Effect of mulch materials on soil physico-chemical properties and the performance of castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) in rivers state, Nigeria

Abstract

Mulches are known to conserve soil moisture, provide organic matter, protect soil and improve the soil as a growing environment. A field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of various mulch materials viz. dry oil palm bunch, saw dust and dry elephant grass at 25, 50 and 25 tons ha-1, respectively along with black plastic mulch on some soil physical and chemical properties and the performance of castor bean plant (Ricinus communis). All the mulches were applied to a mulch thickness of 5cm in this study. Results showed that pH values, organic carbon content and total nitrogen were all significantly improved by mulching. Bulk density values were reduced to 1.10 - 1.18gcm-3 across all treatments, when compared to the control at 1.33gcm-3. At 6 WAP, plastic mulching increased number of leaves from 16 to 40 leaves per plant and capsule weight from 63.1 to 161.3g/plant; when compared with the control.

Effect of Application of Different Quality Water through Pitcher Irrigation and Tillage Types on Tomato Production and Soil Properties of Coastal Saline Soil of West Bengal

“…Increase of porosity may be due to higher organic carbon content in soil decrease bulk density due to more space and better soil aggregation. Such variations of results on porosity resembles with the observations of Choudhury et al (1985) and Orji and Eke (2018).The water holding capacity in soil also shows to vary significantly with the application of blending of saline and sweet water in pitcher pot for pitcher irrigation with different type of tillage in the both years. Data have the tendency of slight increase in the subsequent years due to application of different type of tillage.…”

Enhancing Coastal Saline Soil Productivity: Innovative Irrigation and Mulch Strategies for Improved Chili Cultivation

“…This rise in porosity is likely attributed to the higher organic carbon content in the soil, leading to reduced bulk density, increased available space, and enhanced soil aggregation. These fluctuations in porosity findings mirror the observations made by Choudhury et al, (1985) and Orji and Eke, (2018). The water holding capacity of the soil also exhibited significant variation with the implementation of the blended saline and sweet water in pitcher irrigation, coupled with different tillage methods, across both years.…”

​Effect of Drip Irrigation Combined Organic Mulching on Water Productivity and Yield of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.)

“…The increased fruit yield with groundnut shells mulch was attributed to registering significantly higher number of fruits per plant. This increased × 100 Weed index = X-Y X WCE = ×100 DMC -DMT DMC tomato yield may be due to better development of roots and vegetative growth, better nutrients uptake in mulched plots; improved soil microbial activity (Bhagat et al, 2016) and less normal leaching of nitrogen (Kundu et al, 2019) and improved soil physical properties (Orji and Eke, 2018). The next higher fruit yield was noticed in saw dust mulch and the lowest fruit yield was recorded in no mulch treatment.…”