Abstract
Summary A 12 month field experiment was undertaken on a sandy loam soil to investigate nutrient content and nutrient release characteristics of six organic landscape mulches; cocoa shells, coarse conifer bark chips, wood chips, garden compost, horse manure and finely ground conifer bark. Comparisons were made against black polythene mulch and a bare earth control. Mulch treatments were applied to bare soil plots, left for 12 months and then cleared before sowing a crop of agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.). Soil analysis was carried out at the start and end of the experiment, fresh and dry masses of the aerial portion of the mustard crop were determined and their nutrient contents assessed. Initial mulch pH was not a good indicator of how that mulch would affect the underlying soil pH over time. After 12 months the organic mulches had either no significant effect on soil pH or increased it slightly relative to unamended soil. In contrast, initial nutrient content of the organic mulches proved to be a useful indicator of their impact on available nutrient levels in the soil and of their relative benefits to plant growth. Horse manure, garden compost and cocoa shell mulches, with low C:N ratios and high potassium content resulted in significant increases in soil nutrients and supported the highest yields. After twelve months, no evidence of nitrogen immobilisation or growth suppression under the wood or bark-based mulches was observed. None of the mulches had a significant effect on the underlying soil organic matter content during the experiment.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Initial mulch pH poorly predicted subsequent soil pH.
- Taxon
- agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)
Sinapis albat0 - Treatment
- mulch pHe0
- Outcome
- underlying soil pHe0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Initial mulch pH was not a good indicator of how that mulch would affect the underlying soil pH over time”
t0“agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic mulches had no significant or slight positive effects on soil pH after 12 months.
- Taxon
- agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)Sinapis albat0
- Treatment
- organic mulchese0
- Outcome
- soil pHe0
- Direction
- increased it slightlye0
- Qualifier
- either no significant effect on soil pH or increased it slightlye0
- Comparator
- unamended soile0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“After 12 months the organic mulches had either no significant effect on soil pH or increased it slightly relative to unamended soil”
t0“agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Initial mulch nutrient content predicted soil nutrient availability and relative plant-growth benefit.
- Taxon
- agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)Sinapis albat0
- Treatment
- organic mulchese0
- Outcome
- relative benefits to plant growthe0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“initial nutrient content of the organic mulches proved to be a useful indicator of their impact on available nutrient levels in the soil and of their relative benefits to plant growth”
t0“agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Horse manure increased soil nutrients and supported the highest mustard yields.
- Taxon
- agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)Sinapis albat0
- Treatment
- Horse manuree0
- Outcome
- soil nutrients and supported the highest yieldse0
- Direction
- significant increasese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Horse manure, garden compost and cocoa shell mulches, with low C:N ratios and high potassium content resulted in significant increases in soil nutrients and supported the highest yields”
t0“agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
garden compost increased soil nutrients and supported the highest mustard yields.
- Taxon
- agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)Sinapis albat0
- Treatment
- garden composte0
- Outcome
- soil nutrients and supported the highest yieldse0
- Direction
- significant increasese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Horse manure, garden compost and cocoa shell mulches, with low C:N ratios and high potassium content resulted in significant increases in soil nutrients and supported the highest yields”
t0“agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
cocoa shell mulches increased soil nutrients and supported the highest mustard yields.
- Taxon
- agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)Sinapis albat0
- Treatment
- cocoa shell mulchese0
- Outcome
- soil nutrients and supported the highest yieldse0
- Direction
- significant increasese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Horse manure, garden compost and cocoa shell mulches, with low C:N ratios and high potassium content resulted in significant increases in soil nutrients and supported the highest yields”
t0“agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
Wood and bark mulches showed no evidence of mustard growth suppression after twelve months.
- Taxon
- agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)Sinapis albat0
- Treatment
- wood or bark-based mulchese0
- Outcome
- growth suppressione0
- Direction
- no evidencee0
- Qualifier
- After twelve monthse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“After twelve months, no evidence of nitrogen immobilisation or growth suppression under the wood or bark-based mulches was observed”
t0“agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)”
Claim · model-written summary
No mulch significantly changed soil organic matter content.
- Taxon
- agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)Sinapis albat0
- Treatment
- mulchese0
- Outcome
- underlying soil organic matter contente0
- Direction
- Nonee0
- Qualifier
- during the experimente0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“None of the mulches had a significant effect on the underlying soil organic matter content during the experiment”
t0“agricultural mustard (Sinapis alba L.)”
The same questions in other papers
fertilization · yield · Sinapis alba (white mustard)Positive and negative results
14 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
- positive
12 papers more in this group
See all 16 papers →mulching · yield · Sinapis alba (white mustard)Results agree
2 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
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.