What are the common mistakes in plastic film mulching for vegetables? Latest summary

There are a great many vegetable varieties in our country, and no matter what kind of vegetables are grown, mulching with plastic film is very necessary. Mulching vegetables with plastic film can effectively enhance vegetable growth capacity and improve their yield and quality. However, many people make various mistakes when mulching with plastic film. So what exactly are they? Below, the editor brings you the common mistakes in plastic film mulching for vegetables. Let's take a look!

1. Plastic film clinging tightly to the stem base

If plastic film is not properly laid, it can very easily cause various blight diseases in vegetables. Many people, when mulching with plastic film, choose to have the film cling tightly to the stem base of the vegetables. This is incorrect and can very easily cause the vegetables to die. When opening holes in the film, it is best not to cut the film open; instead, use your hands to tear open a relatively large hole to prevent it from closing up again, keeping the diameter at about 6 cm. If the temperature is relatively high, then promptly roll up both sides of the film to avoid the low temperature rising. Likewise, when the temperature drops, promptly spread the film back out. Then use clips to fasten the adjacent parts of the film to prevent the film from touching the stems.

2. Laying film flat against the ground across the whole greenhouse

Some vegetable growers, when laying plastic film, directly lay the film flat against the ground across the whole greenhouse. Then, during farming operations, the film gets heavily trampled, causing it to stick tightly to the ground, and the soil's air permeability consequently decreases. This hinders the respiration of vegetable roots, leading to poor root development and reduced yield. When laying plastic film, it is best to use materials such as steel wire to prop the film up, letting the film rest on the support rods so that watering can be done under the film. In this way, soil permeability can be improved, and moisture can be drained in time to avoid excessively high humidity. If it is a working row, then it is best to cover it with crop straw, which is very beneficial to its growth.

3. Mulching too early

Laying plastic film too early is also a mistake many people make. When laying plastic film, we should adjust it reasonably according to weather changes and the type of crop planted. For example, in autumn when planting cucumbers and after transplanting, if the surrounding environment is relatively warm and the film is laid, it will not only cause excessively high temperature inside the film and suffocate the seedlings, but also increase surface-layer humidity, which is very unfavorable for crop roots to grow downward, thereby affecting the crops' seedling establishment. Therefore, when laying plastic film, we must pay attention to the weather conditions. Usually it should be laid about half a month after transplanting to increase the rate of strong plants.

4. Mulching only in the working rows

Many people, when mulching with plastic film, only choose to cover the working rows, while ignoring the planting rows. Mulching with plastic film in this way not only fails to achieve the effect of mulching, but on the contrary makes the disadvantages more obvious and affects crop growth. Plastic film mulching is mainly to avoid excessively high humidity in the greenhouse and prevent diseases. When we water, we generally focus on the planting rows. If the planting rows are not covered, then basically it cannot play a role in reducing humidity, and its heat preservation is basically nonexistent as well. Moreover, the soil air permeability of the working rows will drop sharply, seriously affecting crop root growth.

The above is a brief introduction to the common mistakes in plastic film mulching for vegetables. That's all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!