ABSTRACT
Mulches provide a good environment for the multiplication and survival of slugs, which sometimes cause serious losses to crops such as beans when mulched. Mulches reduce rain splashing, an important means of dissemination for numerous bacterial and fungal pathogens. Mulches contribute to disease management in various ways. Reduction or prevention of soil splashing is an important function of mulches in the management of some plant pathogens. Traditional farmers, especially the Chinese, have used mulches in their agriculture for millennia. The use of mulches provides many agronomic benefits, such as lowering soil temperatures, protecting against erosion, providing nutrients and organic matter to the soil, improving soil texture, and reducing weeds. Effective use of mulches, relative to the control of plant diseases, varies according to location, crop, and pathogen. One of the major problems with the use of mulches is the large quantities of material that are often required.
