Effect of Raised Bed, Mulching and Training System on Soil Temperature and Yield of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Abstract

Background: The use of crop improvement practices in vegetable cultivation has increased during the last years. Methods: A field experiment was conducted on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) at Research Farm of Vegetable Science, Dr YSP UHF Nauni, Solan in the year 2018-2019 in a randomized complete block design with three replications in order to evaluate the effects of planting methods, mulching and training system on soil temperature and yield of tomato. Treatments consisted of planting methods (raised bed, flat bed), mulching treatments (black mulch, silver/black mulch and no mulch) and training systems (two stem training and three stem training). Result: Results of the study indicated highest values of plant height, fruit weight,yield and soil temperature were observed under raised bed planting methods, black mulch along with two stem trained plants. Also black coloured mulch had significantly higher values of marketable yield. The highest soil temperature was found to be higher by about 1 to 10oC as compared to no mulch plot. It can be concluded that use of black colour mulch significantly increased the growth, yield and yield contributing characters of tomato under the open field conditions.

Effect of plastic mulch and strip tillage on soil hydrothermal characteristics and potato cultivation in the Bogura district of Bangladesh

“…The plant height was 6.5% higher under black plastic mulch than under blue plastic mulch at the maturity stage (at 57 DAS in 2021–22) of potato. Shilpa and Shukla (2022) also found higher plant height with black plastic mulch than with other mulch treatments. The mulched treatments, by maintaining higher soil moisture and optimum soil temperature, contributed to producing these results (Wang et al, 2013).…”