A system of crop and soil management for the wet season production of food crops on a heavy clay soil in Guyana: 1. Effect of mulching and tillage on soil properties and crop yields
1986
Simpson, L.A. | Gumbs, F.A. (West Indies Univ., St. Augustine (Trinidad and Tobago). Dept. of Soil Science)
The application of a vegetative mulch had no significant effect on maintaining the soil structure (measured by porosity and bulk density) obtained from tillage on a heavy clay soil. Mulching had positive effects on soil moisture conservation and lowering of supra-optimal soil temperatures. Soil moisture conservation was beneficial when rainfall was low; but detrimental to crop growth when rainfall was high. A build-up of N and organic C in the 0-5 cm soil depth occurred with mulching. Cowpea seed yield increased significantly (P = 0.05) by between 22 and 35 % with 10 cm mulch. Maize seed yield increased by 70-92 % over the unmulched treatment. Mulching however cannot be recommended in the long rainfall period
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