Abstract
ABSTRACT- The effect of mulching materials on soil temperature and horticultural attributes in pear under subtropics of northwestern India was studied for years 2018 and 2019. Different mulches such as paddy straw mulch (PSM), white polythene mulch (WPM) and black polythene mulch (BPM) were applied underneath the canopies of ‘Patharnakh’ pear trees during second week of April. The weedy check (control) and manual weeding plots were kept to compare the relative effects of different mulching materials. The observations on soil temperature were noted at weekly interval while the quality parameters of pear fruit were recorded at harvest. Among the time intervals of soil temperatures, the higher soil temperature was observed with the WPM mulch followed by BPM while the minimum soil temperature was recorded with PSM. The WPM treatment showed soil warming effect from 16th to 28th standard meteorological week (SMW) during both the years of investigation. Different mulches significantly influenced the fruit yield and quality attributes of Patharnakh pear. The maximum fruit weight and fruit yield was observed in PSM, while minimum in control as weedy check. The internal quality of pear fruits in terms of total soluble solids was better in PSM and WPM as compared to fruits from control plants. It can be summarized that the readily available soil moisture and optimum soil temperature conditions during fruit development period improves fruit size particularly under PSM and WPM.
 Key words: Soil temperature, mulches, management practices, pear, fruit attributes.
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