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Mulching and Plasticulture

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Physical Control Methods in Plant Protection

Abstract

Although the main objective of plasticulture in horticultural crop production is to reach harvest earlier and improve productivity, mechanical control of pests is another, albeit less widespread, application. Two techniques are employed: mulches and floating row covers. Mulching involves covering the soil at the base of cultivated plants with a layer of protective material such as straw, thoroughly decomposed manure, peat moss, bark chips, sawdust, paper or plastic sheets. Floating row covering constitute a semiforcing technique using perforated plastic films that are spread over both the soil and plants (Gerst 1992).

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Authors
  1. Serge Bégin
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  2. Sylvain L. Dubé
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  3. Joe Calandriello
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Horticultural Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 430 Gouin Blvd., J3B 3E6, Saint-Jean sur Richelieu, Quebec, Canada

    Charles Vincent  & B. Panneton  & 

  2. INRA-Laboratoire sur les, Insectes des Denrées Stockées, Domaine de la Grande Ferrade, BP81, 33883, Villenave d’Ornon Cedex, France

    F. Fleurat-Lessard

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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Bégin, S., Dubé, S.L., Calandriello, J. (2001). Mulching and Plasticulture. In: Vincent, C., Panneton, B., Fleurat-Lessard, F. (eds) Physical Control Methods in Plant Protection. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04584-8_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04584-8_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-04586-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-04584-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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