Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of organic mulching on soil temperature and moisture content. An experiment was conducted in a pineapple plantation at Lampung province, Indonesia from July 2001 to September 2002 using tapioca wastes and rice husk. There were 5 treatments namely: control/no mulch, rice husk mulch, cassava bagasse mulch, cassava peel mulch, and black polyethylene film mulch. The results showed that the soil temperatures of the surface layers under cassava bagasse and black polyethylene film mulches slightly increased with the increase in air temperature, while rice husk and cassava peel mulches decreased the heat convection into soil surface by retaining the incoming solar radiation heat within mulches layers. However, soil temperature regimes were greatly ameliorated by the mulching materials and that enhanced water absorption by pineapple, therefore the total wet biomasses and yields were improved. Cassava bagasse mulch enhanced effective rainfall during rainy season, better than the other mulching materials.

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