Impact of nonwoven mul ch mat developed from textile waste for vegetable crop
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Date
2022
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Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
The present investigation was undertaken to study the impact of nonwoven mulch mat
developed from textile waste for vegetable crop. The survey regarding mulching practices of
farmers was purposively conducted in three agro-climatic zones of Punjab and two highly
vegetable cultivated districts were selected from each zone. Fifteen farmers from each district
were selected randomly and an interview schedule was used for collecting data. The results
indicated that farmers frequently used plastic mulches in various vegetables but very few of
them had knowledge about biodegradable mulches. For development of mulch mat samples,
blending of waste fibres (cotton: polyester: acrylic) was done in 5 different ratios. All ratios
were blended for 400 GSM and 4 mm thickness and the degradation and physical appearance
of nonwoven mulch mat samples were taken into account for selection of two suitable mulch
samples. Different GSM variations were developed for each selected ratio. Total of six
mulches were thus developed and placed in the field at the Vegetable Research Farm,
Department of Vegetable Science, PAU during 2019-20 and 2020-21 for final experiment on
hybrid variety of chilli CH 27. The physical and mechanical properties and degradation
characteristics of developed nonwoven mulch mats, temperature, moisture content (%) of soil,
growth and yield characteristics of plant were recorded in both laboratory and field tests. The
experimental data revealed that developed mulches successfully enhanced all crop parameters
because of better moisture retention in the soil and the resulting weed growth was also very
less. It is concluded that the most desirable ratio of cotton, polyester and acrylic waste for
developing mulch mat was 70:20:10 with 200GSM and 3 mm thickness as maximum
degradation, crop growth and yield has been observed for this ratio. The developed mats were
cost effective and also had an advantage of being able to be used twice unlike plastic mulches.
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Citation
Arpana (2022). Impact of nonwoven mul ch mat developed from textile waste for vegetable crop (Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation). Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.