Abstract
Organic mulching and irrigation are considered to be important soil conservation and agricultural practices. However, the effectiveness of these practices on soil properties and potato production in the relatively cool, moist maritime region of Canada has not yet been well studied. In the growing seasons of 2000–2003, a field experiment was conducted at the Potato Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fredericton, New Brunswick, to assess the benefits of hay mulching on a loamy sand soil under potato production. Treatments consisted of four levels of hay mulching: 0, 2.25, 4.5, and 9.0 Mg ha-1 with four replicates under irrigation or nonirrigation. Results showed that hay mulching could help conserve soil moisture in nonirrigation treatments with an increase of mean soil moisture content by 5.7 to 9.5% under 2.25 to 9.0 Mg ha-1 of hay mulch relative to a control. The greatest conservation effect on soil water in our region would be achieved with a mulch rate of 5.6 Mg ha-1. Under irrigation, mulching slightly increased soil temperature. Without irrigation, soil temperature was affected both positively and negatively by mulching, depending on time of day and quantity of mulch applied. During periods of warmer weather, mulching reduced maximum soil temperature during daytime but increased minimum soil temperature during nighttime. While the magnitude of soil temperature change was slight, it varied linearly with mulch quantity. During periods of cold weather, mulching generally increased soil temperature. The soil organic carbon content in the year following mulching increased proportionally with the amount of mulch applied in the nonirrigated treatments. Thus, thicker mulching treatments resulted in a greater increase in soil organic matter accumulation. Irrigation was found to potentially induce organic matter loss for the lower mulching treatment (2.25 Mg ha-1) and control. No significant effects of hay mulching on total potato tuber yield under irrigation were found, but tuber yield under nonirrigation increased linearly with the amount of mulch applied.
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Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
Hay mulching increased mean soil moisture content by 5.7 to 9.5% relative to a control in nonirrigated treatments, with 2.25 to 9.0 Mg ha-1 of hay mulch.
- Taxon
- potato
Solanum tuberosume2 - Treatment
- hay mulchinge1
- Outcome
- mean soil moisture contente1
- Direction
- increasee1
- Value
- 5.7 to 9.5%e1
- Qualifier
- nonirrigation treatmentse1
- Comparator
- controle1
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Results showed that hay mulching could help conserve soil moisture in nonirrigation treatments with an increase of mean soil moisture content by 5.7 to 9.5% under 2.25 to 9.0 Mg ha-1 of hay mulch relative to a control”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
The greatest conservation effect on soil water in the study region would be achieved with a hay mulch rate of 5.6 Mg ha-1.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- mulch ratee4
- Outcome
- conservation effect on soil watere4
- Value
- 5.6 Mg ha-1e4
- Qualifier
- in our regione4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“The greatest conservation effect on soil water in our region would be achieved with a mulch rate of 5.6 Mg ha-1”
e2“under potato production”
Claim · model-written summary
During periods of warmer weather, mulching reduced maximum soil temperature during daytime.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- mulchinge5
- Outcome
- maximum soil temperaturee5
- Direction
- reducede5
- Qualifier
- During periods of warmer weathere5
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“During periods of warmer weather, mulching reduced maximum soil temperature during daytime but increased minimum soil temperature during nighttime”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
During periods of warmer weather, mulching increased minimum soil temperature during nighttime.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- mulchinge5
- Outcome
- minimum soil temperaturee5
- Direction
- increasede5
- Qualifier
- During periods of warmer weathere5
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“During periods of warmer weather, mulching reduced maximum soil temperature during daytime but increased minimum soil temperature during nighttime”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
Change in soil temperature varied linearly with mulch quantity, although its magnitude was slight.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- mulch quantitye7
- Outcome
- soil temperature changee7
- Qualifier
- the magnitude of soil temperature change was slighte7
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e7“While the magnitude of soil temperature change was slight, it varied linearly with mulch quantity”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
During periods of cold weather, mulching generally increased soil temperature.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- mulchinge4
- Outcome
- soil temperaturee4
- Direction
- increasede4
- Qualifier
- During periods of cold weathere4
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“During periods of cold weather, mulching generally increased soil temperature”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
Under irrigation, mulching slightly increased soil temperature.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- mulchinge5
- Outcome
- soil temperaturee5
- Direction
- increasede5
- Qualifier
- Under irrigatione5
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“Under irrigation, mulching slightly increased soil temperature”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
Without irrigation, mulching affected soil temperature both positively and negatively, depending on time of day and quantity of mulch applied.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- mulchinge6
- Outcome
- soil temperaturee6
- Direction
- positively and negativelye6
- Qualifier
- depending on time of day and quantity of mulch appliede6
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“Without irrigation, soil temperature was affected both positively and negatively by mulching, depending on time of day and quantity of mulch applied”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil organic carbon content in the year following mulching increased proportionally with the amount of mulch applied in the nonirrigated treatments.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- amount of mulch appliede1
- Outcome
- soil organic carbon contente1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Qualifier
- proportionallye1
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“The soil organic carbon content in the year following mulching increased proportionally with the amount of mulch applied in the nonirrigated treatments”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
Thicker mulching treatments resulted in a greater increase in soil organic matter accumulation.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- thicker mulching treatmentse1
- Outcome
- soil organic matter accumulatione1
- Direction
- greater increasee1
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Thus, thicker mulching treatments resulted in a greater increase in soil organic matter accumulation”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
Irrigation potentially induced organic matter loss for the lower mulching treatment (2.25 Mg ha-1) and for the control.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- Irrigatione1
- Outcome
- organic matter losse1
- Direction
- decreaseinferrede1
- Qualifier
- for the lower mulching treatment (2.25 Mg ha-1)e1
- Comparator
- controle1
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Irrigation was found to potentially induce organic matter loss for the lower mulching treatment (2.25 Mg ha-1) and control”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
Hay mulching had no significant effect on total potato tuber yield under irrigation.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume1
- Treatment
- hay mulchinge1
- Outcome
- total potato tuber yielde1
- Direction
- no_changeinferrede1
- Qualifier
- under irrigatione1
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“No significant effects of hay mulching on total potato tuber yield under irrigation were found”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
Claim · model-written summary
Tuber yield under nonirrigation increased linearly with the amount of mulch applied.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- amount of mulch appliede1
- Outcome
- tuber yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Qualifier
- under nonirrigatione1
- Setting
- Fredericton, New Brunswicke3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“tuber yield under nonirrigation increased linearly with the amount of mulch applied”
e2“under potato production”
e3“Fredericton, New Brunswick”
The same questions in other papers
mulching · yield · Solanum tuberosum (potato)Results differ
6 papers in the same direction as this paper · 57 in the opposite direction
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See all 64 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.