colored Plastic Mulch?
anyone use plastic mulch ?
Heres some info since i read up on it...
Why Plastic Mulch?
BLACK, WHITE OR COLORED, PLASTIC MULCH WORKS FOR VEGETABLES
Peppers responded more to silver mulch compared to black, with an average 20 percent increase in marketable fruit yield and fruit size over a three-year study. Lowest yield or marketable peppers were harvested from plants grown on either white or light blue mulch
Tomatoes responded to red mulch compared to black, with an average 12 percent increase in marketable fruit yield and fruit size over a three-year study. There appeared to be a reduction in early blight in plants grown on red.
Yellow has been shown to attract insects � but that can be a good idea. Some growers are using yellow-mulched rows to attract insects to a location where they can be killed,
Blue attracts thrips but has been very effective in greenhouse tomato production
Light reflected from red mulch has a lower red (R) to far-red (FR) ratio than normal sun-
light, while black plastic has little effect on this ratio. The lower ratio has been reported to
enhance the carbohydrate movement into the developing tomato fruit resulting in in-
creased early production. Also, many of the colored mulches, including red, are translucent
and will increase early spring soil temperature resulting in rapid plant growth, earlier
flowering, and fruit maturation.
Black mulch absorbs most ultra-violet (UV), visible, and infrared wavelengths (IR) of incoming solar radiation and re-radiates absorbed energy in the form of thermal radiation or long-wavelength infrared radiation. Much of the solar energy absorbed by black plastic mulch is lost to the atmosphere through radiation and forced convectio
clear plastic mulch absorbs little solar radiation but transmits 85% to 95%, with relative transmission depending on the thickness and degree of opacity of the polyethylene. The under surface of clear plastic mulch usually is covered with condensed water droplets. This water is transparent to incoming shortwave radiation but is opaque to outgoing longwave infrared radiation, so much of the heat lost to the atmosphere from a bare soil by infrared radiation is retained by clear plastic mulch.
in a pepper canopy, twice as much reflected photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was measured above clear plastic mulch than above black plastic or bare soil. Although both red and black plastics raised soil temperatures similarly, higher early yields and less foliage were observed in plants grown on red plastic. Both red and black mulches reflected about the same amount of PAR, but red plastic increased the ratio of red:far-red wavelenghts (R:FR) in the reflected light.
when tomatoes are grown on red mulch they have higher yields, stronger stems and ripen earlier. Research has also found that red mulch reduces nematode damage.