How Many types of Mulch are there?

Answer 1

Generally, mulching has two main types organic mulching and inorganic mulching both mulches having own advantage.

Organic mulching:

An organic mulch is made up of natural materials such as paddy straw, wheat straw, bark, dry grasses, wood chips, dry leaves, pine needles, sawdust, grass clipping, etc.

But this organic mulch material gets decomposed easily and needs frequent replacement, and attracts insects, slugs, and cutworms.

Limitation of Organic Mulching:

1. organic mulch sometimes adversely affects poorly drained soil; it makes the soil too moist; hence, the oxygen level near the root zone decreases.

2. Many organic types of mulches provide shelter for insect snails and mice.

3. Grass and straw mulch contain seeds so that they may become weeds.

Straw Mulch:

Young Strawberry Plants growing on a bed of straw mulch This is the most common material used, organic mulch. Paddy and wheat straw is the most common mulching materials used for vegetable crops and fruit crops. Among organic mulching materials, straw has a long life compared to other mulches like grasses, leaves, and sawdust. Paddy straw and wheat straw after decomposition makes the soil more fertile.

Grass Clipping Mulch:

This is one of the most easily available material: green grass or dry grass used for grass clipping. After decomposing, grass provides nitrogen to the soil. In the rainy season, green grass development of its root system, so my suggestion uses dry grass for mulching.

Inorganic mulching:

In Inorganic mulching, materials like plastic films, geotextiles, Gravel, and pebbles can be used as inorganic mulch.

Inorganic mulches are extensively used in commercial agriculture. Plastic mulch is the most common material used among all inorganic mulches. It does not decompose easily.

Plastic Mulch:

Plastic mulch is made up of polyethylene material; using plastic in agriculture is called plasticulture.

In plastic mulching, various types of plastic mulching are available according to crop and need.

Clear plastic mulch:

This type of mulch allows the soil to warm. This mulch is mostly used in the cooler area; if you take the crop a little early, then use this clear mulch this mulch useful for strawberry cultivation in the winter season.

Black & Black Mulch:

As the name suggests in black mulch, both side of this is black in color. This mulch does not transfer any light. It helps in conserving moisture, controlling the weed.

Silver & Black Mulch

Silver- black, very popular, most popular in the farmer. This mulch suitable for almost every crop. This mulch reflects 27% of the light to the fruits and plant; it improves color development. It is observed that Pomegranate and strawberry fruits are more premontane in color.

White & Black Mulch

This is FARMERS favorite is mulch because, after serval experiment, we found that white mulch shows a healthier plant than black and silver mulch.

White-black mulch transferred more than 60% of the photoactive radiation back to the plant hence enhancing the plant growth, and the plant becomes thickest and stronger leave with lesser insect and pest attack and disease. Therefore, you get higher production. In summer, it performs better.

Yellow & Brown Mulch

In this type, the brown side is touching the soil, and the yellow is facing upward. It is used in the area where you have a lot of infestation of whitefly. Yellow color attracts whitefly so when whitefly come into contact with mulch due to sun heat, they killed.