Effects of Mulching and Fertilizer Sources on Growth and Yield of Onion

Abstract

Onion is an important horticultural vegetable in the urban Zimbabwe market. In Zimbabwe there is a need to improve the yield of onions on garden size areas utilizing locally available materials thereby avoiding purchased inputs which are often unavailable or inaccessible due to no supply or prohibitive price The present studies investigate the effect of trash grass and sawdust mulches in combination with organic and inorganic fertilizers on onion growth and yield. When the two mulching materials were compared, trash grass mulch favored the growth of onions more than sawdust mulch. Mulching improved soil water retention capacity, improved soil structure and suppressed weeds. These features played a significant role in the performance and ultimately the yield of onions. Similarly, total plant weight, aerial leaf weight, bulb weight and yields plot were also higher for samples taken from plots with trash grass mulch than those mulched with sawdust. This work also sought to evaluate mulching materials and fertilizer types on the various components of the onion plant at different stages of development and hence their contribution to the final yield. Trash grass in combination with organic and inorganic fertilizer the final yield improved by 160% and 310% respectively. As for sawdust, final yield improved by 103% and 275% for combinations with organic and inorganic fertilizer respectively. The effect of fertilizer types alone on the growth and yield of onions was less dramatic than that of mulch.

Biodegradation of mulch films from poly(butylene adipate co‐terephthalate), carnauba wax, and sugarcane residue

“…Mulching involves the application of a layer of material on the soil surface to create a favorable microclimate for root growth, modifying soil temperature, limiting weed growth, and reducing moisture loss . Mulching may consist of organic materials such as agricultural waste, animal waste (manure), industrial waste (sawdust) or inorganic materials, which include artificially obtained materials such as synthetic polymer films and some bio and photodegradable polymer films (mulch films) …”

The Responses of Mulch Closure on the Germination of Mindi (Melia azedarach Linn.)

“…Salah satu cara untuk mendapatkan kondisi lingkungan yang optimal untuk perkecambahan adalah dengan penutupan mulsa. Penggunaan mulsa memiliki berbagai keuntungan baik dari apek fisik maupun kimia seperti: memperkecil fluktuasi suhu dan kelembaban, memperbesar infiltrasi dan mengurangi evapotranspirasi (Sukirno, 1983;Purwowidodo, 1983;Fauzan, 2002;Widyasari , 2011;Gordon , et al et al 2010;Franquera, 2011;Zhao , 2012, et al Navratilova dan Prijono, 2013, Gordon , et al 2010Darmawan, 2014;Azad, Hasan dan Parvizi, 2015;Mutetwa dan Mutaiti, 2014;Wisudawati 2016). Menurut Umboh et al, (2002), berdasarkan sumber bahan dan cara pembuatannya mulsa dibagi tiga kelompok yaitu mulsa organik, mulsa anorganik dan mulsa kimia sintetis.…”

“…Mulsa jerami padi dapat mengurangi fluktuasi suhu, dan meningkatkan kelembaban dan mengurangi evapotranspirasi (Bilalis ., 2002;Doring 2006;Mayun, et al et al, 2007). Zeolit merupakan padatan anorganik berwarna kebiru-biruan, bersifat basa sehingga dapat menetralkan tanah, mempunyai permukaan yang luas dan sangat berpori sehingga mempunyai kemampuan mengikat air (Barrer, 1982;Dyer, 1988;Prayitno ., 1989;Meier et al et al et al ., 1996;Bachrein ., 1998;Herawati, 2001) Warna mulsa plastik akan menentukan sifat cahaya yang dipantulkan, diserap dan diteruskan (Mahrer, 1979;Elnizar, 2004 Gordon et al, 2010, Sukirno, 1983Purwowidodo, 1983;Fauzan, 2002;Widyasari et al, 2011, Gordon et al, 2010Franquera, 2011;Zhao et al, 2012, Navratilova dan Prijono, 2013Gordon et al, 2010;Darmawan, 2014;Azad, Hasan dan Parvizi, 2015;Mutetwa dan Mutaiti, 2014;Wisudawati et al, 2016). …”

Experimental Investigation of Thermo-Physical Properties of Soil Using Solarisation Technology

“…SST is also the main factor for analysing Organic Matter (OM) in soil (Conant et al, 2011;Grunwald et al, 2017;Li et al, 2016). Furthermore, SST overpowers weed growth (Kader et al, 2017;Mutetwa and Mtaita, 2014). SST strongly affects the establishment of microclimates that lead to increased fertilizer productivity in soil, reduces soil irrigation consumption (Cerdà et al, 2016;Jiang et al, 2017;Mahdavi et al, 2017;Wu et al, 2017;Zhou et al, 2017), affects soil temperature (Al-Shammary and Al-Sadoon, 2014;Al-Shammary et al, 2016) and improves the physical structure of soil (Dec et al, 2009).…”