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44 Results Found

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
3,809 Views
14 Pages

Water Use Efficiency in Young Citrus Trees on Metalized UV Reflective Mulch Compared to Bare Ground

  • Hossein Ghoveisi,
  • Davie Mayeso Kadyampakeni,
  • Jawwad Qureshi and
  • Lauren Diepenbrock

1 June 2023

A precise estimation of plant water use is crucial for efficient irrigation management and understanding of plant–water interactions. Metalized-polyethylene mulch as a ground cover, combined with irrigation management, can improve water and fer...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
4,610 Views
18 Pages

(1) Background: Climate change associated with a warm autumn often hampers the development of colouration of many fruits including late ripening apple varieties in New Zealand. (2) Objective: This study will provide detailed information on the possib...

  • Review
  • Open Access
5 Citations
3,878 Views
14 Pages

27 July 2023

The use of plastics in horticulture is reviewed with respect to its sustainability based on the traditional criteria of triple Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycling) plus a re-place strategy, taking into account possible alternatives. Hail (and insect) ne...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
4,137 Views
15 Pages

Evaluation of a Push-Pull System for the Management of Frankliniella Species (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in Tomato

  • Kara Tyler-Julian,
  • Joe Funderburk,
  • Mrittunjai Srivastava,
  • Steve Olson and
  • Scott Adkins

7 December 2018

A push-pull strategy for reducing populations of the thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), F. bispinosa (Morgan) and F. tritici (Fitch) in tomato was evaluated. Push components consisted of ultraviolet (UV)-reflective mulch and foliar applica...

  • Article
  • Open Access
18 Citations
7,572 Views
16 Pages

1 March 2021

Onion thrips (Thrips tabaci Lindeman) is a major pest in organic onion production and effective integrated pest management strategies are lacking. Our objective was to evaluate combinations of semi-glossy (“Rossa di Milano” and B5336AxB5351C) and wax...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
2,412 Views
19 Pages

10 April 2024

While crushed pinecone mulch holds promise as a beneficial material for blueberry cultivation, research on its effectiveness remains limited. Crop leaf characteristics can serve as parameters for assessing mulching effects, although there are several...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
3,098 Views
11 Pages

Use of Insect Exclusion Row Cover and Reflective Silver Plastic Mulching to Manage Whitefly in Zucchini Production

  • Thiago Rutz,
  • Timothy Coolong,
  • Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan,
  • Alton Sparks,
  • Bhabesh Dutta,
  • Clarence Codod,
  • Alvin M. Simmons and
  • Andre Luiz Biscaia Ribeiro da Silva

9 November 2023

The challenges that sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) creates for vegetable production have increased in the southeastern U.S. Growers must use intensive insecticide spray programs to suppress extremely high populations during the fall growing s...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
387 Views
17 Pages

Effect of Reflective Plastic Mulches on the Microclimate, Photosynthetic Activity, and Yield of Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) in a Multispan Greenhouse

  • María Ángeles Moreno-Teruel,
  • Francisco Domingo Molina-Aiz,
  • Mireille Nathalie Honoré,
  • Alejandro López-Martínez and
  • Diego Luis Valera-Martínez

Soil mulching materials play an important role in regulating the greenhouse crop microclimate, as they influence light distribution, plant physiological activity, and crop yield. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of two plastic mulche...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
2,393 Views
11 Pages

Influences of a Highly Reflective Mulching Membrane on Heat Propagation throughout the Soil

  • Mattia Manni,
  • Alessia Di Giuseppe,
  • Andrea Nicolini,
  • Fabio Sciurpi and
  • Franco Cotana

30 August 2021

Agro-food chain impacts global greenhouse gas emissions by around 30%. To reduce this score without worsening food crops’ yield, new and more sustainable technologies (i.e., mulching membranes, advanced irrigation systems) were implemented. Within th...

  • Article
  • Open Access
71 Views
14 Pages

Inter-Row Reflective Film Mulching Revealed the Regulation of Ground-Reflected Light on Grape Flavoromics

  • Ning Shi,
  • Hao-Cheng Lu,
  • Meng-Bo Tian,
  • Ming-Yu Li,
  • Chang-Qing Duan,
  • Jun Wang and
  • Fei He

6 March 2026

Inter-row mulching with reflective film (RF) has been increasingly adopted in cool-climate vineyards to improve light availability and promote grape ripening. This study investigated the effects of ground-reflected light on the flavoromic profiles of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
5,486 Views
19 Pages

Combining Cultural Tactics and Insecticides for the Management of the Sweetpotato Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci MEAM1, and Viruses in Yellow Squash

  • Angela Gabrielle LaTora,
  • Clarence Bagayao Codod,
  • Saioa Legarrea,
  • Bhabesh Dutta,
  • Robert C. Kemerait,
  • Scott Adkins,
  • William Turechek,
  • Timothy Coolong,
  • Andre Luiz Biscaia Ribeiro da Silva and
  • Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan

The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), and the complex of viruses it transmits are major limiting factors to squash production in the southeastern United States. At this time, insecticides are extensively r...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2,415 Views
14 Pages

3 September 2023

In the USA, tomato chlorotic spot virus (TCSV) was first identified in Miami-Dade County of Florida in 2012. This viral disease is transmitted by thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) of different species, imposing a serious threat to the entire tomato pr...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,519 Views
18 Pages

The ‘Diaoganxing’ is the experimental material, with natural grass cover as the control, to compare the effects of 5 different mulching materials. The aim was to identify the most effective mulching type for improving orchard microenviron...

  • Article
  • Open Access
369 Views
28 Pages

Identification of Plastic Mulch in Cotton Fields Using UAV-Based Hyperspectral Data and Deep Learning Semantic Segmentation

  • Qingyao Zhao,
  • Shenglin Li,
  • Fukui Gao,
  • Huifeng Ning,
  • Dongke Dai,
  • Pengyuan Zhu,
  • Nanfang Li,
  • Yinping Song,
  • Caixia Li and
  • Hao Liu

15 February 2026

Plastic mulching is widely used in arid and semi-arid cotton systems to improve soil hydrothermal conditions and water–nutrient use efficiency. However, residual mulch and its potential contribution to microplastic inputs pose growing environme...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
2,799 Views
19 Pages

Effect of Different Mulching Practices on Bacterial Community Composition and Fruit Quality in a Citrus Orchard

  • Lei Yang,
  • Min Wang,
  • Shuang Li,
  • Jianjun Yu,
  • Yang Chen,
  • Haijian Yang,
  • Wu Wang,
  • Hao Chen and
  • Lin Hong

29 September 2023

Citrus fruit, the most abundant global fruit, is primarily concentrated in China. Mulching techniques have demonstrated a favorable effect on the soil’s hydrothermal environment, resulting in enhanced plant growth, yield, and quality. Neverthel...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
16 Citations
3,735 Views
20 Pages

17 November 2020

Semi-arid conditions are favorable for the cultivation of late ripening peach cultivars; however, seasonal water scarcity and reduction in soil biological fertility, heightened by improper soil management, are jeopardizing this important sector. In t...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
2,860 Views
13 Pages

Sugarcane cultivation is suitable for the exploitation of organic waste products. However, minimum complementary mineral input is necessary for optimal fertilisation. Control mineral fertilisation treatments with mulch (MCM) or without mulch (MC) wer...

  • Article
  • Open Access
127 Views
23 Pages

28 February 2026

Precision field measurements were conducted to evaluate the mechanism of organic basin mulching on water and thermal dynamics in arid date palm orchards in central Saudi Arabia. Partly mulched zones (20 m radius) and fully mulched basins were compare...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,069 Views
26 Pages

Effects of Mulch and Fertilization on the Quantity and Quality of Perennial Wall–Rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)

  • Cristina Precupeanu,
  • Georgiana Rădeanu,
  • Gabriel-Ciprian Teliban,
  • Mihaela Roșca,
  • José Luis Ordóñez-Díaz,
  • Jose Manuel Moreno-Rojas and
  • Vasile Stoleru

9 May 2025

Diplotaxis tenuifolia, a species with high nutritional value, was recently introduced in Romania, making in-depth research necessary to develop an efficient cultivation technology to increase agronomic and economic potential. Therefore, the present s...

  • Article
  • Open Access
23 Citations
4,766 Views
14 Pages

4 January 2022

Rapid and accurate mapping of the spatial distribution of cotton fields is helpful to ensure safe production of cotton fields and the rationalization of land-resource planning. As cotton is an important economic pillar in Xinjiang, accurate and effic...

  • Article
  • Open Access
695 Views
15 Pages

The Effect of Transparent/Black Film and Straw Mulching on Canopy Conductance in Maize

  • Shanshan Qin,
  • Yanqun Zhang,
  • Xiyun Jiao,
  • Yan Mo,
  • Shihong Gong,
  • Zhe Gu and
  • Baozhong Zhang

16 September 2025

Canopy conductance (Gc) is an important biological constant for quantifying the water vapor flux at the canopy-atmosphere interface, reflecting the coupling strength between crop transpiration and microclimate. To elucidate how mulching modulates Gc...

  • Article
  • Open Access
17 Citations
3,908 Views
25 Pages

31 October 2019

Canopy reflectance sensors are a viable technology to optimize the fertilization management of crops. In this research, canopy reflectance was measured through a passive sensor to evaluate the effects of either crop features (N fertilization, soil mu...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
2,821 Views
18 Pages

Environmental Assessment of an Innovative High-Performance Experimental Agriculture Field

  • Fabiana Frota de Albuquerque Landi,
  • Claudia Fabiani,
  • Anna Laura Pisello,
  • Alessandro Petrozzi,
  • Daniele Milone and
  • Franco Cotana

23 August 2022

To increase food availability, optimizing production systems and reducing burdens related to human activities is essential in a scenario of population growth and limited natural resources. In this context, the life cycle methodology can represent a v...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,294 Views
15 Pages

Effects of Biodegradable Mulch Films with Different Thicknesses on the Quality of Watermelon Under Protected Cultivation

  • Haikang Zhao,
  • Xidong Wang,
  • Penghui Jin,
  • Jihua Zhou,
  • Yan Wang,
  • Wentao Dong,
  • Huiqing Ren,
  • Bingru Li and
  • Wenwen Gong

4 October 2025

Biodegradable mulch films (BDMs) have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional polyethylene (PE) films in modern horticulture, yet the effect of film thickness on crop performance remains inadequately understood. In this study, a two-year f...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
1,572 Views
15 Pages

Kinetic Parameters of Soil Enzymes and Temperature Sensitivity Under Different Mulching Practices in Apple Orchards

  • Yaokun Jiang,
  • Huike Li,
  • Meng Liang,
  • Yang Wu,
  • Ziwen Zhao,
  • Yuanze Li,
  • Guobin Liu and
  • Sha Xue

28 February 2025

Soil mulching practices in apple orchards offer an effective solution to combat declining soil quality, restore land productivity, and boost apple yield. The kinetic parameters of soil enzymes, specifically the maximum reaction rate (Vmax) and the Mi...

  • Perspective
  • Open Access
9 Citations
5,690 Views
11 Pages

10 August 2024

Food security, a crucial issue for the development of humankind, is often severely constrained by water scarcity. As a globally recognized most advanced agricultural water-saving technology, drip irrigation under plastic mulch (DIPM) has played a sig...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
4,766 Views
18 Pages

Biodegradable Cellulose/Polycaprolactone/Keratin/Calcium Carbonate Mulch Films Prepared in Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid

  • Dušica Stojanović,
  • Aleksandra Ivanovska,
  • Nemanja Barać,
  • Katarina Dimić-Misić,
  • Mirjana Kostić,
  • Vesna Radojević,
  • Djordje Janaćković,
  • Petar Uskoković,
  • Ernest Barceló and
  • Patrick Gane

18 June 2023

Ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [BMIM][Cl] was used to prepare cellulose (CELL), cellulose/polycaprolactone (CELL/PCL), cellulose/polycaprolactone/keratin (CELL/PCL/KER), and cellulose/polycaprolactone/keratin/ground calcium carbona...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,532 Views
22 Pages

14 April 2025

Microplastics (MPs) in agricultural soils pose risks to human health in their potential accumulation along the food chain, and their characteristics require further understanding to implement targeted measures. This study investigated the MP characte...

  • Article
  • Open Access
528 Views
17 Pages

The successful establishment of young chestnut orchards is increasingly challenged by drought stress and limited irrigation availability, especially in areas with limited water access. This study evaluated the effects of ridge planting and plastic fo...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2,700 Views
14 Pages

Background Material Identification Using a Soft Robot

  • Nathan Jeong,
  • Wooseop Lee,
  • Seongcheol Jeong,
  • Arun Niddish Mahendran and
  • Vishesh Vikas

Soft robotics is an emerging technology that provides robots with the ability to adapt to the environment and safely interact with it. Here, the ability of these robots to identify the surface of interaction is critical for grasping and locomotion ta...

  • Article
  • Open Access
9 Citations
3,870 Views
10 Pages

23 December 2020

(1) Background: Plastic in fruit orchards represents an environmental issue due to large CO2eq emissions associated with its production from fossil fuel and disposal (often incineration). (2) Materials and methods: Apple cv. “Braeburn Hillwell&...

  • Article
  • Open Access
12 Citations
3,279 Views
17 Pages

12 March 2022

Soil water and temperature are important factors to reflect variations in soil heat and water flows especially for tillage systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the CoupModel in predicting the effect of tillage pract...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
2,428 Views
11 Pages

Agronomic Practices Alter Regulated Effects of Easily Extractable Glomalin-Related Soil Protein on Fruit Quality and Soil Properties of Satsuma Mandarin

  • An-Qi Lei,
  • Qing-Hua Yang,
  • Ying Zhang,
  • Wen-Yue Liao,
  • Ya-Chao Xie,
  • Anoop Kumar Srivastava,
  • Abeer Hashem,
  • Mashael Daghash Alqahtani,
  • Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah and
  • Yi Zhang
  • + 1 author

16 March 2023

Easily extractable glomalin-related soil protein (EEG) released from arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi exhibits many roles in soil and plants, while it is not clear whether the biostimulator alone or in combination with agronomic practices can improve soi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
2,151 Views
13 Pages

Application of a Soil Quality Index to a Mediterranean Mountain with Post-Fire Treatments

  • Manuela Andrés-Abellán,
  • Marta I. Picazo-Córdoba,
  • Francisco García-Saucedo,
  • Consolación Wic-Baena,
  • Francisco A. García-Morote,
  • Eva Rubio-Caballero,
  • Jose L. Moreno,
  • Felipe Bastida,
  • Carlos García and
  • Francisco R. López-Serrano

29 August 2023

In Mediterranean areas, fire has increased soil degradation and erosion. For this reason, the application of soil quality indices can help to determine soil recovery and degradation levels. By using a multiparameter soil quality index fitted to undis...

  • Review
  • Open Access
2 Citations
3,268 Views
21 Pages

24 June 2025

Blueberry is a high-value fruit crop in the United States, with Georgia and Florida serving as important early-season production regions. In these areas, several thrips species (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), including Frankliniella tritici (Fitch), Frank...

  • Article
  • Open Access
30 Citations
6,161 Views
20 Pages

Synthesis, Characterization, and Soil Burial Degradation of Biobased Polyurethanes

  • Alessio Zuliani,
  • Marco Rapisarda,
  • David Chelazzi,
  • Piero Baglioni and
  • Paola Rizzarelli

16 November 2022

There is an urgent need for developing degradable polymeric systems based on bio-derived and sustainable materials. In recent years, polyurethanes derived from castor oil have emerged due to the large availability and sustainable characteristics of c...

  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
3,508 Views
22 Pages

17 July 2022

The accurate quantification of evapotranspiration (ET) is critical to the sustainable management of irrigated agriculture. In this study, we proposed a remote sensing data fusion method for predicting ET, coupling a surface energy balance system mode...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
3,034 Views
18 Pages

Mapping Insect-Proof Screened Citrus Orchards Using Sentinel-2 MSl Time-Series Images

  • Guobin Yu,
  • Li Zhang,
  • Lingxia Luo,
  • Guihua Liu,
  • Zongyi Chen and
  • Shanshan Xiong

31 May 2023

Citrus is a crucial agricultural commodity of the hilly subtropical regions of southern China. Attempts in recent years to combat the destructive disease Huanglongbing (HLB) have led to citrus orchards being covered with insect-proof screens (IPS). U...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
3,069 Views
19 Pages

Wheat Crop Yield and Changes in Soil Biological and Heavy Metals Status in a Sandy Soil Amended with Biochar and Irrigated with Drainage Water

  • Mohieyeddin M. Abd El-Azeim,
  • Ahmad M. Menesi,
  • Mahmoud M. Abd El-Mageed,
  • Joanna Lemanowicz and
  • Samir A. Haddad

19 October 2022

The current research aims to study the impacts of adding corncob biochar to a sandy soil irrigated with drainage water on wheat productivity, heavy metals fate, and some soil properties that reflect healthy soil conditions. This research consists of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
3,420 Views
19 Pages

Nutrient and Stoichiometric Characteristics of Aggregates in a Sloping Farmland Area under Different Tillage Practices

  • Jie Zhang,
  • Yaojun Liu,
  • Taihui Zheng,
  • Xiaomin Zhao,
  • Hongguang Liu and
  • Yongfen Zhang

17 January 2021

Sloping farmland is prevalent in hilly red soil areas of South China. Improper tillage patterns induce decreased soil organic matter, soil aggregate breakdown, and nutrient imbalance, thereby restricting crop production. However, the stoichiometric c...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
3,445 Views
21 Pages

20 August 2024

Terrace erosion has become increasingly pronounced due to the rising incidence of heavy rainfalls resulting from global climate change; however, the processes and mechanisms governing erosion of loess terraces during such events remain poorly underst...

  • Review
  • Open Access
6 Citations
4,104 Views
18 Pages

Cold climate viticulture is challenged by climatic variability, including increased frost risk, shorter growing seasons, and unpredictable weather events that impact vine productivity and grape quality. Global warming is altering traditional viticult...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
2,859 Views
21 Pages

Estimation of Soil Moisture Content Based on Fractional Differential and Optimal Spectral Index

  • Wangyang Li,
  • Youzhen Xiang,
  • Xiaochi Liu,
  • Zijun Tang,
  • Xin Wang,
  • Xiangyang Huang,
  • Hongzhao Shi,
  • Mingjie Chen,
  • Yujie Duan and
  • Fucang Zhang
  • + 4 authors

15 January 2024

Applying hyperspectral remote sensing technology to the prediction of soil moisture content (SMC) during the growth stage of soybean emerges as an effective approach, imperative for advancing the development of modern precision agriculture. This inve...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
3,929 Views
25 Pages

Simulating the Effects of Agricultural Adaptation Practices onto the Soil Water Content in Future Climate Using SWAT Model on Upland Bystra River Catchment

  • Damian Badora,
  • Rafał Wawer,
  • Anna Nieróbca,
  • Aleksandra Król-Badziak,
  • Jerzy Kozyra,
  • Beata Jurga and
  • Eugeniusz Nowocień

22 July 2022

The article presents predicted changes in soil water content in the Bystra river catchment (eastern Poland) for various scenarios of climate change and adaptation practices obtained on the basis of a SWAT model simulation for three regional climate m...