Brazil: Soil cover keeps weeds away from intercropped crops

Published Feb 20, 2022

Tridge summary

A study conducted by a team of researchers at Embrapa Meio Ambiente, Unasp, Esalq, and UFSCar in Brazil, published the findings that using ground cover in intercropped vegetable beds can significantly reduce the number of weeds in both agroforestry and full sun systems. The research, conducted at Embrapa Meio Ambiente's Sítio Agroecológico in Jaguariúna, SP, found that the use of mulch, such as shredded waste from urban areas, can help control spontaneous weeds, optimize labor use, retain soil moisture, and reduce labor costs for weeding. The study also noted that the diversity of spontaneous species was higher in plots with bare soil compared to covered soils, indicating that the use of mulch can help decrease weed numbers. The treatments without ground cover showed a notable difference in the number of weeds between the agroforestry system and full sun, with no significant variation in weed numbers between the two types of cultivation, inside and outside the agroforestry system.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The use of ground cover reduces the number of weeds in intercropped vegetable beds, both in agroforestry and in full sun, probably because it constitutes a physical barrier to the emergence of these plants. The observation was made by a team from Embrapa Meio Ambiente, Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo (Unasp), Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz” (Esalq) and Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), in an experiment carried out at Sítio Agroecológico , from Embrapa Meio Ambiente, in Jaguariúna (SP). “The reduction of labor costs in Agroforestry Systems (SAFs) is a crucial issue for their economic viability and in vegetable crops, manual activities and the control of spontaneous plants are the ones that demand the most time”, says Embrapa Environment, in note. Also according to the state-owned agricultural research company, the use of mulch on intercropped vegetable beds considerably reduces the labor employed in controlling spontaneous weeds in SAFs and in ...

Source: Agroemdia