The peppers were harvested weeks ago from a small research plot at the Panhandle Center where a type of fabric mulch is being tested for potential use in USDA certified organic produce fields.
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SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. – The peppers were harvested weeks ago from a small research plot at the Panhandle Center where a type of fabric mulch is being tested for potential use in USDA certified organic produce fields.
During the off season, researchers are checking to see what becomes of the biodegradable mulch, an experimental product from 3M that is being tested to see if it is suitable for USDA-certified organic vegetable production.
Last spring, six rows of peppers were planted through 3-foot-wide strips of mulch. Two different types of mulch, one black and the other white, are being tested. Recently, workers were busy in the plot setting up six different treatment regimens for the harvested plots, to see if the fabric mulch will disintegrate differently under different
conditions.
The crew, consisting of graduate students Ben Samuelson and Elise Reid, along with technician Tom Galusha and Extension Educator Gary Stone, dismantled the plants, trellises, and data collection sensors that were in place during the 2017 growing season. This is the first year of a three-year trial.
The research is concerned primarily with what happens to the mulch AFTER the growing season, according to Samuelsen. How long does it take to degrade and become part of the soil? Can growers do things to the field to affect that process, such as tillage, adding compost, or growing cover crops?