Polyethylene and biodegradable plastic mulches improve growth, yield, and weed management in floricane red raspberry

Transcription

1 Polyethylene and biodegradable plastic mulches improve growth, yield, and weed management in floricane red raspberry Lisa DeVetter Huan Zhang, PhD student Advisor: Lisa DeVetter; Co-advisor: Carol Miles Washington State University Northwestern Research 1 and Extension Center

2 WRRC, 2018 Processed Red Raspberry ~ 78 Million Pounds in Washington State Whatcom County: over 97% of State Production 2

3 Tissue Culture Number of Plants Aseptic Techniques Establishment Difficulty Weak Competitor with Weeds 3

4 Biodegradable Plastic Mulch (BDM) Manufactured with different feedstocks and additives compared to polyethylene (PE) mulches Engineered to biodegrade in soils by microbial activities (ASTM D5988) Potential to reduce plastic waste generation ASTM, 2018 Lisa DeVetter 4

5 Why Consider a BDM? Few studies, but promising results May reduce labor and costs associated with PE mulch removal and disposal May promote on-farm efficiencies Gerbrant, 2015; Król-Dyrek and Siwek, 2015; Tecco et al., 2016; 5

6 Root Lesion Nematode Major Plant Parasite Activity No Previous Studies Zasada et al., 2014; Rudolph and DeVetter, 2015; Gerbrandt, 2015; 6

7 Spring-Planted Trial Established May

8 Treatments Treatment Code Thickness Extruder/converter BASF 0.5 A 0.5 mil PolyExpert Inc.; Laval, Quebec, Canada BASF 0.6 B 0.6 mil PolyExpert Inc.; Laval, Quebec, Canada BDMs Novamont 0.5 C 0.5 mil Dubois Agrinovation; Saint Remi, Quebec, Canada Novamont 0.6 D 0.6 mil Dubois Agrinovation; Saint Remi, Quebec, Canada Polyethylene E 1.0 mil FilmTech, LLC., Stanley, WI Bare Ground (BG; control) F

9 Experimental Design Plot Map Spring Trial Size Design Details 2 acres Design Randomized Complete Block Treatments 6 Replications 5 Plot Length Block 120 ft Across Row Fumigation Broadcast; Sept Cultivar Wake TM Field 9

10 Objectives 1. Plant growth 2. Fruit yield 3. Weed incidence 4. Root lesion nematode populations Weixin Gan 5. Soil temperature and moisture 6. Mulch surface and in-soil degradation 10

11 Data Collection Primocane height, number, and emergence Yield Plant Weixin Gan Weed number Weed shoot fresh and dry weight RLN root and soil densities Pests Soil temperature Soil moisture Soil nutrient status Soils Lisa DeVetter Percent soil exposure (PSE) In-soil degradation Apr to Oct Mulch 11

12 July

13 Sept. 29, 2017 Weixin Gan 13

14 25-May 30-Jun 28-Jul 30-Aug 29-Sep 27-Oct Primocane height (in.) 2017 Primocane Height *** *** *** NS ** *** 14 in. difference 10 0 NS: nonsignificant *** : P 0.01 *** : P BASF 0.5 BASF 0.6 Novamont 0.5 Novamont 0.6 PE Bare Ground 14

15 28-Jul 30-Aug 29-Sep 27-Oct Primocane number / hill 2017 Primocane Number NS *** *** 5 canes (71%) difference *** NS: nonsignificant *** : P BASF 0.5 BASF 0.6 Novamont 0.5 Novamont 0.6 PE Bare Ground 15

16 January

17 April

18 Plant Growth Comparison (2018 April) BASF 0.5 BASF 0.6 Novamont 0.5 Novamont 0.6 PE BG Mulched Non-mulched 18

19 19 Nadia Bostan

20 2018 Plant Growth Treatment Primocane emergence/30 ft Primocanes/plant Primocane height (in.) July Sept. Sept. BASF ab z BASF ab Novamont b Novamont ab PE 23 b BG 45 a P - value z Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different at P < 0.05, using a means comparison with a Tukey s Honestly Significant Difference test except total yield, which was analyzed with LSD Student s t test. 20

21 1 harvest 2 harvest 3 harvest 4 harvest 5 harvest 6 harvest 7 harvest 8 harvest 9 harvest 10 harvest 11 harvest 12 harvest 13 harvest Yield (lbs/30ft) Harvest Peaks /29 7/4 7/7 7/11 7/14 7/17 7/20 7/23 7/26 8/1 8/4 8/8 8/10 BASF 0.5 BASF 0.6 Novamont 0.5 Novamont 0.6 PE BG 21

22 Average Fruit Yield (lbs/30 ft) lbs/acre Treatment Early Total Yield Middle Late Total Yield 6/29-7/10 7/11-7/25 7/26-8/10 BASF ab z 16.7 a BASF a 20.0 a Novamont a 17.9 a Novamont a 17.5 a 57.1 a 66.5 a 63.0 a 61.8 a PE a 15.0 ab 64.0 a BG b 12.8 b 43.4 b lbs/acre P - value z Averages followed by the same letter are not significantly different at P < 0.05, using a means comparison with a Tukey s Honestly Significant Difference test except total yield, which was analyzed with LSD Student s t test lbs/acre lbs/acre 22

23 Data Collection Primocane height, number, and emergence Yield Plant Lisa DeVetter Weixin Gan Weed number Weed shoot fresh and dry weight RLN root and soil densities Pests Soil temperature Soil moisture Soil nutrient status Soils Lisa DeVetter Percent soil exposure (PSE) In-soil degradation Apr to Oct Mulch 23

24 30-Jun 28-Jul 30-Aug 29-Sep 27-Oct Weeds count (number/11 ft 2 ) 2017 Cumulative Weed Number 30 * Hand weeded BG plots 3 times during growing season * * * 5 0 * BASF 0.5 BASF 0.6 Novamont 0.5 Novamont 0.6 PE BG NS: nonsignificant *** : P

25 Root Lesion Nematode (RLN) Treatment May 2017 z October 2017 May 2018 September 2018 RLN/ 100g soil Root Lesion Nematode Densities RLN/ (Sampled Oct. 11, 2017) RLN/ RLN/ RLN/ RLN/ RLN/ 100g soil g root 100g soil g root 100 g soil g root BASF ab y 105 ab 52 a ab 1352 ab BASF ab 134 ab 50 ab ab 430 b Lisa DeVetter Novamont ab 165 a 40 ab b 1620 ab Novamont a 164 ab 38 ab ab 1445 ab PE 1 72 a 45 b 40 ab a 2605 a Rachel Rudolph BG 0 5 b 44 b 10 b ab 692 b P - value z Pre-plant densities. y Averages followed by the same letter are not significantly different at P < 0.05, using a means comparison with a Tukey s Honestly Significant Difference test for the May 2017 data and a non-parametric multiple comparisons Wilcoxon test for the October 2017, and May and September 2018 data. 25

26 Data Collection Primocane height, number, and emergence Yield Plant Weixin Gan Weed number Weed shoot fresh and dry weight RLN root and soil densities Pests Soil temperature Soil moisture Soil nutrient status Soils Lisa DeVetter Percent soil exposure (PSE) In-soil degradation Apr to Oct Mulch 26

27 5/26/17 6/15/17 6/30/17 7/14/17 7/27/17 8/15/17 8/30/17 9/15/17 9/30/17 10/16/17 10/27/17 11/15/17 11/30/17 12/13/18 1/7/18 1/16/18 1/31/18 2/16/18 3/2/18 3/19/18 3/30/18 4/16/18 PSE (%) Percent Soil Exposure (PSE; %) BDM PE 7 wind events with a speed over 10 mph in Oct. and Nov. WSU AgWeatherNet * * * * * * * * Before cane tying: PE: 2.6%; BDMs: 67 to 81% After cane tying: PE: removed; BDMs: 90 to 95% Raspberry cane tying NS NS * * NS * * * * * * 0 NS: nonsignificant *** : P 0.05 BASF 0.5 BASF 0.6 Novamont 0.5 Novamont 0.6 PE 27

28 Conclusions to Date Plants grown with BDMs and PE mulch exhibited greater primocane height and number relative to the BG control Yield was higher in all mulched treatments than the BG control There is no difference in average berry weight Mulched treatments successfully controlled weeds so no hand weeding was needed RLN soil and root populations were greater when soil and plants treated with PE mulch Soil temperature was higher with mulched treatments PE removal activity could remove 1010 pounds soil per acre Overall, BDMs and PE mulch are viable tools to use in commercial red raspberry production with plants established as TC transplants 28

29 Lisa DeVetter Me Carol Miles Team Inga Zasada Chris Benedict Shuresh Ghimire 29

30 Additional Team Members and Thanks Left to right, top to bottom: Ed Scheenstra, Matt Arrington, Clara TeVelde, Naida Bostan, Qianwen Lu, Weixin Gan, Sean Watkinson, and Washington raspberry growers.

31 Funding and Material Support 31

32 Literature Cited American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard Test Method for Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials in Soil. ASTM D ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA. Accessed at on 29 June 2018 Biodegradable mulch website: Gerbrandt, E New techniques for getting raspberries and strawberries off to a better start Lower Mainland Horticulture Improvement Association Horticulture Growers Short Course. Accessed on 19 Sept at < Król-Dyrek, K. and P. Siwek The influence of biodegradable mulches on the yielding of autumn raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.). Folia Horticulturae 27(1): Rudolph, R. and L.W. DeVetter Management strategies for Phytophthora rubi and Pratylenchus penetrans in floricane red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.). J. Am. Pom. Soc. 69(3): Tecco, N., C. Baudino, V. Girgenti, and C. Peano Innovation strategies in a fruit growers association impacts assessment by using combined LCA and s-lca methodologies. Sci. Total Environ. 568: Washington State Red Raspberry Commission (WRRC) PNW Red Raspberry Production Statistics. Accessed on 2 June 2018 at Washington State University Small Fruit Horticulture website: 32

33 Thank You! Huan Zhang Phone: Washington State University Small Fruit Horticulture website: 33