Abstract
BACKGROUND: High tunnels in the cool climate of north western Washington state improve the growing environment for crops otherwise suited to warmer climates. Biodegradable mulch may improve the sustainability of high tunnel vegetable production if it performs comparably to polyethylene. Four biodegradable mulch treatments (BioAgri, BioTelo, WeedGuardPlus and SB-PLA-10/11/12) were compared to black polyethylene and bare ground in high tunnels and open field settings to assess the impact of production system and mulch treatment on weed control, tomato yield, and fruit quality. RESULTS: Fewer weeds grew in high tunnels than in the open field. High tunnels increased total and marketable fruit yields and increased individual fruit weight. High tunnel production increased juice content and pH of tomato fruit, but decreased total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and total phenolics compared to the open field. All mulch treatments except SB-PLA-10 controlled weeds. BioAgri, BioTelo and polyethylene increased total yields by 20%, though marketability was reduced 14% compared to bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatments. CONCLUSION: High tunnels can improve tomato yield and affect fruit quality in north western Washington. Biodegradable plastic mulches performed comparably to polyethylene in weed control, tomato yield, and fruit quality and may, therefore, improve the sustainability of high tunnel vegetable production.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Fewer weeds grew in high tunnels than the open field.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Fewer weeds grew in high tunnels than in the open field.”
Claim · model-written summary
High tunnels increased total and marketable tomato fruit yields and individual fruit weight.
- Treatment
- High tunnelse0
- Outcome
- total and marketable fruit yields and increased individual fruit weighte0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“High tunnels increased total and marketable fruit yields and increased individual fruit weight.”
Claim · model-written summary
High tunnels increased tomato juice content and fruit pH.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicume0 - Treatment
- High tunnel productione0
- Outcome
- juice content and pHe0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Comparator
- open fielde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“High tunnel production increased juice content and pH of tomato fruit, but decreased total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and total phenolics compared to the open field.”
Claim · model-written summary
High tunnels decreased tomato total soluble solids, titratable acidity and total phenolics.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- High tunnel productione0
- Outcome
- total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and total phenolicse0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Comparator
- open fielde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“High tunnel production increased juice content and pH of tomato fruit, but decreased total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and total phenolics compared to the open field.”
Claim · model-written summary
All mulch treatments except SB-PLA-10 controlled weeds.
- Treatment
- All mulch treatments except SB-PLA-10e0
- Interactor
- weedse0weed
- Outcome
- weedse0
- Direction
- controllede0
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“All mulch treatments except SB-PLA-10 controlled weeds.”
Claim · model-written summary
BioAgri increased total yield by 20%.
- Treatment
- BioAgrie0
- Outcome
- total yieldse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 20%e0
- Comparator
- bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatmentse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“BioAgri, BioTelo and polyethylene increased total yields by 20%, though marketability was reduced 14% compared to bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatments.”
Claim · model-written summary
BioTelo increased total yield by 20%.
- Treatment
- BioTeloe0
- Outcome
- total yieldse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 20%e0
- Comparator
- bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatmentse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“BioAgri, BioTelo and polyethylene increased total yields by 20%, though marketability was reduced 14% compared to bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatments.”
Claim · model-written summary
Polyethylene increased total yield by 20%.
- Treatment
- polyethylenee0
- Outcome
- total yieldse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 20%e0
- Comparator
- bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatmentse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“BioAgri, BioTelo and polyethylene increased total yields by 20%, though marketability was reduced 14% compared to bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatments.”
Claim · model-written summary
Marketability under BioAgri was 14% lower than bare ground and WeedGuardPlus.
- Treatment
- BioAgrie0
- Outcome
- marketabilitye0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 14%e0
- Comparator
- bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatmentse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“BioAgri, BioTelo and polyethylene increased total yields by 20%, though marketability was reduced 14% compared to bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatments.”
Claim · model-written summary
Marketability under BioTelo was 14% lower than bare ground and WeedGuardPlus.
- Treatment
- BioTeloe0
- Outcome
- marketabilitye0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 14%e0
- Comparator
- bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatmentse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“BioAgri, BioTelo and polyethylene increased total yields by 20%, though marketability was reduced 14% compared to bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatments.”
Claim · model-written summary
Marketability under polyethylene was 14% lower than bare ground and WeedGuardPlus.
- Treatment
- polyethylenee0
- Outcome
- marketabilitye0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 14%e0
- Comparator
- bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatmentse0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“BioAgri, BioTelo and polyethylene increased total yields by 20%, though marketability was reduced 14% compared to bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatments.”
Claim · model-written summary
Biodegradable plastic mulches performed comparably to polyethylene for weed control, yield and fruit quality.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- Biodegradable plastic mulchese0
- Interactor
- weede0weed
- Outcome
- weed control, tomato yield, and fruit qualitye0
- Direction
- comparablye0
- Comparator
- polyethylenee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Biodegradable plastic mulches performed comparably to polyethylene in weed control, tomato yield, and fruit quality”
The same questions in other papers
mulching · weed · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Positive and negative results
48 papers in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction · 4 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
51 papers more in this group
See all 55 papers →protected cultivation · weed · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- positive
protected cultivation · quality: postharvest · Solanum lycopersicum (tomato)Results agree
6 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
3 papers more in this group
See all 7 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.