Effect of soil mulching on growth, productivity, and water use efficiency of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) under deficit irrigation

Abstract

Two field studies were conducted consecutively in the summer season of 2015 and 2016 to investigate the effect of different soil mulching materials (bare soil: BS as a control, white plastic: WP, black plastic: BP and rice straw: RS) on growth, productivity, and water-use efficiency (WUE) of potato under three levels of irrigation (I100=100%, I80=80%, and I60=70% of crop evapotranspiration). Growth characteristics, yield and its components, and WUE were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected by both irrigation level and mulching materials. All mulching materials effectively enhanced growth and productivity when compared to bare soil. Potato plants grown under BP and WP as well as RS showed higher mean values of large size (> 60 mm) tubers and WUE compared to non-mulched treatment (BS) in both seasons. Mulching treatments noticeably increased tuber yield in the order of BP > RS > WP. Results displayed that, under different soil mulching materials, the I80 strategy studied here could be successfully applied during summer season in commercial potato production allowing water savings of 20% without any detrimental effect on plant growth or productivity.