Articles
Influence of plastic film covers on soil life in asparagus ridges
Article number
1376_19
Pages
133 – 140
Language
English
Abstract
Asparagus production has a high economic impact in German horticulture, with white asparagus spears in particular being in demand on the market.
It is of great importance for asparagus growers to start the season as early as possible and to expand harvesting over a long period.
Therefore, use of black and white plastic films and tunnels (black film plus additional transparent film) as cover on ridges is indispensable.
Other advantages of plastic film usage are reduction of herbicide use and water consumption before and during the harvest period, and soil shading to prevent purple coloured spears.
In recent years, nature conservation associations have increasingly claimed that film cover on ridges has a negative impact on soil biodiversity.
Here we hypothesize that the use of plastic films increases soil moisture, stabilises soil structure, and regulates temperature in the ridges, which has a positive impact on soil life.
To investigate this further, we observed the activity of soil animals and microorganisms in ridges with various film covers at different sites in eastern Germany.
Data on bacterial and fungal biomass in soil were analysed via phospholipid-derivated fatty acids (PLFA) profiling methods and feeding activity of soil insects was recorded using the bait-lamina test.
PLFA diversity was at medium level in all sampled soils, except for one site where it was low.
Similar to bare ridges in black film covered ridges a positive effect on the feeding activity of soil animals was observed, while it was lower under white plastic cover.
These results confirm our assumption that higher temperatures induced by black plastic cover enhance the development of soil animals in early spring and do not have a negative effect in this regard.
It is of great importance for asparagus growers to start the season as early as possible and to expand harvesting over a long period.
Therefore, use of black and white plastic films and tunnels (black film plus additional transparent film) as cover on ridges is indispensable.
Other advantages of plastic film usage are reduction of herbicide use and water consumption before and during the harvest period, and soil shading to prevent purple coloured spears.
In recent years, nature conservation associations have increasingly claimed that film cover on ridges has a negative impact on soil biodiversity.
Here we hypothesize that the use of plastic films increases soil moisture, stabilises soil structure, and regulates temperature in the ridges, which has a positive impact on soil life.
To investigate this further, we observed the activity of soil animals and microorganisms in ridges with various film covers at different sites in eastern Germany.
Data on bacterial and fungal biomass in soil were analysed via phospholipid-derivated fatty acids (PLFA) profiling methods and feeding activity of soil insects was recorded using the bait-lamina test.
PLFA diversity was at medium level in all sampled soils, except for one site where it was low.
Similar to bare ridges in black film covered ridges a positive effect on the feeding activity of soil animals was observed, while it was lower under white plastic cover.
These results confirm our assumption that higher temperatures induced by black plastic cover enhance the development of soil animals in early spring and do not have a negative effect in this regard.
Publication
Authors
R. Djalali Farahani-Kofoet, J. Graefe, C. Feller
Keywords
bait-lamina, feeding activity, microbial biomass, PLFA, soil properties, soil organic matter
Groups involved
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