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Natural and Synthetic Mulching Materials for Weed Control in Immature Rubber Plantations

Received: 14 November 2019     Accepted: 4 December 2019     Published: 11 December 2019
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Abstract

Weed control is important during immature stage of rubber plantations particularly, before fertilizer application. Most of the chemicals are being restricted due to health and environmental concerns thus investigations on chemical free weed control methods are important. The effect of different natural and synthetic mulching materials on weed control was studied compared to manual weeding. Oil palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) was used as natural mulch and shade net and polythene were used as synthetic mulch. Labor requirement in each treatment was evaluated. Effect of mulching on soil nitrogen content, pH, organic carbon content and cation exchange capacity was also measured at three months and one year after treatment application. All the mulching treatments showed significant weed control compared to the control. Since, weed regeneration was observed in oil palm EFB treatment from ten weeks of its application, it was applied again in three months intervals. There were no weeds observed in both in shade net and polythene mulch treatments from four weeks of their application up to one year period. All the mulching treatments reduced labor requirement compared to the control. Organic carbon content was significantly improved by mulching while other soil parameters were not affected compared to the control. Shade net and polythene could be effectively used for weed management and they will be beneficial under labor shortage. Oil palm EFB is effective for weed control with labor saving and it has to be applied in three months intervals. However, there will be no environmental pollution with Oil palm EFB mulch as it is a natural waste material.

Published in American Journal of Plant Biology (Volume 4, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20
Page(s) 114-117
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Weed, Rubber, Mulching, Oil Palm, Shade Net, Polythene

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ruwani Kalpana Jayawardana, Rasika Hettiarachchi, Thushara Gunathilaka, Anoma Thewarapperuma, Surani Rathnasooriya, et al. (2019). Natural and Synthetic Mulching Materials for Weed Control in Immature Rubber Plantations. American Journal of Plant Biology, 4(4), 114-117. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20

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    ACS Style

    Ruwani Kalpana Jayawardana; Rasika Hettiarachchi; Thushara Gunathilaka; Anoma Thewarapperuma; Surani Rathnasooriya, et al. Natural and Synthetic Mulching Materials for Weed Control in Immature Rubber Plantations. Am. J. Plant Biol. 2019, 4(4), 114-117. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20

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    AMA Style

    Ruwani Kalpana Jayawardana, Rasika Hettiarachchi, Thushara Gunathilaka, Anoma Thewarapperuma, Surani Rathnasooriya, et al. Natural and Synthetic Mulching Materials for Weed Control in Immature Rubber Plantations. Am J Plant Biol. 2019;4(4):114-117. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20,
      author = {Ruwani Kalpana Jayawardana and Rasika Hettiarachchi and Thushara Gunathilaka and Anoma Thewarapperuma and Surani Rathnasooriya and Rangika Baddevidana and Helaru Gayan},
      title = {Natural and Synthetic Mulching Materials for Weed Control in Immature Rubber Plantations},
      journal = {American Journal of Plant Biology},
      volume = {4},
      number = {4},
      pages = {114-117},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpb.20190404.20},
      abstract = {Weed control is important during immature stage of rubber plantations particularly, before fertilizer application. Most of the chemicals are being restricted due to health and environmental concerns thus investigations on chemical free weed control methods are important. The effect of different natural and synthetic mulching materials on weed control was studied compared to manual weeding. Oil palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) was used as natural mulch and shade net and polythene were used as synthetic mulch. Labor requirement in each treatment was evaluated. Effect of mulching on soil nitrogen content, pH, organic carbon content and cation exchange capacity was also measured at three months and one year after treatment application. All the mulching treatments showed significant weed control compared to the control. Since, weed regeneration was observed in oil palm EFB treatment from ten weeks of its application, it was applied again in three months intervals. There were no weeds observed in both in shade net and polythene mulch treatments from four weeks of their application up to one year period. All the mulching treatments reduced labor requirement compared to the control. Organic carbon content was significantly improved by mulching while other soil parameters were not affected compared to the control. Shade net and polythene could be effectively used for weed management and they will be beneficial under labor shortage. Oil palm EFB is effective for weed control with labor saving and it has to be applied in three months intervals. However, there will be no environmental pollution with Oil palm EFB mulch as it is a natural waste material.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Natural and Synthetic Mulching Materials for Weed Control in Immature Rubber Plantations
    AU  - Ruwani Kalpana Jayawardana
    AU  - Rasika Hettiarachchi
    AU  - Thushara Gunathilaka
    AU  - Anoma Thewarapperuma
    AU  - Surani Rathnasooriya
    AU  - Rangika Baddevidana
    AU  - Helaru Gayan
    Y1  - 2019/12/11
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20
    T2  - American Journal of Plant Biology
    JF  - American Journal of Plant Biology
    JO  - American Journal of Plant Biology
    SP  - 114
    EP  - 117
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-8337
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20190404.20
    AB  - Weed control is important during immature stage of rubber plantations particularly, before fertilizer application. Most of the chemicals are being restricted due to health and environmental concerns thus investigations on chemical free weed control methods are important. The effect of different natural and synthetic mulching materials on weed control was studied compared to manual weeding. Oil palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) was used as natural mulch and shade net and polythene were used as synthetic mulch. Labor requirement in each treatment was evaluated. Effect of mulching on soil nitrogen content, pH, organic carbon content and cation exchange capacity was also measured at three months and one year after treatment application. All the mulching treatments showed significant weed control compared to the control. Since, weed regeneration was observed in oil palm EFB treatment from ten weeks of its application, it was applied again in three months intervals. There were no weeds observed in both in shade net and polythene mulch treatments from four weeks of their application up to one year period. All the mulching treatments reduced labor requirement compared to the control. Organic carbon content was significantly improved by mulching while other soil parameters were not affected compared to the control. Shade net and polythene could be effectively used for weed management and they will be beneficial under labor shortage. Oil palm EFB is effective for weed control with labor saving and it has to be applied in three months intervals. However, there will be no environmental pollution with Oil palm EFB mulch as it is a natural waste material.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Soils and Plant Nutrition Department, Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, Agalawatta, Sri Lanka

  • Soils and Plant Nutrition Department, Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, Agalawatta, Sri Lanka

  • Soils and Plant Nutrition Department, Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, Agalawatta, Sri Lanka

  • Soils and Plant Nutrition Department, Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, Agalawatta, Sri Lanka

  • Soils and Plant Nutrition Department, Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, Agalawatta, Sri Lanka

  • Soils and Plant Nutrition Department, Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, Agalawatta, Sri Lanka

  • Soils and Plant Nutrition Department, Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, Agalawatta, Sri Lanka

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