (Khuzestan province). However, concerns over the release of heavy metals from oil mulching have led to the search for alternative mulches that are capable of stabilizing sand dunes without environmental hazards. This study investigates the feasibility of using sugarcan...

This study was conducted to assay the effects of methanol foliar application (0, 10, 20 and 30% v/v) and bed cover (control, white and black covers) on yield and some physiological traits of marigold as a factorial based on RCBD. The results revealed the significant interaction effects of bed cover and methanol foliar application on chlorophyll a content and plant height. The highest plant heig...

Despite evidence for biological control in North America, outbreaks of the invasive soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), continue to occur on soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.). Our objectives were to determine whether natural enemies delay aphid establishment and limit subsequent population growth and whether biological control can be improved by altering the within-fiel...

A field experiment was conducted in a cider-apple orchard to evaluate the effect of six groundcover management systems (pine-bark, plastic and straw mulches, tillage, herbicide and natural soil) on the occurrence of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Eight species of carabids were collected in pitfall traps. The three most common beetles, Steropus gallega Fairmaire (65.8%), Pseudophonus ru...