Effect of water hyacinth mulch on soil temperature, moisture and yield of Chinese cabbage (brassica campestris L.) in Shanghai village

The effect of water hyacinth mulching on soil temperature, moisture and Chinese cabbage yield were investigated. The water hyacinth mulched soil compared to unmulched treatments generally had higher temperature at 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm soil depths, and provided the higher soil accumulated temperature to the soil. The average diurnal temperature variation of water hyacinth mulched soil at 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm depth were 5.5°C and 6.1°C, respectively, which was 1.8°C lower than unmulched soil. Water hyacinth mulch increases the soil moisture content both at the 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm depth. Compared to unmulched soil, mean soil moisture content at 0-5 cm depth and at 5-10 cm depth of mulched soil were 12.24% and 11.81% higher, respectively. Water hyacinth mulch treatments increased the Chinese cabbage yield significantly over unmulched treatments that mulched plots produced the highest yields 257.1% higher than the unmulched plots. Use of water hyacinth as mulch provides an attractive and an environment friendly option in Shanghai village, as it is one of the most serious water hyacinth pollution areas with most fresh water hyacinth residues.