By improving the thermal and moisture conditions in the immediate vicinity of plants, plastic covers influenced the growth and development and increased the yield of vegetables. Soil mulching with organic material is one method of soil water protection and also helps maintain a constant soil temperature within the root system of crops. This study investigated the effect of plant covering and the type of straw applied to soil mulching (rye, corn, rape or buckwheat) on the soil temperature, development of the plant and the yield of 'Polfast' F 1 tomato. The effect of the straw was compared to a control plot without mulch. Soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm was higher in covered plots than in the plot without covers. The increase in soil temperature as a result of covering amounted to 1.3ºC at 8:00 a.m. and 1.7ºC at 2:00 p.m. Both in the morning and in the afternoon, the soil temperature in the plots without straw and without covers and under polypropylene fibre was higher than in the plots with straw. The application of covers resulted in higher aboveground parts of plants and higher leaf area compared to cultivation without covers. Irrespective of whether a covering was used, all of the types of straw investigated in the experiment caused the acceleration of growth and development of tomato plants. Simultaneous plant covering and soil mulching increased the total yield of fruits but did not have an influence on the share of marketable yield of the total yield. Ke y wor d s: assimilation leaf area, cover, leaf area index (LAI), Lycopersicon esculentum L., mulch, specific leaf area (SLA)
By maintaining proper moisture and reducing daily temperature fluctuations, mulching improves soil conditions for plant growth and development, resulting in a positive effect on the vegetable yield. The chemical composition of vegetables is genetically determined as well as being modified by factors affecting the plant during growth, and particularly climatic conditions and agro-technology practices.
A b s t r a c tPlant density is an important variable for achieving maximum yields and uniform vegetable maturity. Optimal plant density can be achieved by establishing appropriate distances both between the rows as well as in the rows of plants. The experiment was carried out between 2010-2012 at the experimental field of the Crimean Agrotechnological University in Simferopol, Ukraine. The experiment was established as randomised blocks with four replications. This study aimed to determine the effect of plant density on the growth, development and yield of Brussels sprouts. Increasing the area per plant resulted in a shortening of the time to the beginning of head formation, technical maturity and harvest. In all study years, increasing the distance between plants caused an increase in leaf assimilation area, stalk diameter and the number of heads per plant, however, the height of plants was lower. The most favourable parameters characterising marketable yield were found at an area per plant of 0.56 m 2 , however, the maximum yield from 1 ha (determining the profitability of the cultivation) was found at an area of 0.49 m 2 per plant.
The effect of perforated polyethylene foil and polypropylene fibre cover on the development of the early potato cultivars Aksamitka and Cykada was investigated. The use of the covers resulted in an increase in the soil temperature at the depth of 100 mm on average by 2.2°C at 8 a.m. and by 4.0°C at 2 p.m. in the year with warm spring and by 1.5°C and 3.2°C in the year with cold spring, respectively. A higher increase in the soil temperature, on average by 1-2°C, was caused by the use of the perforated foil than by the use of the polypropylene fibre. The increase in the soil temperature as a result of covering forced the plant emergence on average by 5 days and shortened the period from planting to tuber setting by 5 days in comparison with the cultivation with no plant covering. The higher favourable effect of covering was obtained in the year with the lowest air and soil temperatures in May. The use of the covers at that time forced the plant emergence and shortened the period from planting to tuber setting on average by 6 days. A higher soil temperature increase was observed under the perforated foil than under the polypropylene fibre, which resulted in an earlier occurrence of the successive plant development phases, on average by 1-2 days.
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