IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v184y2017icp104-113.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Combined application of photo-selective mulching films and beneficial microbes affects crop yield and irrigation water productivity in intensive farming systems

Author

Listed:
  • Bonanomi, Giuliano
  • Chirico, Giovanni Battista
  • Palladino, Mario
  • Gaglione, Salvatore A.
  • Crispo, Domenico G.
  • Lazzaro, Ugo
  • Sica, Benedetto
  • Cesarano, Gaspare
  • Ippolito, Francesca
  • Sarker, Tushar C.
  • Rippa, Massimo
  • Scala, Felice

Abstract

Cultivation of vegetables under plastic tunnels is a steadily growing farming system, nevertheless there are concerns about its environmental sustainability. This work tests a new cultivation system based on the application of photo-selective mulching films to the soil combined with beneficial microbes to improve crop yield, save irrigation water and enhance crop irrigation water productivity. A two-year project was carried out in three farms of southern Italy that practice cultivation in greenhouses with different soil characteristics. Photo-selective mulching films (PS) were used alone or in combination with microbial consortia (M) containing beneficial microbes (i.e. antagonistic fungi of the genus Trichoderma, mycorrhizal fungi of the genus Glomus and the plant growth promoting bacterium Bacillus subtilis) and compared with black plastic mulching (B). Soil temperature, soil water content, and irrigation water volumes were continuously monitored for eight cropping cycles including tomato, sweet pepper, lettuce, melon, and kohlrabi. Crop yields were assessed at the end of each cycle. PS films in combination with M significantly increased crop yields with respect to control, with the most positive effects on winter crops. Soil temperature under PS was consistently lower than that under B mulch. All mulching films allowed the saving of irrigation water compared with untreated control, but no difference was detected between PS and B. However, PS increases crop irrigation water productivity (CIWP) compared with B film in 25% of the experimental cases. In conclusion, our results indicate that combining PS films with beneficial microbes in cultivation under plastic tunnel greenhouses promotes crop yield and increases CIWP compared with control in 87.5% and 75% of the study cases, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Bonanomi, Giuliano & Chirico, Giovanni Battista & Palladino, Mario & Gaglione, Salvatore A. & Crispo, Domenico G. & Lazzaro, Ugo & Sica, Benedetto & Cesarano, Gaspare & Ippolito, Francesca & Sarker, T, 2017. "Combined application of photo-selective mulching films and beneficial microbes affects crop yield and irrigation water productivity in intensive farming systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 104-113.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:184:y:2017:i:c:p:104-113
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2017.01.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377417300197
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2017.01.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Belasco, Eric & Galinato, Suzette & Marsh, Tom & Miles, Carol & Wallace, Russell, 2013. "High Tunnels Are My Crop Insurance: An Assessment of Risk Management Tools for Small-scale Specialty Crop Producers," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(2), pages 403-418, August.
    2. Katherine Bourzac, 2013. "Water: The flow of technology," Nature, Nature, vol. 501(7468), pages 4-6, September.
    3. Abd El-Wahed, M.H. & Ali, E.A., 2013. "Effect of irrigation systems, amounts of irrigation water and mulching on corn yield, water use efficiency and net profit," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 64-71.
    4. Zotarelli, Lincoln & Scholberg, Johannes M. & Dukes, Michael D. & Muñoz-Carpena, Rafael & Icerman, Jason, 2009. "Tomato yield, biomass accumulation, root distribution and irrigation water use efficiency on a sandy soil, as affected by nitrogen rate and irrigation scheduling," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 23-34, January.
    5. Roger East, 2013. "Microbiome: Soil science comes to life," Nature, Nature, vol. 501(7468), pages 18-19, September.
    6. Boari, Francesca & Donadio, Antonio & Schiattone, Maria Immacolata & Cantore, Vito, 2015. "Particle film technology: A supplemental tool to save water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 154-162.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bi, Yinli & Qiu, Lang & Zhakypbek, Yryszhan & Jiang, Bin & Cai, Yun & Sun, Huan, 2018. "Combination of plastic film mulching and AMF inoculation promotes maize growth, yield and water use efficiency in the semiarid region of Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 278-286.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bonfante, A. & Monaco, E. & Manna, P. & De Mascellis, R. & Basile, A. & Buonanno, M. & Cantilena, G. & Esposito, A. & Tedeschi, A. & De Michele, C. & Belfiore, O. & Catapano, I. & Ludeno, G. & Salinas, 2019. "LCIS DSS—An irrigation supporting system for water use efficiency improvement in precision agriculture: A maize case study," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Patanè, C. & Cosentino, S.L., 2010. "Effects of soil water deficit on yield and quality of processing tomato under a Mediterranean climate," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 131-138, January.
    3. Jovanovic, N. & Pereira, L.S. & Paredes, P. & Pôças, I. & Cantore, V. & Todorovic, M., 2020. "A review of strategies, methods and technologies to reduce non-beneficial consumptive water use on farms considering the FAO56 methods," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    4. Katsoulas, N. & Sapounas, A. & De Zwart, F. & Dieleman, J.A. & Stanghellini, C., 2015. "Reducing ventilation requirements in semi-closed greenhouses increases water use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 90-99.
    5. Duyen Nhat Lam Tran & Tien Dinh Nguyen & Thuy Thu Pham & Roberto F. Rañola & Thinh An Nguyen, 2021. "Improving Irrigation Water Use Efficiency of Robusta Coffee ( Coffea canephora ) Production in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-17, June.
    6. Dai, Zhiguang & Fei, Liangjun & Huang, Deliang & Zeng, Jian & Chen, Lin & Cai, Yaohui, 2019. "Coupling effects of irrigation and nitrogen levels on yield, water and nitrogen use efficiency of surge-root irrigated jujube in a semiarid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 146-154.
    7. Ćosić, Marija & Djurović, Nevenka & Todorović, Mladen & Maletić, Radojka & Zečević, Bogoljub & Stričević, Ružica, 2015. "Effect of irrigation regime and application of kaolin on yield, quality and water use efficiency of sweet pepper," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 139-147.
    8. Fullana-Pericàs, Mateu & Conesa, Miquel À. & Douthe, Cyril & El Aou-ouad, Hanan & Ribas-Carbó, Miquel & Galmés, Jeroni, 2019. "Tomato landraces as a source to minimize yield losses and improve fruit quality under water deficit conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 1-1.
    9. Abdul Halim Hamdany & Martin Wijaya & Alfrendo Satyanaga & Harianto Rahardjo & Zhai Qian & Aswin Lim & Jong Kim, 2023. "Numerical Simulation on the Effect of Infiltration and Evapotranspiration on the Residual Slope," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-15, May.
    10. Li, Haoru & Li, Xiaoli & Mei, Xurong & Nangia, Vinay & Guo, Rui & Hao, Weiping & Wang, Jiandong, 2023. "An alternative water-fertilizer-saving management practice for wheat-maize cropping system in the North China Plain: Based on a 4-year field study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    11. Mukherjee, A. & Kundu, M. & Sarkar, S., 2010. "Role of irrigation and mulch on yield, evapotranspiration rate and water use pattern of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 182-189, December.
    12. Migliaccio, Kati W. & Schaffer, Bruce & Crane, Jonathan H. & Davies, Frederick S., 2010. "Plant response to evapotranspiration and soil water sensor irrigation scheduling methods for papaya production in south Florida," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(10), pages 1452-1460, October.
    13. Qin, Shujing & Li, Sien & Kang, Shaozhong & Du, Taisheng & Tong, Ling & Ding, Risheng & Wang, Yahui & Guo, Hui, 2019. "Transpiration of female and male parents of seed maize in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 397-409.
    14. Mwinuka, Paul Reuben & Mourice, Sixbert K. & Mbungu, Winfred B. & Mbilinyi, Boniphace P. & Tumbo, Siza D. & Schmitter, Petra, 2022. "UAV-based multispectral vegetation indices for assessing the interactive effects of water and nitrogen in irrigated horticultural crops production under tropical sub-humid conditions: A case of Africa," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    15. Gheysari, Mahdi & Pirnajmedin, Fatemeh & Movahedrad, Hamid & Majidi, Mohammad Mahdi & Zareian, Mohammad Javad, 2021. "Crop yield and irrigation water productivity of silage maize under two water stress strategies in semi-arid environment: Two different pot and field experiments," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    16. Wang, Chunyu & Li, Sien & Wu, Mousong & Zhang, Wenxin & Guo, Zhenyu & Huang, Siyu & Yang, Danni, 2023. "Co-regulation of temperature and moisture in the irrigated agricultural ecosystem productivity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    17. Zhang, Junwei & Xiang, Lingxiao & Zhu, Chenxi & Li, Wuqiang & Jing, Dan & Zhang, Lili & Liu, Yong & Li, Tianlai & Li, Jianming, 2023. "Evaluating the irrigation schedules of greenhouse tomato by simulating soil water balance under drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    18. Müller, T. & Ranquet Bouleau, C. & Perona, P., 2016. "Optimizing drip irrigation for eggplant crops in semi-arid zones using evolving thresholds," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 54-65.
    19. Abd El-Mageed, Taia A. & El- Samnoudi, Ibrahim M. & Ibrahim, Abd El-Aty M. & Abd El Tawwab, Ahmed R., 2018. "Compost and mulching modulates morphological, physiological responses and water use efficiency in sorghum (bicolor L. Moench) under low moisture regime," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 431-439.
    20. Li, Shengping & Tan, Deshui & Wu, Xueping & Degré, Aurore & Long, Huaiyu & Zhang, Shuxiang & Lu, Jinjing & Gao, Lili & Zheng, Fengjun & Liu, Xiaotong & Liang, Guopeng, 2021. "Negative pressure irrigation increases vegetable water productivity and nitrogen use efficiency by improving soil water and NO3–-N distributions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:184:y:2017:i:c:p:104-113. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.