Straw Mulching

ENTRY DATE: 18.04.2015 | LAST UPDATE: 18.04.2015

CATEGORIES:

  • Agriculture
  • Cropping techniques

TECHNOLOGIES MATURITY:

Applicable immediately

Technology Owners:

Users and researchers

Needs Address

Increased and better quality agricultural production

Adaptation effects

  • Helps to conserve soil moisture, prevent soil degradation, and protect vegetables from rains and high temperatures
  • Enhance soil fertility, structure and other soil properties
  • Reduces water use by up to 75% as it protects the soil from evaporation

Overview and Features

Organic and inorganic materials applied over or in the soil surface

Cost

  • Mulching material – no cost if organic and locally available material used
  • Can offset production costs and other constraints associated with land preparation
  • Manual labour

Energy source

Human labour

Ease of maintenance

Integrated into harvesting routine and therefore may require less maintenance than land preparation via burning or removing mulch material after previous harvest 

Technology performance

  • Prevents weed growth and supplies organic matter for heterotrophic nitrogen fixing microorganisms, which could be utilized by succeeding crops
  • Good for moisture retention

Considerations

Not suitable for crops that require silty soils or are subject to collar rot in moist conditions

Co-benefit, suitability for developing countries

  • Contribute to the development of sustainable integrated weed management systems and seek the possibility of minimizing herbicide use in direct seeded rice cultivation
  • Straw mulch significantly increased soil organic carbon content under no-tillage and permanent beds over un mulched treatments
  • Crop residue recycling increases soil organic carbon and total N contents
  • A Good Agricultural Practice, addressing environmental, economic and social sustainability for on-farm processes
  • Mulching with plastic film has been reported to cause extreme increase in soil temperature during the summer months in sub-tropical areas 

Information Resources

de la Peña, R. and Hughes, J. 2007. Improving Vegetable Productivity in a Variable and Changing Climate. SAT eJournal 4 (1): 1-22. Available from: http://www.icrisat.org/journal/SpecialProject/sp1.pdf [15 November 2014]

Devasinghe, D.A.U.D., Premarathne, K.P. and Sangakkara, U.R. 2011. Weed Management by Rice Straw Mulching in Direct Seeded Lowland Rice (Oryza sativa L.). Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 22 (3): 263-272. Available from: http://www.sljol.info/index.php/TAR/article/view/3699 [15 November 2014]

Ram, H., Yadvinder-Singh, Saini, K.S. Kler, D.S. and Timsina, J. 2013. Tillage and Planting Methods Effects on Yield, Water Use Efficiency and Profitability of Soybean–Wheat System on a Loamy Sand Soil. Expl Agric. 1-19 Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Available from: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8994134&fileId=S0014479713000264 [15 November 2014]