José Manuel Brotons-Martínez – Department of Economic a Financial Studies, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Spain
Amparo Galvez – Department of Crop Production and Agri-technology. IMIDA. Murcia, Spain
Miriam Romero – Department of Crop Production and Agri-technology. IMIDA. Murcia, Spain
Josefa Lopez-Marín – Department of Crop Production and Agri-technology. IMIDA. Murcia, Spain
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/ITEMA.2021.183
5th International Scientific Conference on Recent Advances in Information Technology, Tourism, Economics, Management and Agriculture – ITEMA 2021, Online/virtual, October 21, 2021, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS published by the Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade; Printed by: SKRIPTA International, Belgrade, ISBN 978-86-80194-51-6, ISSN 2683-5991, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/ITEMA.2021
Abstract
Although its utility, excessive use of low-density polyethylene mulches is contributing to the accumulation of high amounts of plastic wastes and environmental problems for agricultural ecosystems. The objective of this work was to study the economic viability of the use of different hydromulches in an artichoke crop. Three blends were prepared by mixing paper pulp and cardboard with different additives: wheat straw (WS), rice hulls (RH), and substrate used for mushroom cultivation (MS). These were compared with low-density polyethylene (Pe), a treatment without mulching on bare soil where hand weeding was performed (HW), and treatment without mulching on bare soil where herbicide was applied (H). The results indicate that the use of hydromulch in an artichoke crop represents a good alternative for reducing plastic waste in agriculture. The net profits of the hydromulch treatments (MS, WS, RH) were higher than for HW and H, and slightly lower than for Pe.
Keywords
Eco-friendly; Microplastic; Mulch; Weed control
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