Mulching:An Organic Approach in Fruit Crops Production

In most of the agricultural related cultivation or farming or plantation, mulch or mulching is the common word used. Mulching is the process or practice of covering the soil/ground to make more favorable conditions for plant growth, development and efficient crop production. Mulching is an important soil management practice of covering the soil surface around the base of plants to make conditions more favorable for growing and to conserve the available soil moisture. Mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of an area of soil. The word mulch has probably been derived from the German word “Molsch” means soft to decay, which apparently referred to the gardener’s use of straw and leaves as a spread over the ground as mulch. Mulch affects soil temperature (depending on colour, soil-mulch contact, bed orientation, time of year, light quality), reduces the weeds and keeps the fruit clean.