while mulching should the entire land be covered or just the area around the root? I will be using sugarcane straw and leaves. what do others use?
Dear Sri Morarka,
In general, The root area will be covered by sugar cane straw etc, only labour cost, and if mulching sheet is provided, it costs a little money .This is sufficient for ordinary/regular crops.
But it is not a hard and fast rule. Some farmers doing farming in Hytec green houses, ( controlled condition ), ( in certain high investment crops ), are providing 100% mulching. It got its own advantages, though it is costing more money.
with best wishes, g.p.rao, farmer
Hi Moraka,
My understanding of Mulching is that, the soil/land should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
This will create microclimate for the micro organisms to grow and help in decaying the organic matter in the soil.
Thanks
VK
Thank you mr. rao and mr. venu.kulkarne. i have also read that mulching needs to be done so that it covers the entire land. I just wasn’t sure how others practice it.
Hi,
We cannot generalize… Every one follow their own way.
This is how I do…
Leave mulch every where…
Thanks
VK
Different methods of farming has their own definition for mulching
For Chemical farmer: Sheet mulching, just to cover root zone.
A Natural farmer: Anything grows on his land he cuts and leaves where ever they are. so there is no question of Spreading here
A ZBNF farmer : Plans the mulching with a balance of Diecot and monocot. There is no question of spreading here as there is no external mulching.
Organic farmer: Mulching must be composted first and applied for rootzone or the basin.
So it all depends on your faith/convenience etc…
remember mulching is a continuous process. if you mulch before rainy season by the end of the season you can see only bare soil. There will not be any evidence of mulching.
thank you venu.kulkarne for the images.
sri2012 - i am practicing ZBNF and have planted drumstick about 20 days ago from seed. these plants have now grown to varying heights ranging from 1cm - 2 inch. should mulching be done now or wait for the plants to grow taller?
Thanks
You can mulch with hey to cover ground around the plants which helps to hold moisture. take care not to cover plants
thank you krishnaprasad.