The small size of Palmer amaranth seeds, relative to other common weeds, provides an opportunity to use physical weed control through high-biomass, rolled cover crop mulches, in conjunction with herbicide tools. Herbicide resistant Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) has rapidly become a dominant weed management issue in agronomic crops of the Southeast US. The mulch preserves water it is non-toxic, biodegradable, leads to high yield and helps to save labor and water by reducing frequency of irrigation. The derivatized mulch gave the best results of kales and spinach in terms of weight, which had a mean of 2kg, a mean length of 27.8 cm, mean width of 9.96 cm and a mean of 4 leaves. The phosphate derivative absorbed more than 12 times its weight. The SEM images showed increase in the number of crevices and pores on the surface of the functionalized and cross-linked papyrus reed. The mulch was functionalized and characterized by the use of FTIR, SEM, the swelling ratio was also calculated, and the mulch was applied in the field for the growing of kales and spinach. This study therefore sought to enhance water retention of papyrus reed fibers through appropriate functionalization and cross-linking for use as a mulching agent. Papyrus reeds have been found to have the ability to absorb and retain substantial amount of water and the present study hypothesized that when modified, they could retain even more. There are few studies on application of hydrogel in agriculture in India and North America but not much has been done in Africa. Plant remains and inorganic materials alike have been used traditionally but they lose water quickly. Naturally occurring materials have been used as mulches for improvement of agricultural production since time immemorial. Irrigation is a tedious task, which requires a lot of water, and so some farmers have resulted to mulching. Lack of enough water to crops may lead to wilting and eventually death, these may result to dependence on relief food or irrigation. It is essential for transportation of plant nutrients from the soil it maintains the plant posture and serves as a raw material for various chemical processes like photosynthesis, transpiration and buffer the plant against wide temperature fluctuations. Water is vital for the life and survival of plants.
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