Effect Of Bast Fiber Film Mulching On Soil Ecology, Crop Growth And Development

Effect of two newly developed environmental friendly bast fiber mulching films RC and JC on soil ecology, crop growth and development was systematically studied with field, pot planting, physical and chemical assessment.Bast fiber film mulching has remarkable temperature enhancing and heat preservation capabilities. It's more stable in temperature enhancing but less in scale compared to plastic film. No damage to crops from high temperature could be observed in late spring season and nice moisture preservation could be achieved in dry days. The water content in cultivation layer under bast fiber film application is obviously higher than that no mulching, almost the same as plastic film practice, but more evenly distributed than that under plastic film mulching, which yielding more water condensation under the cover. Bast fiber film mulching also increases the amount of soil microorganism, enhances the availability of mineral elements in the soil.Bast fiber film mulching can stimulates the growth and development of crops and finally increases the yields. Earlier and tidy germination, plant height, leave numbers, root weight and biomass accumulation are higher those under no mulching treatment. The yield of Winter Chinese cabbage under bast fiber film practice is 46.26%-50.28% more than that under no mulching, but not remarkably less than that with plastic film usage. But the yield of Spring Chinese cabbage under bast fiber film practice is 31.45%-40.88% more than that under no mulching, 13.59%-21.74% more than that for plastic film. The yield of kenaf under bast fiber film mulching is almost the same as Spring Chinese cabbage. But no remarkable yield improvement was observed for ramie under bast fiber film mulching.Bast fiber film can be totally degraded in soils, which can have the bulk density of soil decreased, the porosity increased and the 3 phases optimized. The availability of mineral elements, the amount of microorganism and the fertility of soils can be increased meanwhile.The bast fiber film residues in soils after many years of usages can enhance the growth and productivity of kenaf. The growth of root, the root/canopy ratio, the daily height increase, plant height, stem diameter, bark thickness and biomass accumulation under years of bast fiber film use are higher than those under no mulching. But the residues after years of plastic film practice lead to the deterioration of soil, slow growth and decrease of yield of kenaf.