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Mulch color...42% increased yeilds...

NatGreenMeds said:
...Am I seeing this wrong?
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with anything scientific there'll always be some expert to back up your theory/product. I wonder why no American university has published results yet a uni on the other side of the globe in a country of 3 million people in a different hemisphere with different prevailing weather patterns and geography (and probably different soil structure - NZ was created by volcanic activity) has tested this product and achieved such great results. I'm not suggesting they're not correct, it just seems odd to me.
 
No, but I'm sure google can help

Here's a few I quickly found
http://gardening.about.com/od/totallytomatoes/qt/Red_Mulch.htm

"Montana State University did a 2 year study that found silver and red mulches did speed ripening in tomatoes and that black mulch was not much better than no mulch at all. At Penn State, they found that blue mulch did an even better job of increasing tomato yields. However none of the colored mulches was as good as black plastic for suppressing weeds."

Government article on red plastic starving nematodes
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct97/mulch1097.htm

"The red mulch reflects wavelengths of light that cause the plant to keep more growth above ground, which results in greater yield," he says. "Meanwhile, the plant is putting less energy into its root system the very food the nematodes feed on. So reflection from the red mulch, in effect, tugs food away from the nematodes that are trying to draw nutrients from the roots," says Kasperbauer.

To test the effects of colored mulches in small-scale field plots, the research team sterilized the soil to eliminate all nematodes. Then they planted the tomatoes, mulched them with black or red plastic, and inoculated the roots with different numbers of nematodes ranging from 0 to 200,000 nematode eggs per plant.

The results were dramatic, especially in spring. Plants inoculated with 200,000 nematode eggs and grown with black plastic mulch produced only 8 pounds of tomatoes, compared to 17 pounds for the plants grown over red mulch."
 
I haven't studied these things at a university but I have grown plants since I was six years old. These mulches and plastics may have some benefit when the plants are small, the ground is cool and the mulch or plastic is new. But when the plant starts growing, if it is a tomato, pepper or eggplant, or even a cucumber, it is going to shadow the ground - that's why you rarely see any weeds growing in crops once the plants get a decent size.

Secondly, in the spring the mulch - more so than the plastic, will hold moisture more than dirt will, which may contribute to diseases. In summer, when rain is scarce, it will hold moisture after a rainfall, but it will take more rain to get to the soil because the mulch is going to absorb quite a bit of it.

Lastly, IME and I'm no tree hugger, during summer when it rains at least in the city, the rain contains a perceptible amount of dust. This tends to leave a coating n the plastic or mulch that somewhat negates it color, just as the sun will also leach out some of the color.

In other words, it's a waste of money except perhaps for small plants that don't really have enough leaf area to absord the reflected light in a quantity that will make much difference.

If you really want to give your young plants a boost, do what we called sidedressing. We used a tractor with plows but in a small garden a how will work just as well. Hoe a small trench about three inches deep outside the plant canopy. Apply some 33-0-0 nitrogen, maybe a pound or less per 50 linear feet, cover and water. If you want to do it the lazy way, scatter it on top the ground (go easy - it is strong stuff) and water heavily.

We did this with tobacco, beans, tomatoes, potatoes and corn and saw a huge jump in size within a week. Doing it early in the season didn't make the fruit heavier in water or softer.

Mike
 
POTAWIE said:
The results were dramatic, especially in spring. Plants inoculated with 200,000 nematode eggs and grown with black plastic mulch produced only 8 pounds of tomatoes, compared to 17 pounds for the plants grown over red mulch."
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Potawie,

That's hardly a ringing endorsement; well, it depends on the type of tomato plant. A decent tom should produce at least a half-bushel (~27 pounds) of fruits. Now if it was a cherry tom - that would be impressive!

Despite a lousy growing season, I had several plants that produced more than 20 pounds of toms.

Mike
 
I can't explain their yeilds dude but it was a controlled experiment and it was successfull.
The problems I've had with the plastic is that it isn't attractive and its difficult to use and stake down in the ground and that's why I use it only in my greenhouse but if these newer products are easier to use then I'll give them a try. I can even use different color plastic for my greenhouse plastic for different effects but I haven't tried that yet.
 
POTAWIE said:
I can't explain their yeilds dude but it was a controlled experiment and it was successfull.
The problems I've had with the plastic is that it isn't attractive and its difficult to use and stake down in the ground and that's why I use it only in my greenhouse but if these newer products are easier to use then I'll give them a try. I can even use different color plastic for my greenhouse plastic for different effects but I haven't tried that yet.
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Potawie,

Can't dispute your facts - no doubt. :) But one important facet was left out of the test - not using anything!

Maybe we can convince our stat master AJ to paint a wall and the floor of one of his chambers red and see how the seedlings do!

Mike
 
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