early June. The tops of the hoops were ∼80 cm above the plastic mulched bed. Tunnel coverings consisted of a no-cover control, Cascade TM 6-mil polyethylene clear plastic (Cascade Light Technologies, Clamart, France) with 71% light transmission
). Mulch consists of a thin layer that may be organic material (such as wood chips, grass clippings, straw, or other low-value biproducts of agriculture), textile, or films of metal or plastic. Plastic mulch films can be of synthetic or biological origin
High-value vegetable crops such as bell pepper are typically grown in the United States using plastic mulch with drip irrigation ( Locascio, 2005 ). Plastic mulch can enhance productivity by warming soils, reducing in-row weed competition, and
(Pritts, personal communication). Interestingly, all published low tunnel studies with strawberry have used white (or white-on-black) plastic as the ground mulch ( Anderson et al., 2019 ; Lewers et al., 2017 , 2020 ; Petran et al., 2016 ; Willden et
winter. In particular, lack of light in cultivating eggplant may result in poor fruit quality ( Sezgin, 2007 ). Therefore, different reflective film mulches are usually used to enhance lighting. Black, white, and reflective film mulches in vegetable crops
( Layne et al., 2002 ). Glenn and Puterka (2007) reported that the use of reflective, aluminized plastic film increased fruit red color and that the use of reflective, particle films increased average fruit weight. These mulches reflect solar radiation
management is more time-consuming and expensive with plant-based mulches than with plastic groundcovers such as weed mat, especially in certified organic production systems, where herbicides have limited efficacy ( Julian et al., 2012 ; Strik and Vance, 2017
Board general list. One of the primary issues faced by organic sweetpotato production is suppressing weeds without the use of synthetic herbicides. Sweetpotato grown under plastic mulch with drip irrigation resulted in improved weed suppression, and this
-film treatment (control), and two reflecting film treatments. The first treatment was Extenday™ reflective plastic mulch (Extenday™ New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand), 300-cm-wide strips secured to trees with staples and elastic bands (Extenday™ treatment). The
that white plastic covers, which are more reflective than green, may be a better choice. Green covers were associated with higher canopy temperatures in two seasons and higher relative humidity in one season, but otherwise performed similarly. Biofabric