ISHS Acta Horticulturae 533: VIII International Symposium on Timing Field Production in Vegetable Crops
EFFECTS OF SOIL SOLARIZATION ON THE WEED CONTROL OF VEGETABLE CROPS AND ON THE CAULIFLOWER AND FENNEL PRODUCTION IN THE OPEN FIELD |
| Authors: | E. Campiglia, O. Temperini, R. Mancinelli, F. Saccardo |
| Keywords: | Solar energy, Polyethylene mulch, Mediterranean environment, Outdoor conditions, Weed management |
| Abstract:
Field experiments on soil solarization were carried out in 1994 and 1995 at the Fruit and Vegetable Demonstrative Center of Arsial in Cerveteri (Central Italy). Black (BPE) and clear (CPE) polyethylene mulches were tested for their effectiveness on the weed control of some vegetable crops and for their effect on the productivity of cauliflower and fennel. Mulching with polyethylene increased the soil temperatures at all depths. The temperatures were higher in the CPE mulch than the BPE mulch by about 4–8 °C. In clear mulched soil the maximum daily temperatures reached were 55, 47, 44, 42, and 40 °C respectively at 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 cm. Solarization for about 6 weeks reduced weeds and increased crop yield. CPE gave the best results. CPE decreased both the total biomass and density weeds by over 92% and 93% respectively at the cauliflower and fennel harvest. The soil solarization effect on weed control decreased with time. In the zucchini crop planted 33 weeks after mulching and following cauliflower cultivation, the soil solarization significantly reduced weed density (-70%) but did not significantly reduce the biomass of the weed plants compared with the unmulched control. The yield of cauliflower and fennel was improved respectively by up to 47 and 91% following solarization with clear polyethylene mulch compared with the unmulched control. | |
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