coconut mulch - Mousses de l`Estrie

ASSESSMENT OF THE
IMPACT OF COCONUT MULCH
A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH
THREE (3) TYPES OF MULCHES
By Ibrahim S. Issoufou for Les Mousses de
l’Estrie Inc.
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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CONTENTS
1
07/11/2008
Problematics and approach
2
Materials
3
Results
4
Summary
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PROBLEMATICS AND
EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH
¾ The main objective of this project is to assess the
usefulness of coconut fibre as mulch, and its
impact on the development of the test plants.
¾ The specific objectives are :
o Verify the impact of coconut fibre on soil capacity,
weed repression and soil pH.
o Assess the impact of coconut mulch on plant health
and development.
o Subject the coconut mulch to consumer judgement
(assessment) comparatively to the common mulches.
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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MATERIALS AND
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
¾ To verify the impact of the coco nuts mulch, a set of
experiments was conducted in a clay soil.
¾ The experimental design consisted of four blocks of
treatments : coconut mulch, natural pine mulch, black cedar
mulch and a control trial without mulch.
¾ The thickness of the mulch layer was 7.5 cm.
¾ Each block was replicated three times.
¾ Test plants : coleus (great response to the soil moisture
status); zinnia (sensitive to diseases and the heat); petunia
(sensitive to slugs and diseases) and purple coneflower.
¾ The treatments were arranged in a randomized design. At
various periods, soil moisture and weed development were
monitored. At the end of the growing season, plant dry
weight and health (purple coneflower) were assessed.
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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RESULTS
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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IMPACTS ON FIELD CAPACITY
Soil moisture (%)
Trials
Coco nuts mulch
ecartype(+/-)
Natural pin mulch
ecartype(+/-)
Black cedar mulch
ecartype(+/-)
Control
ecartype(+/-)
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
83
96
86
86
94
0,06
86
0,03
83
0,05
61
0,007
0,04
85
0,02
81
0,02
0,07
89
0,07
0,03
89
0,05
78
78
68
0,03
6
0,01
79
0,02
0,01
45
0,05
0,05
6
0,6
58
0,02
The results
depicted in the
table opposite
shows that the
coconut mulch
contributes to
maintain soil
moisture
comparatively to
the other trials.
While the thickness of the other mulches decreased by 2
to 3 cm at the end of the study, the layer of the coconut
mulch remained unaltered.
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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CNM
NPM
BCM
The images above illustrate the tendency of the natural pine mulch (NPM)
and the black cedar mulch (BCM) to compress comparatively to the coconut
mulch (CNM).
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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IMPACTS OF THE COCONUT
MULCH ON WEED
DEVELOPMENT
Number of Weeds/m2)
80
60
40
Number of
weeds/m2
20
0
CNM
NPM
BCM Control
Trials
The weed count gave the following results :
Coco nuts mulch – 0 weed/m2
Natural pin mulch – 4 weeds/m2
Black cedar mulch – 3 weeds/m2
Control – 72 weeds/m2
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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IMPACT OF COCONUT
MULCH ON SOIL PH
Trial
CNM
NPM
BCM
Évolution du pH du sol
Ecartype
Ecartype
Ecartype
Control
ecartype
07/11/2008
Sample1
Sample2
Sample3
6,94
7,53
7,78
7,1
6,84
7,21
0,09
0,14
O,08
0,08
7,71
7,64
7,68
0,45
0,09
0,13
0,15
7,75
7,7
7,8
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0,06
0,86
0,07
The use of the
coconut mulch does
not contribute to a
substantial change in
soil pH comparatively
to the other mulches
used in this study.
0,08
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IMPACT OF COCONUT MULCH
ON PLANT GROWTH
TRIAL
CNM
NPM
BCM
Ecartype
Ecartype
Ecartype
Control
ecartype
PLANT DRY WEIGHT (g)
Petunia
Zinnia
Coleus
Purple
coneflower
2,89
12,44
16,20
19,34
1,45
2,51
7,1
0,88
0,71
1,08
2,07
22,19
22,28
24,0
14,77
14,33
1,69
15,49
12,97
17,71
24,92
3,02
3,12
4,78
3,24
15,54
22,21
15,46
4,98
6,39
1,41
1,71
The data of the above table show that the coconut mulch did not
exhibit any inhibitory action on the development of the test plants
comparatively to the common mulches.
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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IMPACT OF THE CNM ON THE ROOTS OF THE
PURPLE CONFLOWERS
CNM
Control
07/11/2008
NPM
BCM
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
In this study,
the use of
coconut fibre as
mulch did neither
result in the
development of
root diseases nor
in the inhibition
of the
development of
the roots of the
purple
coneflowers
comparatively to
the common
mulches
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OPINION POLL
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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PUBLIC VOTES
The study of the impacts of
the CNM on the plants and the
soil was followed by an opinion
poll.
Despite the fact that the
CNM is an unknown product, it
received 24% of the total
consumer votes (as illustrated
by the graph opposite).
12%
41%
24%
NPM
BCM
23%
CNM
RCW
The remial chipped wood (RCW) had been
subjected to public appreciation two weeks later
than the other mulches.
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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SUMMARY
¾ This study allows us to draw the following conclusions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The use of coconut mulch had no negative impact on soil
capacity (water retention).
The coconut mulch did not significantly affect soil pH.
The coconut mulch did not inhibit the development of
tested plants.
No obvious symptoms of diseases on the purple
coneflowers’ roots as result of the use of coco nuts fibre
as mulch.
The opinion poll demonstrated that the coconut mulch
enjoyed a fair rating (24%) from the public.
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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THANK YOU !!!
07/11/2008
ITA, Campus de St-Hyacinthe
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