By Clint Thompson
Paper mulch enters the next stage of research with University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and watermelon production in the Suwanee Valley.
Bob Hochmuth, UF/IFAS Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, has led the research in North Florida.
“We’ve got over 100 acres of paper mulch that is down and ready to go. We did have about half-dozen farms that were willing to invest in paper for certain fields where they knew they were going to have nutsedge problems,” Hochmuth said. “That is panning out to be true right now for those fields where paper and plastic were put out early. The nutsedge is already through the plastic, and it just can’t get through the paper.”
Paper mulch’s main benefit is its ability to provide strong nutsedge control. Hochmuth’s research with the WestRock product has spanned a couple of years.
“Last year was just in a demonstration mode. We probably didn’t have 10 or 15 acres. They were on an acre or less on almost all of those fields,” Hochmuth said. “This year they’ve had to make a decision to invest in it, and they’re still in sort of a pilot mode, but they did have to invest some money in it this year to get the paper. The bulk of what they ran commercially available is here in the Suwanee Valley.”
Other Benefits
Another plus of paper mulch is that it does not degrade as quickly over time, and it is easier and quicker to apply before the season.
“I just feel like there’s a place in the future for this particular product. I want to be able to see it continue to be developed,” Hochmuth said. “The final product, they’re still working on some of the different aspects of the paper. It’s not like it’s done. I think we’re going to learn a lot more this year. We’re going to be doing some research trials looking at different coatings, different applications of it.”