Abstract
The condition of soil and microclimate are prerequisite for proper growth and development of a plant. The environment may be mediated by artificial filming with different colored polyethylene. The mechanism of lettuce growing under colored plastic film remains largely unknown. Thus, to investigate the impact of different plastic film on the growth environment, yield parameters and phytochemical properties of lettuce, the present study was performed. Five different colored polyethylene films viz. black, white, blue, olive and silver were used as a treatment factor, in filed condition. The results demonstrated that the soil pH, temperature and overall performance of lettuce, as well as the phytochemical composition, varied within the use of different films. The maximum soil pH and temperature were found under black filming plots. Additionally, the black colored plastic film exhibited the best values for most of the yield parameters studied over other plastic films, whereas the field with non-plastic film condition showed the worst data in the experiment. Phytochemical concentrations and nutritive value of lettuce were also significantly affected by the colored plastic treatments. Furthermore, the chlorophyll, anthocyanin, phenols and carotenoids contents were increased in plants grown in soil covered with black polyethylene. Vitamin C content was of 2.5 fold higher in the plants grown in the black film compared to control conditions. The application of plastic film led to elevated concentrations of macro and micronutrients in lettuce because of the direct effect of modified radiation under the plastic film. Taken together, it can be concluded that plastic filming could be used to enhance the yield and nutritional status of lettuce in natural plant production facilities.
Highlights
The conservation of natural resources and their recycled uses are declining day by day on crop production and as a result, the soil and microclimate behaviors have shown dramatic declined
The temperature of the soil under colored plastic film during the plant growth period Optical properties of different colours of plastic film may change the levels of light radiation reaching the soil, causing increases or decreases in the soil temperature and dissimilarities due to the differences in reflection, absorption and transmission of the solar energy of the coloured plastic films (Schales and Sheldrake, 1963; Tripathi and Katiyar, 1984; Rashidi and Khabbaz, 2011)
The plastic film tends to increase the temperature of the soil, which may generally affect plant growth and development (Streck et al, 1995)
Summary
The conservation of natural resources and their recycled uses are declining day by day on crop production and as a result, the soil and microclimate behaviors have shown dramatic declined. In that context, filming of crop field and uses of colored plastic film as film material may be the best alternative to conserve the proper moisture and soil temperature (Kader et al, 2017), for crops’ growth and development, as well as to suppress weeds’ growth (Martin-Closas et al, 2014); it may enhance the quality production. The underlying soil temperature and the surface of the film were affected by the color of the material used. The film is a natural (straw, sawdust, herbage and other materials) or synthetic (polyethylene in a different color) material, Received: 31 Jul 2018.
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