Author : Nathan L. Holt
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 163 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (974 download)
Book Synopsis Optimizing Plasticulture Bed Geometries for Enhancing the Sustainability of Vegetable Production by : Nathan L. Holt
Download or read book Optimizing Plasticulture Bed Geometries for Enhancing the Sustainability of Vegetable Production written by Nathan L. Holt and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vegetables throughout the world are increasingly being grown using raised soil beds covered by plastic mulch in a practice known as plasticulture. Plasticulture vegetable production systems are intensively managed with large inputs of water, nutrients, cost, and energy. One avenue to improve the sustainability of these systems is by using compact bed geometries that are narrower and taller than the conventional bed geometries in use today. A two-season measurement and modeling (HYDRUS 2D) tomato study was conducted in southern Florida to evaluate three compact beds (61 cm x 25 cm, 45 cm x 30 cm, and 41 cm x 30 cm) against a conventional short and wide bed (76 cm x 20 cm). A single-season eggplant study was also conducted to evaluate two compact beds (61 cm x 25 cm and 45 cm x 30 cm) with one drip tape against a conventional bed (91 cm x 15 cm) with two drip tapes. Overall, study results indicate that compact bed geometries can be used to improve the sustainability of plasticulture vegetable systems with one or two drip tapes without conceding yield. Compact beds were found to: provide up to 50% in irrigation water savings, decrease production costs by $150 to $670 per hectare, increase the productivity of applied fertilizer nitrogen and phosphorus by up to 10%, reduce the carbon footprint of both the tomato and eggplant plasticulture production systems by 5 to 10%, and be adaptable to climate change through improving flood protection.