EWRS Joint Workshop. 4-8 September 2011. Huesca, Spain
Paper mulch controls purple nutsedge
(Cyperus rotundus L.) in processing
tomato
A. Cirujeda1, J. Aibar2, C. Zaragoza1
1Unidad
de Sanidad Vegetal, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología
Agroalimentaria (CITA), Zaragoza;
2Universidad de Zaragoza. Escuela Politécnica Superior Huesca
Huesca, September 7th, 2011
Cyperus rotundus L. is considered one of the world’s worst weed.
Despite its low size, this
species can cause a
reduction of up to 28% in
the development of
tomato (Morales-Payan et
al., 2003).
SHORT DAY
9h
LONG DAY
12h
LIGHT Tª
Tª>20ºC
LIGHT Tª
LIGHT Tª
Tª<5ºC
Tª>15ºC
nonviable
seeds
21A
21J
SPRING
21S
SUMMER
21A
21D
AUTUMN
WINTER
CYCLE OF CYPERUS ROTUNDUS L. in the
North of Spain (continental area)
Cyperus rotundus infestation
in a commercial farm without
mulch.
IX Congreso SEAE: Calidad y Seguridad Alimentaria
Plastic mulch with black polyethylene (PE) is generally used in extensive
horticultural crops in north-eastern Spain, like in tomato.
Objectives
In this work we present the effect of some types of paper used in tomato
crop infested with C. rotundus during five years.
Material and methods
Table 1. Description of the treatments.
Trial
Year
Material
Company
Colour
Weight
(gm2)
All
2005-10
Untreated
control
-
-
-
All
2005-10
PE
Solplast
Black
16.4
All
2005-10
Mater-Bi1
Novamont
Black
22.3
Aula Dei
2005, 06
Saikraft 2002, 3
Saica
Brown
200
Aula Dei,
S. Bruno
2007, 08
Saikraft 1402, 3
Saica
Brown
140
S. Bruno
2008, 09
Mimgreen2
Mimcord
Black
90
S. Bruno
2009, 10
Karpan Liner2
SmurfitKappa
Brown
120
S. Bruno
2009, 10
MG2
SmurfitKappa
Black
50
1Biodegradable
plastic
2Paper
3Paper
coated on one side with an estiren-acrylate copolymer at 150 g/t.
Saikraft
Karpan Liner
Mimcord
MG
Results
Results
Figure 1. Cyperus rotundus density 42 days after transplantation.
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
2005
Untreated
Mimcord
2006
PE
Karpan Liner
2007
Mater-Bi
MG
2008
2009
Saikraft 200/140
Results
Results
Paper mulch does not prevent Cyperus emergence but as far as it
stands the physical pressure and does not break, the plants are
not able to reach the light, develop chlorotic leaves, do not flower
and die.
Results
Results
Results
Drawbacks: If rainfall is frequent, the paper becomes soft and do
not dry and the control effect on Cyperus is not reached (Méndez
et al., 2006 Northern Spain). This can also happen if the irrigation
emitters are placed upwards and the paper is continously wet.
Another unconvenient of paper mulch is that in clay soils the
degradation of the underground part of the paper mulch may be
quite fast and the paper breaks down in the contact line of the
mulch with the soil surface allowing the wind to damage it.
Results
Results
Tomato yield at the paper mulch treatments was very similar to
that obtained in the PE all 5 years of experiments.
Economic aspects
Mulching type
€/kg* g/m2 €/ha**
%
Coments
Black PE 15 µ
1.85
16.4
202
100 Add aprox.150
Saikraft 125 recycled Paper
Saikraft 140 recycled Paper
0.47
0.46
125
140
391
429
193 Shorter rolls
212 for same
MaterBi
(biodegradable plastic)15µ
4.75
22.3
706
350 -
Biofilm
(biodegradable plastic) 17µ
5.8
21
818
404 -
Black Paper Mimcord 135µ
1.5
90.3
903
446 Good
€ removal cost.
weight
installation.
Shorter rolls
for same
weight
*It does not include installation. Prices in Spain, 2010
**2/3 field area covered (1,50m between rows, 1,20m mulch width)
Conclusions
Paper mulch is an efficient weed control method including
Cyperus spp. unless the mulch is not under continous moisture
conditions.
Another advantage is the complete degradation of the paper after
burial.
The main constraints compared to PE is the price (nowadays), the
slower installation and the heavier weight of the rolls.
EWRS Joint Workshop. 4-8 September 2011. Huesca, Spain
Thanks for your attention!