Abstract
Although the main objective of plasticulture in horticultural crop production is to reach harvest earlier and improve productivity, mechanical control of pests is another, albeit less widespread, application. Two techniques are employed: mulches and floating row covers. Mulching involves covering the soil at the base of cultivated plants with a layer of protective material such as straw, thoroughly decomposed manure, peat moss, bark chips, sawdust, paper or plastic sheets. Floating row covering constitute a semiforcing technique using perforated plastic films that are spread over both the soil and plants (Gerst 1992).
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Bégin, S., Dubé, S.L., Calandriello, J. (2001). Mulching and Plasticulture. In: Vincent, C., Panneton, B., Fleurat-Lessard, F. (eds) Physical Control Methods in Plant Protection. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04584-8_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04584-8_15
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