Email this article 
Hide
Show all
Evaluating the impact of organic mulch on climate-resilient cotton production: a regenerative agriculture approach for sustainable farming
Abstract
Organic mulches offer environmentally friendly benefits for cotton in challenging environments. A study was conducted in the farmer field and research station of the Rural Education and Economic Development Society (REEDS) Pakistan in 2023 to evaluate the effect of various organic mulches on soil properties, cotton yield, and quality in a semi-arid region. Results showed that wheat straw, rice, and sugarcane leaves straw maintained moderate soil temperatures (27.3°C to 27.4°C), unlike the control (41.6°C). Soil pH remained stable (7.9 to 8.1), and organic mulches raised soil carbon (0.68% to 0.72% vs. 0.51% control). Nutrient availability increased, with higher nitrogen (0.045% to 0.049%), phosphorus (6.2 mg kg−1 to 6.5 mg kg−1), and potassium (89 mg kg−1 to 92 mg kg−1) compared to control (0.028%, 5.6 mg kg−1, and 71 mg kg−1). Organic matter content rose (0.77% to 0.81%) versus the control (0.51%). Weed density decreased (4 to 5 weeds m² vs. 23 weeds m² control) with mulches. Cotton height, bolls per plant, and open-boll weight increased with mulches, elevating cotton yield (2704 kg ha−1 to 2743 kg ha−1) over control (2117 kg ha−1), with consistent ginning outturn (36.62% to 37.2%). Cotton quality remained similar, while mulches reduced irrigation frequency (7 irrigations) and total amount (533 mm); control needed more (9 irrigations, 685 mm). Crop water use efficiency improved with mulches (0.50 to 0.51 kg m−3 vs. 0.30 kg m−3 control). This study highlights organic mulch's potential to enhance soil properties, nutrient availability, weed suppression, cotton yield, and water use efficiency.
Keywords
References
Abbas, S. 2022. Climate change and major crop production: evidence from Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29:5406–5414
Abbass, K., Qasim, M. Z., Song, H., Murshed, M., Mahmood, H. and Younis, I. 2022. A review of the global climate change impacts, adaptation, and sustainable mitigation measures. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29:42539–42559
Abdukhalil, A. 2023. Increasing the economic efficiency of cotton growing in cotton clusters on scientific theory. The Journal of Economics, Finance and Innovation, 961–969
AghaKouchak, A., Chiang, F., Huning, L.S., Love, C. A., Mallakpour, I., Mazdiyasni, O., ... and Sadegh, M 2020. Climate extremes and compound hazards in a warming world. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 48:519–548
Anabaraonye, B, Okafor. J.C., Ewa, B. O, Anukwonke. C.C. 2021. The impacts of Climate Change on Soil Fertility in Nigeria. Clim Chang Microbiome Sustenance Ecosph 607–621
Anuja, J.K., Silas, V.J., Lal, M., Kishor, B. 2023. Effect of organic manure and mulching on growth, yield, and quality of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.)
Brito, C., Dinis, L.T, Moutinho-Pereira, J., Correia, C.M. 2019. Drought stress effects and olive tree acclimation under a changing climate. Plants 8:232
Chen, Y., Wen, X., Sun, Y., Zhang, J., Wu, W. and Liao, Y. 2014. Mulching practices altered soil bacterial community structure and improved orchard productivity and apple quality after five growing seasons. Sci Hortic (Amsterdam), 172:248–257
Chiarelli, D.D., D’Odorico, P., Müller, M.F., Mueller, N.D., Davis, K.F., Dell’Angelo, J., ...and Rulli, M.C. 2022. Competition for water induced by transnational land acquisitions for agriculture. Nature Communication, 13:505
El-Beltagi, H.S., Basit, A., Mohamed, H.I., Ali, I., Ullah, S., Kamel, E.A., ... and Ghazzawy, H.S. 2022. Mulching as a sustainable water and soil saving practice in agriculture: A review. Agronomy, 12:1881
El-Metwally, I.M, Saudy, H.S, Elewa, T.A 2022. Natural plant by-products and mulching materials to suppress weeds and improve sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) yield and quality. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 22:5217–5230
Gao, X., Fu, C., Li, M., Qi, X. and Jia, X. 2022. Effects of Biodegradation of Corn-Starch–Sodium-Alginate-Based Liquid Mulch Film on Soil Microbial Functions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19:8631
Hussain, S., Ahmad, A., Wajid, A., Khaliq, T., Hussain, N., Mubeen, M., ...and Nasim, W. 2020. Irrigation scheduling for cotton cultivation. Cotton Production and Uses: Agronomy, Crop Protection, p59–80
Hussian, I., Ahmad, R., Farooq, M., Wahid, A. 2013. Seed priming improves the performance of poor quality wheat seed. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 15:1343-1348
Iqbal, R., Raza, M.A.S., Valipour, M., Saleem, M.F., Zaheer, M.S., Ahmad, S. & Nazar, M.A. 2020. Potential agricultural and environmental benefits of mulches—a review. Bulletin of the National Research Centre, 44: 1-16.
Kaur, R, Bains, S., Sethi, M. 2020. Environment-friendly mulch mats from paddy straw. International Journal of Farm Sciences, 10:28–31
Khan, M.A., Wahid, A., Ahmad, M., Tahir, M. T., Ahmed, M., Ahmad, S. and Hasanuzzaman, M. 2020. World cotton production and consumption: An overview. Cotton production and uses: Agronomy, crop protection, and postharvest technologies, 1-7.
Khanpara, B.M., Vala, V.S. 2023. Cotton harvesting. International Journal of Agriculture Sciences, 19: 329–335
Kun, Á., Simon, B., Zalai, M., Kolozsvári, I., Bozán, C., Jancsó, M., ...and Bakti, B. 2023. Effect of mulching on soil quality in an agroforestry system irrigated with reused water. Agronomy, 13(6):1622
Lal. R. 2016. Soil health and carbon management. Food Energy Security, 5:212–222
Lee, G. W., Vine, K., Atkinson, A. R., Tong, M., Longman, J., Barratt, A., ...and Rahman, K.M. 2023. Impacts of climate change on health and health services in northern New South Wales, Australia: a rapid review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(13): 6285.
Lesk, C., Anderson, W., Rigden, A., Coast, O., Jägermeyr, J., McDermid, S., ...and Konar, M. 2022. Compound heat and moisture extreme impacts on global crop yields under climate change. Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 3(12): 872-889.
Ma, Z., Zhang, X., Zheng, B., Yue, S., Zhang, X., Zhai, B., ... and Razavi, B.S. 2021. Effects of plastic and straw mulching on soil microbial P limitations in maize fields: Dependency on soil organic carbon demonstrated by ecoenzymatic stoichiometry. Geoderma, 388, 114928.
Malik, S., Chaudhary, K., Malik, A., Punia, H., Sewhag, M., Berkesia, N., ... and Boora, K. 2022. Superabsorbent polymers as a soil amendment for increasing agriculture production with reducing water losses under water stress condition. Polymers, 15(1), 161.
Mbatha. M.W. 2020. The Agricultural Sector in Improving the Country’s Economy. Journal of African Foreign Affairs, 7:77–93
McTavish, M.J. and Murphy, S.D. 2022. Rapid redistribution and long-term aggregation of mulch residues by earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris). Applied Soil Ecology, 169:104195
Monteiro A. and Santos, S. 2022. Sustainable approach to weed management: The role of precision weed management. Agronomy, 12:118
Navyashree, S., Ajithkumar, B. and John C.L. 2019. Effect of mulches on soil chemical properties for enhancing yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). J Agrometeorology, 248–252
Nguyen, T.T., Grote, U., Neubacher, F., Do, M.H. and Paudel, G.P. 2023. Security risks from climate change and environmental degradation: Implications for sustainable land use transformation in the Global South. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 63, 101322.
Prem, M., Ranjan, P., Seth, N., Patle, G.T. 2020. Mulching techniques to conserve the soil water and advance the crop production—A Review. Current World Environment, 15:10–30
Saeed, M., Maqbool, A., Ashraf, M. A., Arshad, M., Mehmood, K., Usman, M. and Farid, M.A. 2021. Competency of groundwater recharge of irrigated cotton field subjacent to sowing methods, plastic mulch, water productivity, and yield under climate change. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-15.
Sahay, A. 2019. Cotton plantations in India: the environmental and social challenges. Yuridika 34:429–442
Scavo, A., Fontanazza, S., Restuccia, A., Pesce, G. R., Abbate, C. and Mauromicale, G. 2022. The role of cover crops in improving soil fertility and plant nutritional status in temperate climates. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 42(5): 93.
Shah F, Wu W (2020) Use of plastic mulch in agriculture and strategies to mitigate the associated environmental concerns. Adv Agron 164:231–287
Singhal, V., Ghose, J., Jinger, D. 2020. Cover crop technology–a way towards conservation agriculture: a review. Indian Journal of Agriculture Science, 12:2275–2284
Skendžić, S., Zovko, M., Živković, I. P., Lešić, V. and Lemić, D. 2021. The impact of climate change on agricultural insect pests. Insects, 12(5), 440.
Steel, R. 1997. Analysis of variance I: The one-way classification. Principles and procedures of statistics a biometrical approach, 139-203
Sun, X., Ye, Y., Liao, J., Soromotin, A. V., Smirnov, P. V. and Kuzyakov, Y. 2022. Organic Mulching Increases Microbial Activity in Urban Forest Soil. Forests, 13(9): 1352.
Tang, M., Liu, R., Li, H., Gao, X., Wu, P. and Zhang, C. 2023. Optimizing soil moisture conservation and temperature regulation in rainfed jujube orchards of China’s Loess Hilly Areas Using Straw and Branch Mulching. Agronomy, 13(8): 2121.
Turmel, M. S., Speratti, A., Baudron, F., Verhulst, N., and Govaerts, B. 2015. Crop residue management and soil health: A systems analysis. Agricultural Systems, 134: 6-16.
Waheed, A., Li, C., Muhammad, M., Ahmad, M., Khan, K. A., Ghramh, H. A., ...and Zhang, D. 2023. Sustainable potato growth under straw mulching practices. Sustainability, 15(13): 10442.
Weissert, L.F., Salmond, J.A, Schwendenmann, L. 2016. Variability of soil organic carbon stocks and soil CO2 efflux across urban land use and soil cover types. Geoderma, 271: 80–90
Wheeler, R. and Lobley, M. 2021. Managing extreme weather and climate change in UK agriculture: Impacts, attitudes and action among farmers and stakeholders. Climate Risk Management, 32:100313
Zafar, M. M., Manan, A., Razzaq, A., Zulfqar, M., Saeed, A., Kashif, M., ...and Ren, M. 2021. Exploiting agronomic and biochemical traits to develop heat resilient cotton cultivars under climate change scenarios. Agronomy, 11(9): 1885.
Zhang, S., Wang, Y., Sun, L., Qiu, C., Ding, Y., Gu, H., ... and Ding, Z. 2020. Organic mulching positively regulates the soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions in tea plantation. BMC microbiology, 20: 1-13.
Zheng, Y., Sun, X., Li, S., Zhou, W., Fan, Z., Du, T. and Qu, B. 2022. Soil erodibility after the removal of wood chip mulch: A wind tunnel experiment. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 77(5): 493-500.0
DOI: 10.33687/ijae.012.002.5228
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2024 Iqbal Hussain, Shahid Saleem, Hafeez Ullah, Muahmmad Nasir, Muhammad Umer Iqbal, Madiha Nisar, Sidra Fatima, Abdul Khaliq, Syed Ahtisham Masood, Hafiz Abdul Rauf, Fida Hussain, Atif Ghafoor
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
