@masterthesis{Ruemmele, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {R{\"u}mmele, Yvonne}, title = {Advantages and disadvantages of mulching in market garden systems}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-17025}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {54}, abstract = {The need for sustainable and resilient food production is constantly increasing. Methods such as cover cropping, the use of mulches and non- or minimal tillage are recommended in large-scale agriculture, yet are not typically found in standard versions of market gardening, as developed by J.M. Fortier. In order to redesign the market gardening system towards more sustainability, the advantages and disadvantages of mulching, possible allelopathic effects from cover crops and mulches, and a possible on-site production of transfer and insitu mulch, were investigated. For this purpose, a literature review was carried out and afterwards a market garden rotation including cover crops was designed. The review results suggested that positive (crop-promoting) as well as negative (crop- and weed-reducing) allelopathy from cover crops exist and are includable into the system as a form of integrated weed management system. It was found that the advantages of mulching outweigh the disadvantages and that it is possible to redesign the market garden system towards more sustainability.}, language = {en} }