Abstract
The impact of mulching on soil moisture and pineapple ( Ananas comosus. L. Merr) growth and yield was studied from 2003-2005 at Makandura Research and Development Center. Soil moisture content at 30cm depth was significantly different among treatments at the harvesting stage. Highest soil moisture content of 10.9 at 30cm depth at harvesting was recorded in the coir dust mulch was not different from soil mulching (soil mounding), black polythene, and paddy husk treatments. There was no difference in moisture content at 15cm depth between all treatments at tested growth stages. Highest Dleaf length of 92.1cm recorded in the coir dust mulch treatment was not different from sawdust, paddy husk, black polyethylene, and soil mulching treatments in both seasons. The highest fruit yield of 24.3t/ha in the plant crop was recorded in the black polythene treatment. It was significantly higher than the poultry litter, coconut husk, paddy husk, and rice straw treatments. Similar trend in the yield was observed in the second season. Therefore, it can be concluded that the impact of coir dust, soil mulch (soil mounding), black polythene, and sawdust treatments had shown similar impact on soil moisture, plant characters and fruit yield. During on- farm demonstrations, because of minimum expense and convenience growers appreciated soil mulching as the best substitute for coir dust mulching. Key words: Mounding; Mulching; Pineapple; Soil moisture. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/jfa.v2i1.3938 JFA 2009; 2(1): 15-21
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
