Effect of rice bran mulching on growth and yield of cherry tomato.

Abstract

From the spring to fall of 2005, in northern Kanto, located in central Japan, an open field was prepared for cultivating cherry tomatoes ( Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme ) with three types of mulch: 1. Rice straw with rice bran, 2. Rice straw alone, and 3. Polyethylene film covering. The fruits were harvested from June to the end of September. There were signifi cant differences between the treatments in both the total yield of fruit (p = 0.0379) as well as in the yield of normal fruit (p = 0.0458). The highest total fruit production (3.4 kg·plant -1 ) was obtained with the rice straw and bran treatment, followed by the other two treatments, with about 2.5 kg·plant -1 . Other factors, such as total fruit number and the weight of damaged fruit, were not significantly different. Forty days after planting in the field, plant height and other vegetative characteristics were measured; no statistically significant differences between the studied soil treatments were observed. These results indicate that the application of rice bran on a field surface previously covered with rice straw contributed to an increase in the yields of the tomato plants. The application of rice bran also facilitated weed control management. En la primavera al otono del ano 2005, en el norte de Kanto, localizado en el centro de Japon se preparo un area de campo para cultivar tomate de ramillete (tomate cherry ) (y Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme ) con tres tipos de cobertura: 1. Paja de arroz con salvado de arroz, 2. Paja de arroz solamente y 3. Cobertura con polietileno. La cosecha de los frutos se realizo desde junio hasta finales de septiembre. Hubo diferencias significativas entre los tratamientos, en el rendimiento total de los frutos (p = 0,0379) y el de frutos normales (p = 0,0458). Las mayores producciones de frutos totales (3,4 kg·planta -1 ) se obtuvieron con el tratamiento de paja de arroz con salvado de arroz, seguido por los otros dos tratamientos con alrededor de 2,5 kg·planta -1 . Los otros factores como el total de frutos y el peso de frutos danados no fueron significativamente diferentes. Despues de 40 dias de sembrado en el campo, se midio la altura de la planta y otros caracteres vegetativos sin obtener diferencias estadisticamente significativas entre los tratamientos del suelo estudiados. Los resultados indican que la aplicacion de salvado de arroz en la superficie del campo previamente cubierto con paja de arroz, para las plantas de tomate, contribuyen al incremento de los rendimientos. La aplicacion de salvado de arroz, tambien redujo el manejo para el control de malezas.